Digital Commons Network^™

The Quiet Classroom Game With An Indiscriminable Contingency In A High School, Stefanie Schrieber

Master's Theses

The Quiet Classroom Game (QCG) is an interdependent group contingency utilized to decrease classroom noise levels, increase student engagement, and decrease disruptive behaviors in the classroom setting. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of the QCG in three high school classrooms in the Southeastern United States. Classrooms were recruited based on teacher reports of excessive noise and high rates of disruptive behavior. A multiple baseline design with two intervention phases was utilized to examine the effects of the intervention. The first phase was the QCG alone, and the second phase was the QCG with an …

Localized Method Of Approximate Particular Solutions For Solving Optimal Control Problems Governed By Pdes, Kwesi Acheampong

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the method of approximate particular solutions(MAPS) and localized method of approximate particular solutions(LMAPS) with polynomial basis, and radial basis functions are proposed and applied on the optimal control problems(OCPs) governed by partial differential equations(PDEs).

This study proceeds in several steps. First, polynomial basis and radial basis functions are used to globally approximate solutions for the PDEs which have been combined into a single matrix system numerically from the optimality conditions of the OCPs. Secondly, polynomial and radial basis functions are used to locally approximate particular solutions for the same matrix system numerically. We use these approaches to …

Changes In Antarctic Bottom Water Formation During Interglacial Periods, Samuel Glasscock

Master's Theses

In the modern Southern Ocean and during the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage 5, there are observations that point to reduced Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) formation. These reductions are believed to be driven by an increase in the strength of the Southern Ocean density stratification due to surface water freshening. Any reduction in AABW formation has important implications for global climate as AABW plays a vital role in the cycling of carbon in the world’s ocean. The primary question this study seeks to answer is do these AABW reductions occur during any of the other interglacials of the past …

Localized Method Of Approximate Particular Solutions For Solving Fourth-Order Pdes, Lionel Amuzu

Master's Theses

In the past, dealing with fourth-order partial differential equations using the Local Method was not reliable due to difficulties in solving them directly. An approach such as splitting these equations into two Poisson differential equations was adopted to alleviate such challenges. However, this has a limitation since it is only applicable to Dirichlet and Laplace boundary conditions. In this paper, we solve fourth-order PDEs directly using the LMAPS. The improvement on the accuracy of this method was as a result of the proposed distribution of boundary conditions to alternating boundary points. And, also the use of suitable shape parameter; calculated …

Development And Employment Of Environmental Dna Methods For The Detection Of Bull Sharks (Carcharhinus Leucas) In A Freshwater And Estuarine Interface In The Mobile-Tensaw Delta And Mobile Bay, Alabama, Katherine Schweiss

Master's Theses

Species conservation and management is influenced by the quality of monitoring methods employed, especially when targeting elusive, but ecologically significant species, like elasmobranchs. Bull Sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) are highly mobile predators that rely on estuaries and freshwater rivers for maturation, resources, and refuge; their ability to withstand changing environmental conditions may mean they are linking ecosystems through their habitat usage and movements. Rather than setting nets or attaching acoustic monitoring devices, which can be expensive, time-consuming, and invasive, the analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) for tracing species presence was used to target C. leucasDNA. The present research …

Early Recruitment Of Crassostrea Virginica To Restored And Natural Oyster Reefs In The Western Mississippi Sound: Larval Supply And Post-Settlement Success, Leah Morgan

Master's Theses

The eastern oyster (C. virginica) is a foundation species that improves water quality, protects shorelines, provides refuge for other organisms, and contributes to commercial fisheries. Successful early recruitment of eastern oyster is vital for resupplying adult populations in the face of habitat loss. Coastal oyster populations are challenged by freshwater input, hypoxia, predation and overfishing. Consequently, substantial efforts have been dedicated toward oyster restoration within the northern Gulf of Mexico. The overall objective of this study was to consider the role and importance of early recruitment to oyster restoration in western Mississippi Sound. During the summer 2018 recruitment period, we …

Multi-Point Flux Approximations Via The O-Method, Christen Leggett

Master's Theses

When an oil refining company is drilling for oil, much of the oil gets left behind after the first drilling. Enhanced oil recovery techniques can be used to recover more of that oil, but these methods are quite expensive. When a company is deciding if it is worth their time and money to use enhanced oil recovery methods, simulations can be used to model oil flow, showing the behavior and location of the oil. While methods do exist to model this flow, these methods are often very slow and inaccurate due to a large domain and wide variance in coefficients. …

Effects Of Water Table Depth And Edaphic Characteristics On Plant Diversity In A Southern Mississippi Pitcher Plant Bog, Patrick Kirby

Master's Theses

This study examined the effects that water table depth and soil characteristics have on plant species richness and species composition within pitcher plant bogs across seasons. Eight piezometers were installed at random distances to monitor long-term water table depth and pressure fluctuations along a ~710-meter line transect traversing upland and bog habitats. Vegetation sampling quadrats (n=128) were set up near each piezometer. Cover data and water table depths were collected in spring and late summer. Soil samples collected from each treatment group were used to obtain soil texture and nutrient data. The summer collection period yielded a total gdiversity of …

Estimating Body Mass Through Bone Mineral Density Studies Using Dexa (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry), Kaitlin Harstine

Master's Theses

Identification of a decedent is one of the primary goals of forensic anthropologists. In order to do this, one must build a biological profile based on the remains that are provided. Sex, age, ancestry, and stature are four of the most common, however a fifth addition piece of information that could be beneficial is body mass. The goal of this research is to explore the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and body mass, using data collected from dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scans of 107 collegiate football athletes. Athletes are a good fit for this study because they have achieved …

The Variability Of High-Frequency Motions And Their Interactions With The Mesoscale On The Mississippi Shelf, Jordan Earls

Master's Theses

In this study, we examine the spatial and temporal variability of high-frequency and low-frequency motions across the Mississippi Shelf and how the high-frequency motions are modulated by low-frequency mesoscale motions. For this purpose, we use Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements collected at nearshore (23 m), mid-shelf (60 m), and shelf break (88 m) stations. High-frequency motions are defined as motions with periods less than 36 hours, whereas mesoscale motions have larger periods. The collected datasets are analyzed through bandpass filtering, least square harmonic analysis, spectral analysis, and empirical orthogonal functions (EOF). We find that along-shelf barotropic mesoscale motions contain …

The Thiol Specific Antioxidant (Tsa1) Gene Is Required For Survival In Macrophages And Oxidative Stress Resistance In Histoplasma Capsulatum, Lauren Kennedy

Master's Theses

Histoplasma capsulatum(Hc) is a pathogenic fungus that causes one of the most common invasive fungal respiratory diseases, Histoplasmosis. Histoplasmaundergoes a dimorphic shift from mold to yeast which is crucial to pathogenesis of the organism.

The thiol specific antioxidant gene, Tsa1,is strongly upregulated in the yeast (pathogenic) morphotype. This data led to the hypothesis that this gene plays a role in protecting Hcfrom host mediated oxidative attack. To characterize Tsa1 function, a knockdown strain (tsa1-RNAi) was created by RNAi gene silencing. Expression of Tsa1in the tsa1-RNAistrain was reduced to 10% that …

Involuntary Signal-Based Grounding Of Civilian Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas) In Civilian Airspace, Keith Conley

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the involuntary signal-based grounding of civilian unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in unauthorized air spaces. The technique proposed here will forcibly land unauthorized UAS in a given area in such a way that the UAS will not be harmed, and the pilot cannot stop the landing. The technique will not involuntarily ground authorized drones which will be determined prior to the landing. Unauthorized airspaces include military bases, university campuses, areas affected by a natural disaster, and stadiums for public events. This thesis proposes an early prototype of a hardware-based signal based involuntary grounding technique to handle the problem …

The Quiet Cafeteria Game, Mary Ware

Master's Theses

Due to the prevalence of disruptive behavior in schools, educators are required to allocate time and resources to manage student behavior problems (Murphy, Theodore, Aloiso, Alric-Edwards, & Hughes, 2007). Disruptive behaviors take place in the classroom and other non-classroom settings, which can negatively impact the academic success of students. Specifically, noisemaking is a disruptive behavior that educators report as being one of the most concerning disruptive behaviors, thus, increasing the need for effective interventions to address disruptive behavior in non-classroom settings (Sun & Shek, 2012). The current study evaluates the effects of a decibel-level based interdependent group contingency, the Quiet …

The Effect Of Historic Shipwrecks On Sediment Microbiomes In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Melissa Brock

Master's Theses

Microorganisms are ubiquitously distributed across all aquatic habitats, but it is the environmental conditions of a habitat that determine which microorganisms can thrive in terms of abundance or metabolic activity. Habitats that experience consistent physical and chemical environmental conditions repeatedly favor specific taxonomic groups which may result in a microbial assemblage that is commonly associated with that habitat (i.e., a core microbiome). Core microbiomes have been identified for a variety of natural marine habitats including methane seeps, wood falls, octocoral, and deep-sea sediments. However, it was unknown if the presence of man-made structures on the seafloor, including historic shipwrecks, also …

Fracture Analysis Of The Lower Oceanic Crust, Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge, Trent Jackson

Master's Theses

Atlantis Bank (AB) is an oceanic core complex (OCC), formed at the slow-spreading (spreading rate/yr) Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR)-Atlantis II transform junction. AB is a domal massif composed of lower crustal and upper mantle rocks exhumed along a normal-sense detachment shear zone/fault. OCCs are of high interest since oceanic crust comprises the majority of Earth’s crust and OCCs form up to 15% of the crust that is formed at slow-spreading ridges. Brittle deformation, such as faults and fractures provide pathways for fluids to interact with the crust, which increases heat and mass exchange between the crust and hydrosphere, and is …

Elevated Adhd Symptoms As A Predictor Of Rule Violations Among Male Juvenile Offenders, Kathleen Lolley Ramsey

Master's Theses

Youth with ADHD are disproportionately at-risk for engaging in criminality and aggression relative to the general population, and this may be a function of underlying executive function deficits associated with self-regulation. More specifically, youth with ADHD may be susceptible to difficulties with behavioral regulation (impulsivity) and emotional regulation (e.g., managing feelings of anger). The current study sought to expand on previous research to examine the relationship between ADHD symptoms and aggression and the potential moderating effects of anger control among institutionalized youth. Archival data comprising a sample (N=119) of male adolescents who were admitted to a maximum-security residential facility were …

Expanding The Fear Of Loss Of Vigilance Theory: Using Intolerance Of Uncertainty, Responsibility For Harm, And Fear Of Sleep To Predict Nocturnal Panic Attacks, Nicole S. Smith

Master's Theses

Nocturnal panic involves experiencing panic attacks out of a sleeping state without obvious causes such as nightmares or loud noises. Roughly half of patients with panic disorder will experience nocturnal panic in addition to panic attacks while awake, or daytime panic. Like daytime panic, nocturnal panic also occurs in other disorders such as PTSD. The Fear of Loss of Vigilance theory is currently the only model available to explain nocturnal panic. It suggests that nocturnal panickers fear states in which they cannot easily react to or protect themselves from danger. Prior research using a self-report measure to differentiate nocturnal and …

Is The Written Component Of Tootling Effective? A Comparison Of The Group Contingency To A Comparison Writing Procedure, James Derieux

Master's Theses

Previous tootling literature has demonstrated positive effects of the intervention when implemented in settings from elementary school (e.g., Skinner, Cashwell, & Skinner, 2000) to high school (e.g., Lum et al., 2019). Several studies have shown meaningful effects for the tootling intervention on increasing class-wide academically engaged behavior (AEB) and decreasing disruptive behaviors (DB) (e.g., Cihak et al., 2009). However, no studies in the current literature have examined the effects of the individual components of the tootling intervention on class-wide behaviors. The current study sought to examine the effects of the written component of the tootling intervention on class-wide levels of …

Terrorism And Organized Crime: An Analytical Study From An International Law Perspective, Leila Mejdoubi

Master's Theses

With the spread of terrorism and its growing risks since the start of the 21^st century, a wide range of reports and studies have emerged. This funding comes from a special relationship between terrorist organizations, organized crime syndicates, and their cooperation with each other, which has enabled terrorist organizations in particular to carry out recruitment efforts and operations alike. It has also fueled an international black market for smuggling and trade in drugs and arms. Under what conditions do violent terrorist groups driven by extreme Islamist ideology collaborate with organized criminal enterprises to generate the requisite resources to pursue …

Archaeobotanical Analyses Of The Winterville Mounds Site (22ws500) And Other Southeastern Ceremonial Complexes, Dana Hauffe

Master's Theses

The prehistoric Southeast region of the United States has had very limited archaeobotanical research focused on botanicals’ medicinal or ritualistic characteristics. An analysis of reported botanical remains recovered from Winterville Mounds (22WS500) and seventy- two other Late Woodland and Mississippian sites, from seven states, was conducted to identify their potential medicinal and ritual use of seventy-five botanicals based on reported ethnobotanical evidence. By classifying botanicals into four classes, modeled after the dissertation of Dr. Michele Williams in 2000, taxon frequency and feature ubiquity is configured and utilized to identify the possible ceremonial and medicinal use plants. At Winterville Mounds Site …

Processing Speed For Action And Semantic Memory, Tyler A. Surber

Master's Theses

Previous research suggests that the processing of affordances may require more perceptually relevant information than words can provide (Surber et al., 2018; Chainay & Humphreys, 2002). The present study investigates this hypothesis with the shoebox task used in Bowers and Turner (2003). A list of 81 object nouns (targets) and associated features (primes: affordance, semantic, and non-associates) was compiled from the McRae, Cree, Seidenberg, and McNorgan (2005) norms. Affordances denote possibilities for action in relation to the object (e.g. chair – sit), whereas semantic features indicate definitional characteristics (e.g. chair – has legs). Affordances and semantic features served as primes …

Distribution, Abundance, And Trophic Ecology Of Anguilliform Leptocephali In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Lillian Collins

Master's Theses

All species of anguilliform eels have pelagic leptocephalus larval stages, which provides a means of monitoring the population dynamics of these otherwise cryptic and hard to study species. The goals of this study were to: 1) describe the distribution and abundance of anguilliform eel leptocephali across the northern Gulf of Mexico, and 2) examine the trophic ecology of leptocephali using stable isotope values of carbon and nitrogen (δ13C and δ15N). A 25-year (1990-2014) ichthyoplankton dataset provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) was used to examine interannual variations in leptocephalus distribution, …

Exploring Self-Determination And Recreational Sports Participation For Adolescents With Disabilities, Samantha K. Papp

Honors Theses

Self-determination is a vital skill for individuals with disabilities and provides significant benefits, such as more positive adult outcomes and greater quality of life. Recreational sports participation is another fundamental aspect of life for individuals with disabilities, as it leads to increased physical activity, enhanced self-esteem, and improved peer acceptance. Despite the well-researched benefits of both self-determination skills and recreational sports participation, a literature review revealed few studies that examined the relationship between self-determination and recreational sports participation for individuals, particularly adolescents, with disabilities. This mixed methods study was designed to fill this void, using questionnaires, interviews, and observations to …

Assessing Prevalence Of Eating Disorders Among College Students, Taylor Jordan Duncan

Honors Theses

Eating disorders have become a subject of concern for college-aged young adults in recent years. Risk factors like social media use are contributing to an increase in affected students, and research suggests that gender along with other variables plays a significant role. This thesis examined the current research on eating disorders and risk factors associated with their development. Through an online survey, information from freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate students at The University of Southern Mississippi regarding their current eating behaviors, feelings toward food and body, and demographic information was collected. Data collected indicated the student population’s level of …

A Psychoanalysis Of Rebecca West’S Unfinished Novel The Sentinel, Taylor Vesely

Honors Theses

This thesis applies a psychoanalytic lens to a little-known and unfinished manuscript by Rebecca West. There is little scholarship on The Sentinel but a wealth of knowledge to be gained from it about the complicated psychological dilemmas the suffragists suffered. West was writing at a critical period in feminist history that is still relevant today, and this novel, which would have been her first, lays the groundwork for many of her future works. Her depictions of sexuality, violence, religion, and motherhood provide an excellent framework for both her protagonist’s self-suppression and a compelling psychoanalysis. This thesis argues that the many …

Towards The Synthesis Of An Artificial Fluorescent Siderophore, Ashley Burns

Honors Theses

Siderophores are molecules capable of binding ferric ions with high affinity (Ka = 1052). This thesis outlines our attempts to synthesize an artificial siderophore, which incorporates a signaling group to help monitor the uptake of ferric ions. The artificial siderophore is a tripodal molecular receptor synthesized in a five-step procedure with a proposed final sixth step. Rhodamine 6G azide (95.0% yield) was formed from rhodamine 6G and the synthesis of 2-azidoethanamine was modified from the literature. The tripodal arm portion of the sensor was successfully synthesized by protecting the catechol of 2,3-dihydroxybenzaldehyde to form 3-formyl-1,2-phenylene dimethanesulfonate (98.8% yield). The reduction …

In For A Shock?: Discretion And Disparity In Program Assignment, Brianna Mathis

Honors Theses

Due to the massive prison population in America, correctional agencies are considering alternatives to standard incarceration. These programs are designed to redirect individuals from serving a prison sentence, and are instead assigned to a program specifically targeted at reducing offenders’ likelihood at recidivating. Typically, the main focus of these programs centers on education, job training, and various types of counseling. The Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) has implemented two programs that aim at reducing recidivism: the first was the Regimented Inmate Discipline Program (RID), which was later replaced with the Recidivism Reduction Program (RRP). While both programs were intended to …

The Emergence Of Southern Dialectical Features In Native Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners In The American Deep South, Ana Chua

Honors Theses

It is generally assumed that students who study a target language in a particular country or region will gain the dialectical features of the place in which they had studied. While the current body of research generally supports this finding, dialectical adaptation to a specific area does not occur equally among all individuals, and studies that attempt to explain this resulting degree of dialectical adaptation based on individual and social factors is one that still needs greater attention. This investigation sought to examine the extent of dialectical adaptation to Southern American English (SAE) in six Spanish-speaking English Language Learners who …

To My Room’S Future Tenant, Abigail Garcia

Honors Theses

To My Room’s Future Tenant is an original collection of poems accompanied by a critical preface.

Developing A Theoretical Framework For Visualization-Based Pedagogical Content Knowledge (V-Pck) Based On Middle School Teachers’ Views And Uses Of Visualizations As An Instructional Tool, Jacqueline Samuel

Dissertations

Visualizations is a categorical term that is often used to provide visual imagery to the communication of processes, concepts, exemplar phenomena, and general information. Objects such as graphs, tables, diagrams, animations, and pictures fall in this category. Existing literature focuses primarily on the use of visualizations in the science field at the high school level, collegiate levels, and in pre-service teacher education programs. A gap in the literature exists which examines how science teachers at the middle school level perceive and use visualizations as instructional components in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to examine science teachers views …