Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Gender And Implicit Theories Of Math Ability On Math Interest And Achievement, Jillian Hendricks

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The current study examined whether males and females differed in math achievement and held different beliefs regarding the malleability of math ability at the elementary level. The study also explored the relationships between students’ implicit theories of math ability, math interest, and math achievement. Potential grade level differences in math trait beliefs were also investigated. Study participants consisted of a total of 1802 students from six elementary schools that participate in the Gifted Education in Math and Science (GEMS) Project. Project GEMS is a federal grant project seeking to encourage science and math interest and achievement in children from lowincome …

Hybrid Nanostructures For Artificial Machine Olfaction, Landon Joseph Oakes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The detection of low level concentrations of particles in a gaseous environment is of importance to many fields, especially Homeland Security. The ability to identify ppb concentrations of explosives and their degradation products can aid in the detection of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), ammunition dumps, or hidden explosives. One method of accomplishing this task is through the use of an array of chemiresistors in an electronic nose device. For this study, chemiresistors were constructed using 3-D silica nanospring mats with a contiguous film of ZnO nanocrystals and ZnO nanocrystals decorated by metallic nanoparticles. Samples with an average grain size of …

The Relationship Between Rater Agreement, Behavioral Observability And Overall Impressions, Jennifer N. Scott

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined two item characteristics believed to influence rater agreement: observability and difficulty. The first goal of this study was to replicate the findings of Roch, Paquin and Littlejohn (2009), which found that rater agreement was negatively related to item observability (Hypothesis 1) and rating difficulty (Hypothesis 2). The study also explored whether participants had closer item performance ratings to their overall impression when items were less observable (Hypothesis 3) and more difficult to rate (Hypothesis 4). A sample of 254 Undergraduate psychology students viewed a video of a leaderless group discussion and then filled out a rating form …

Confidence, The Image Of The Writer, And Digital Literacies: Exploring Writing Self-Efficacy In The College Classroom, Maggie Bracey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Self-efficacy plays a major role in the way we perceive our abilities to complete challenging tasks and goals. With Albert Bandura’s theories of self-efficacy as its theoretical foundation, this thesis explores the ways Bandura’s theories apply to writing instruction and how specific cultural forces help shape the way students view their identities as writers. This study gives a focused and detailed explanation of the role writing self-efficacy occupies in education and composition theory, as well as the factors affecting a person’s perceived writing efficacy. Additionally, the relationship between self-efficacy and new literacy (Lankshear and Knobel), a term used for twenty-first …

Using Arbuscular Mycorrhizae To Influence Yield, Available Soil Nutrients And Soil Quality In Conventional Vs. Organic Vegetable Production, Gary Thomas Cundiff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research is a two year study on the effects of endomycorrhizae on vegetable production using conventional vs. organic practices. Objective of this study was initiated to determine if mycorrhizae improve yield, available soil nutrients and soil quality from two different fertilizer sources. Measurements were taken on yield, available soil nutrients, and soil quality in comparison of glomalin production and soil loss percentage. Two plant species were chosen, Tomatoes (‘Big Beef’) and Bush Beans (‘Tenderette’). A randomized split block 2 x 3 factorial treatment arrangement was used with two crops and three different inputs: Mo- 0 mycorrhizae, M1- recommended rate, …

Organizational Citizenship Behavior- Individual Or Organizational Citizenship Behavior- Organization: Does The Underlying Motive Matter?, Sarah J. Newland

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is considered behavior that benefits others, but is not a part of the employee’s job description. Research has indicated that OCB can be divided into two categories, behavior that is directed towards other individuals (OCBI) and behavior that is directed towards the organization (OCBO). Research has also suggested that there are three different motives behind OCB, impression management, prosocial values, and organizational concern. This study examines the relationship between the motives and the type of OCB that is performed. The results failed to indicate that motives matter in determining which type of OCB is performed. Additionally, …

On Nullification Of Knots And Links, Anthony Montemayor

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Motivated by the action of XER site-specific recombinase on DNA, this thesis will study the topological properties of a type of local crossing change on oriented knots and links called nullification.

One can define a distance between types of knots and links based on the minimum number of nullification moves necessary to change one to the other. Nullification distances form a class of isotopy invariants for oriented knots and links which may help inform potential reaction pathways for enzyme action on DNA. The minimal number of nullification moves to reach a è-component unlink will be called the è-nullification number.

This …

Dynamic Data Extraction And Data Visualization With Application To The Kentucky Mesonet, Anoop Rao Paidipally

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There is a need to integrate large-scale database, high-performance computing engines and geographical information system technologies into a user-friendly web interface as a platform for data visualization and customized statistical analysis. We present some concepts and design ideas regarding dynamic data storage and extraction by making use of open-source computing and mapping technologies. We implemented our methods to the Kentucky Mesonet automated weather mapping workflow. The main components of the work flow includes a web based interface, a robust database and computing infrastructure designed for both general users and power users such as modelers and researchers.

Organizational Search In Email Systems, Sruthi Bhushan Pitla

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The storage space for emails has been increasing at a rapid pace day by day. Email systems still serve as very important data repositories for many users to store different kinds of information which they use in their daily activities. Due to the rapidly increasing volume of email data, there is a need to maintain the data in a most efficient way. It is also very important to provide intuitive and flexible search utilities to provide better access to the information in the email repositories, especially in an enterprise or organizational setting. In order to implement the functionality, we are …

Manipulation Of 3d Knotted Polygons, Sairaj Rachamadugu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis discusses the development of software architecture to support the computational investigation of random polygons in 3 space. The random polygons themselves are a simple model of long polymer chains. (A DNA molecule is one example of a polymer.)

This software architecture includes "building blocks" which specify the actual manipulations and computations to be performed, and a structural framework which allows the user to specify which manipulations/computations to perform, in which order and with how many repetitions. The overall framework is designed in such a way that new building blocks can easily be added in the future. The development …

Synthesis, Structure, And Characterization Of Hybrid Solids Containing Polyoxometalates And Ruthenium Polypyridyl Complexes, Yanfen Ll

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Polyoxometalates (POMs), which are inorganic metal oxide cluster anions with discrete structures, have been extensively studied in recent years due to their large variety of applications such as medicine, biology, catalysis, material sciences and chemical analysis. Ruthenium polypyridyl complexes have been extensively studied for their applications as photosensitizers in solar energy conversion and photoelectronic materials. Recently, ruthenium heterocyclic ligand complex-based building blocks have been used for the synthesis of hybrid organic-inorganic solids through the self-assembly. We are interested in the synthesis of ruthenium polypyridyl complexes and polyoxometalate anions through different ways such as coordination bonds, hydrogen bonds and ionic bonds …

Ensemble Of Feature Selection Techniques For High Dimensional Data, Sri Harsha Vege

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Data mining involves the use of data analysis tools to discover previously unknown, valid patterns and relationships from large amounts of data stored in databases, data warehouses, or other information repositories. Feature selection is an important preprocessing step of data mining that helps increase the predictive performance of a model. The main aim of feature selection is to choose a subset of features with high predictive information and eliminate irrelevant features with little or no predictive information. Using a single feature selection technique may generate local optima.

In this thesis we propose an ensemble approach for feature selection, where multiple …

Removal Of Heavy Metals Using Modified Limestone Media: Zinc And Cadmium, Keerthy Mandadi

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Heavy metal contamination is a serious concern throughout the world. Increased concentrations in drinking water have many negative impacts on human health. Limestone is an inexpensive and simple media for removing high concentrations of heavy metals from drinking water supplies. Ferric based media is commonly used to remove zinc, cadmium, lead, arsenic and other heavy metals. The drinking water standards set by the US EPA for cadmium, zinc and arsenic are 0.005 mg/L, 5 mg/L and 0.010 mg/L respectively. Bangladesh, parts of India, China and the United States have high concentrations of arsenic in drinking water. Although many technologies exist …

The Relationship Between Essentialism, Religious Beliefs, And Views Of Change, Keshia Porter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, the relationship between essentialism, religious beliefs, and views of change was investigated. Participants were given surveys containing three sets of items and a demographic questionnaire. Item sets included the Intrinsic/Extrinsic-Revised Scale of Religiosity, the Essentialist Belief Scales, and the Change Vignettes. Results indicated those with gradualist religious views were not more likely to endorse essentialist views when compared to those with conversionist views. Those who essentialized at high levels were not less likely to endorse the possibility of change in comparison to those who essentialized at lower levels. Participants with high levels of extrinsic religiosity were not …

The Time-Course Of The Effects Of Growth Hormone During Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Auditory Hair Cell Regeneration, Yajie Wang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Growth hormone (GH) was upregulated in the zebrafish inner ear following sound exposure in a previous study. To identify the specific role of GH in hair cell regeneration and the possible cellular mechanisms of this regeneration, groups of zebrafish were divided into baseline (no sound exposure, no injection), buffer-injected and GH-injected groups. Buffer- and GH-injected fish were exposed to a 150 Hz tone at a source level of 179 dB re 1 μPa root mean squared (RMS) for 36 h. Phalloidin-staining was used to assess the effects of GH on hair cell bundle density; BrdU-labeling was used to assess the …

Reducing Lead And Selenium From Drinking Water Using Limestone-Based Material, Sindhu Tumati

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Contamination of drinking water with metals is a major problem facing many areas of United States and the World. There is a need for an inexpensive remediation technology for the removal of metals in drinking water that can be applied to small rural water systems. This research will focus on the development of a process for removal of select metals from drinking water by limestone-based material. Metals in drinking water considered for this research include lead and selenium. Limestone-based material has demonstrated the potential to reduce select metals (lead, cadmium and arsenic) in drinking water, with the additional benefit of …

Haunts Of The Hill: Western Kentucky University Ghostlore, Arthur Gordon Van Ness Iv

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, like all colleges and universities, has some interesting history. In this case, for my thesis project, I looked at specific tales regarding several buildings on campus that one hears upon arrival to campus. The buildings I included are Potter Hall, Barnes Campbell, Rodes- Harlin, Van Meter, Florence Schneider, McLean Hall, and Pearce-Ford Tower. I explored the details of the traditional oral narratives and compared those details from personal or close to personal experience. Next, I analyzed the details that have stayed the same over time or changed.

To accomplish my project I went …

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Sensory Needs In The Workplace, Amy Fogle Stiff

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There is little to no empirical research for sensory sensitivities of individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and coping strategies used in the workplace. Seven students with ASD were interviewed about sensory sensitivities experienced and accommodations used at the workplace. This study found that participants self-regulated sensory sensitivities, and not asking for or using accommodations. Future research is needed to focus on the sensory sensitivities of individuals with ASD who have been in the work force for several years.

Assembly And Automated Annotation Of The Clostridium Scatologenes Genome, Jitesh Tiwari

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Clostridium scatologenes is an anaerobic bacterium that demonstrates some unusual metabolic traits such as the production of 3-methyl indole. The availability of genome level sequencing has lent itself to the exploration and elucidation of unique metabolic pathways in other organisms such as Clostridium botulinum. The Clostridium scatologenes genome, with an estimated length 4.2 million bp, was sequenced by the Applied Biosystems Solid method and the Roche 454 pyrosequencing method. The resulting DNA sequences were combined and assembled into 8267 contigs with an average length of 1250 bp with the Newbler Assembler program. Comparision of published subunits of csd gene …

The Effect Of General Versus Specific Coworker In Directions On Fiedler's Least Preferred Coworker Scale, Derrick Lottes

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study explored the effect of directions on the Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale; specifically, this study tested whether thinking of a generalized least preferred coworker (General LPC) would yield lower scores compared to thinking of a specific least preferred coworker (Specific LPC). The data supported this hypothesis as responses to the General LPC yielded more critical LPC scores than did responses to the Specific LPC. The hypothesis that thinking of a generalized least preferred coworker would yield more stable result than would thinking of a specific least preferred coworker was not supported. Finally, the hypothesis that LPC scores would …

Aging And Weight-Ratio Estimation, Jessica Marie Holmin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Many researchers have explored the way younger people perceive weight ratios using a variety of methodologies; however, very few researchers have used a more direct ratio estimation procedure, in which participants estimate an actual ratio between two or more weights. Of the few researchers who have used a direct method, the participants who were recruited were invariably younger adults. To date, there has been no research performed to examine how older adults perceive weight-ratios, using direct estimation or any other technique. Past research has provided evidence that older adults have more difficulty than younger adults in perceiving small differences in …

Efficient Algorithm To Construct Phi Function In Vector Space Secret Sharing Scheme And Application Of Secret Sharing Scheme In Visual Cryptography, Sunny Potay

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Secret Sharing refers to a method through which a secret key K can be shared among a group of authorized participants, such that when they come together later, they can figure out the secret key K to decrypt the encrypted message. Any group which is not authorized cannot determine the secret key K. Some of the important secret schemes are Shamir Threshold Scheme, Monotone Circuit Scheme, and Brickell Vector Space Scheme. Brikell’s vector space secret sharing construction requires the existence of a function from a set of participant P in to vector space Zdp, where p is a …

Mathematics Anxiety In Ninth-Grade Pre-Algebra, Jacquelyn D. Tretter

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this qualitative action research study, five lower-achieving freshman prealgebra students in a rural high school were interviewed about mathematics anxiety. The subjects ranged in age from 13 to 15 years and included three boys and two girls, of which one was Hispanic, one was African-American, and three were Caucasian. These students had tested below the fourth-grade level in mathematics during their eighth-grade year and were placed in special pre-algebra classes, which met for 30 additional minutes each day and progressed with more depth, but at a slower pace.

The researcher employed personal interviews to answer the research question: How …

Hydro/Solvothermal Synthesis, Structures And Properties Of Metal-Organic Frameworks Based On S-Block Metals, Raj Kishore Vakiti

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Carbon dioxide removal from flue gases of power plants is critical for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions implicated in global warming. Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) promising potential applications in carbon dioxide capture due to their unique structural properties such as high porosity and high thermal stability. These MOFs have application in separation processes and gas storage. By the assembly of the organic ligands and metal oxide clusters, porous MOFs can be synthesized. The use of s-block metals such as calcium, magnesium and rubidium in porous materials is appealing because their ionic binding characters with organic ligands will general flexible MOFs. …

Sharpening The Boundaries Of The Sequential Probability Ratio Test, Elizabeth Krantz

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this thesis, we present an introduction to Wald’s Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) for binary outcomes. Previous researchers have investigated ways to modify the stopping boundaries that reduce the expected sample size for the test. In this research, we investigate ways to further improve these boundaries. For a given maximum allowable sample size, we develop a method intended to generate all possible sets of boundaries. We then find the one set of boundaries that minimizes the maximum expected sample size while still preserving the nominal error rates. Once the satisfying boundaries have been created, we present the results of …

Community-Oriented Policing Strategies When Handling Nonviolent Drug Offenders, Michael J. Layle

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In this study, I analyze the responses of police officers to questions regarding their involvement in the use of Community-Oriented Policing strategies. When the officer encounters a drug offender they must decide how to deal with the situation. There are a variety of trained responses and policies available. The data is grouped into nine variables; time in law enforcement, time in department, perceived support, perceived barriers, COP strategy, COP action, prevention, help, and citation. The data is then analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Reactions To A Near Fatal Accident: An Investigation Of Emotion And Coping Responses, Devin Matthew Pauly

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A 12-month longitudinal study assessed the emotional reactions of an intercollegiate athletic team to a near fatal bus incident. PANAS-X and the Brief COPE, administered on five occasions, indicated NA declined over time. Most coping strategies showed significant changes in trajectory. Acceptance and Positive Reframing were high across waves.

In October 2010, an intercollegiate athletic team and coaching staff were traveling by sleeper bus to an out-of-state match. The team members and coaches were in the back of the bus when they felt the bus swaying and heard the tires hit the rumble strips. The head coach went forward to …

A Normal Truncated Skewed-Laplace Model In Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Junyi Wang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Stochastic frontier analysis is an exciting method of economic production modeling that is relevant to hospitals, stock markets, manufacturing factories, and services. In this paper, we create a new model using the normal distribution and truncated skew-Laplace distribution, namely the normal-truncated skew-Laplace model. This is a generalized model of the normal-exponential case. Furthermore, we compute the true technical efficiency and estimated technical efficiency of the normal-truncated skewed-Laplace model. Also, we compare the technical efficiencies of normal-truncated skewed-Laplace model and normal-exponential model.

The Protective Factors And Life Outcomes Of Youth Exposed To Community Violence, Patricia Bamwine

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There is an increasing interest in the life outcomes of youth that are exposed to community violence. Previous research has found that community violence has a direct effect on youth development. It has also shown that there are economic costs for communities that have high levels of community violence. Thus far, the literature on youth in these areas has focused on protective factors such as school connectedness, family connectedness, religion and positive life outcomes. There is little research on the affects of mentoring on life outcomes for individuals that were exposed to community violence during adolescence. This study explores mentoring …