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Pragmatic Developmental Pathways By Saudi Learners Of English During Study Abroad, Fahad Alzahrani
Pragmatic Developmental Pathways By Saudi Learners Of English During Study Abroad, Fahad Alzahrani
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recently, it has become increasingly popular among Saudi students to study abroad. There are, for example, currently 58,726 Saudi students studying at the university level in the United States. During their study abroad (SA) journey, when they wish to say something to someone, they need to determine the situationally-appropriate utterances: What can be said, to whom, where, when, and how. From the interlanguage pragmatic (ILP) perspective, the SA context is assumed to provide more opportunities to communicate with native speakers, and these opportunities are believed to lead to pragmatic gains (Kinginger, 2008, 2009).Guided by five research questions, this study investigated …
The Generalizability Of Two Rating Scales Of Executive Function Across Parent And Self-Reports In A School-Based Adolescent Sample, Leah Singh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study examined the reliability, validity, and generalizability of test scores obtained from parents and adolescents reports across two rating scales of executive function. Forty-two adolescents ages 12 to 17 enrolled in a rural public school and one of their parents participated in the study. For each adolescent-parent dyad, 2 total scores of executive function and 6 subscale scores hypothesized to measure the same theoretical constructs were calculated and scores were submitted to several Generalizability theory analyses to evaluate the instrument effect, rater effect, dimension effect, and all interactions on total scores and subscale scores. The resulting dependability coefficients were …
Considering Microbial Pesticides As A Disease Mitigation Strategy For The Amphibian Fungal Disease, Chytridiomycosis, Denita Mychele Weeks
Considering Microbial Pesticides As A Disease Mitigation Strategy For The Amphibian Fungal Disease, Chytridiomycosis, Denita Mychele Weeks
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious amphibian disease caused by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Bd attaches to keratin on the epidermis of amphibians, invades skin cells, and may lead to pathogenesis in susceptible individuals. However, susceptibility varies within and among species. While this is due to many factors, the skin microbial community is a significant contributor to disease resistance. Amphibians form symbiotic relationships with environmental microbes on the skin surface, some of which produce antifungal agents that inhibit Bd. Interestingly, many agricultural biopesticides utilize the common soil-dwelling bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis. Through agricultural use, these bacteria likely increase in environmental abundance …
Characteristics Of Smoking Oncology Patients In A Community Cancer Center: A Study Of Individual Differences, Amy Susan Farrell
Characteristics Of Smoking Oncology Patients In A Community Cancer Center: A Study Of Individual Differences, Amy Susan Farrell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Cigarette smoking can seriously impede cancer treatment and leads to poorer treatment response. Fortunately, even when patients have cancer, smoking cessation has significant benefits. However, there have not been many successful well-controlled studies assessing smoking cessation interventions in oncology settings. The present study aimed to expand upon the current literature by exploring sample characteristics and individual differences in this understudied population. Data were collected from 649 adult participants at a mid-South community-based cancer center. Three measures were developed and subjected to factor analysis to assess level of health literacy, perceived stigma, and oncology-related triggers in this sample. These variables were …
The Subjective Experience Of Stuttering, Christopher Constantino
The Subjective Experience Of Stuttering, Christopher Constantino
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this dissertation, I investigate the subjective experience of stuttering. I use two distinct methodologies to look at two different aspects of the stuttering experience. In the first paper, I use a post-structural qualitative research methodology to better understand the experience of passing as fluent. In the second paper, I use the experience sampling method to quantify the mental and physical effort, what I call spontaneity, of stuttered speech.When a person who stutters can hide their stuttering to the extent that others do not know they stutter, they are said to pass as fluent. In the first paper I seek …
Improvement Of Power Quality Of Hybrid Grid By Non-Linear Controlled Device Considering Time Delays And Cyber-Attacks, Sagnika Ghosh
Improvement Of Power Quality Of Hybrid Grid By Non-Linear Controlled Device Considering Time Delays And Cyber-Attacks, Sagnika Ghosh
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Power Quality is defined as the ability of electrical grid to supply a clean and stable power supply. Steady-state disturbances such as harmonics, faults, voltage sags and swells, etc., deteriorate the power quality of the grid. To ensure constant voltage and frequency to consumers, power quality should be improved and maintained at a desired level. Although several methods are available to improve the power quality in traditional power grids, significant challenges exist in modern power grids, such as non-linearity, time delay and cyber-attacks issues, which need to be considered and solved. This dissertation proposes novel control methods to address the …
Do Early Childhood Body Mass Index Trajectories Affect School Readiness, Socioemotional Development, Or Cognition? Findings From The Candle Study., Lauren Michelle Sims Taylor
Do Early Childhood Body Mass Index Trajectories Affect School Readiness, Socioemotional Development, Or Cognition? Findings From The Candle Study., Lauren Michelle Sims Taylor
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sims Taylor, Lauren M., PhD. The University of Memphis. December 2018. Early childhood weight status and its effects on socioemotional development, school readiness, and cognition.Major Professor: Vikki Nolan, DSc, MPHChildhood obesity is associated with negative health and social outcomes in school-age children. These effects range from absenteeism and poor self-esteem to worse test scores, and fewer completed grades. Although previous studies have found these associations in school-age children and adolescents, less is known about this association in young children, who are just beginning school. Additionally, many studies of the outcomes of obesity are limited by cross-sectional study designs. These projects …
On The Structure Of Dense Graphs, And Other Extremal Problems, Richard Snyder
On The Structure Of Dense Graphs, And Other Extremal Problems, Richard Snyder
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Extremal combinatorics is an area of mathematics populated by problems that are easy to state, yet often difficult to resolve. The typical question in this field is the following: What is the maximum or minimum size of a collection of finite objects (e.g., graphs, finite families of sets) subject to some set of constraints? Despite its apparent simplicity, this question has led to a rather rich body of work. This dissertation consists of several new results in this field.The first two chapters concern structural results for dense graphs, thus justifying the first part of my title. In the first chapter, …
Attaining Scientific Literacy Through A Rhetoric Of Science Composition Pedagogy, Stephen C. Smith
Attaining Scientific Literacy Through A Rhetoric Of Science Composition Pedagogy, Stephen C. Smith
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
For the past sixty years, acquiring scientific literacy has proven to be a daunting task in education, especially for undergraduate nonscience majors. Although some education scholars have recognized the importance and use of arguments to teach science, these pedagogical practices often are aimed at primary school children rather than college students or involve reporting science experiments rather than actually studying or constructing arguments about issues related to science.However, in this dissertation, I contend that educators often neglect a more available tool that not only examines arguments concerning scientific issues but also demonstrates the very heart of scientific literacy: critical thinking. …
A Framework For Analyzing Advanced Malware And Software, Kul Subedi
A Framework For Analyzing Advanced Malware And Software, Kul Subedi
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Vulnerabilities in software, whether they be malicious or benign are a major concern in every sector. My research broadly focused on security testing of software, including malware. For the last few years, ransomware attacks have become increasingly prevalent with the growth of cryptocurrencies.The first part of my research presents a strategy to recover from ransomware attacks by backing up critical information in slack space. In this work, I designed RDS3, a novel ransomware defense strategy, in which we stealthily back up data in the spare space of a computing device, such that the data encrypted by ransomware can be restored. …
Essays In Finance, Management, And Real Estate, Minxing Sun
Essays In Finance, Management, And Real Estate, Minxing Sun
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation presents three papers in three different areas: finance, management and real estate. The first essay investigates whether CEO gender influences the likelihood of dismissal. We theorize and find that, ceteris paribus, female CEOs are significantly more likely to be dismissed than male CEOs. Perhaps even more importantly, we find a CEO gender by firm performance interaction such that male CEOs are less likely to be dismissed when firm performance is high (compared to when it is low), whereas female CEOs have a similar level of dismissal likelihood regardless of firm performance. The second essay illustrates that managers strategically …
Invisible Labor: A Mixed-Method Study Of African American Women And Their Emotional Labor In The Academy, Danielle Buckingham
Invisible Labor: A Mixed-Method Study Of African American Women And Their Emotional Labor In The Academy, Danielle Buckingham
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this study, I examined how black women instructors and professors engage in emotional labor through performances in order to resist controlling images and stereotypes related to their race and gender. The goal was to add to the extensive literature on emotional labor and its impact on how women and people of color navigate white hegemonic institutions (Patton 2004; Harley 2007; Evans and Moore 2015). My hope is to contribute the perspectives and counter-narratives of African American women who are on the margins of race and gender. This can provide a more intersectional explanation for some of the social issues …
A Relational Study Of International General Certificate Of Secondary Education (Igcse) Scores To The American College Test (Act) Scores In A Mississippi Innovative High School, Dane Nicholas Aubé
A Relational Study Of International General Certificate Of Secondary Education (Igcse) Scores To The American College Test (Act) Scores In A Mississippi Innovative High School, Dane Nicholas Aubé
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Abstract: the purpose of the quantitative, correlational study of expo/facto data was to determine if a relationship exists between the Cambridge international general certificate of Secondary Education College and career readiness PUM scores and the corresponding act subsection scores of eleventh graders at a municipal pubic high school in a southern state. The degree of correlation between the two assessment results illustrated the effectiveness of the Cambridge curriculum in preparing students for the college and achievement on the act. The research is particularly important to Mississippi because Cambridge is a pilot program for the state. Performance data from Corinth school …
Building An Autonomous Indoor Drone System, Hunter Gossett
Building An Autonomous Indoor Drone System, Hunter Gossett
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis presents an indoor autonomous drone system using a self assembled drone which uses a companion computer as well as external sensors for autonomous flight. While autonomous drone systems have been around for some time, originating with the military, the vast majority of them are designed for outdoor use, because of their heavy reliance on GPS for their positioning systems. In order to achieve autonomous flight indoors we choose to use simultaneous localization and mapping (slam) as our positioning system. The contributions of this thesis is an in depth guide to the hardware and assembly of a drone system, …
The Influence Of Self-Prescribed Knee Bracing On Walking In Healthy Adults, Lauren Luginsland
The Influence Of Self-Prescribed Knee Bracing On Walking In Healthy Adults, Lauren Luginsland
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The knee is one of the most commonly loaded anatomical joints in the human body due to maintaining an upright posture. Increased joint loading can lead to various injuries which can either be treated surgically or non-surgically including immobilization by bracing. Numerous studies have looked at functional knee bracing post-operative surgery creating a gap within the literature analyzing non-operative functional knee braces within a healthy population. Commonly prescribed functional knee braces such as the Ossur Rebound® have been prescribed by physicians, but also available over-the-counter for self-prescription to assist with injury prevention, stabilization, and protection. Previous studies have looked at …
Topical Formulation For Stimulating Sweat Secretion As An Alternative To Iontophoresis, Tasnim Fatima
Topical Formulation For Stimulating Sweat Secretion As An Alternative To Iontophoresis, Tasnim Fatima
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Sweat test or pilocarpine iontophoresis test is the existing method for diagnosis of cystic fibrosis that is recommended to perform at 48 hours after birth. However, the current method is painful, with several side effects such as full thickness skin burn, skin rash, erythema etc. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a pilocarpine topical formulation which can stimulate sweat secretion when applied on skin without iontophoresis. Several formulations with Transcutol®, polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400), Polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG 200), menthol and salicylic acid (SA) each at varying concentrations were screened as penetration enhancers. In vitro penetration …
Synthesis And Characterization Of Redox-Sensitive Polymer And Prodrug For Targeted Drug Delivery, Chang-Hee Whang
Synthesis And Characterization Of Redox-Sensitive Polymer And Prodrug For Targeted Drug Delivery, Chang-Hee Whang
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Systemic administration of chemotherapeutics is associated with various side effects deriving from accumulation in off-target sites and acute toxicity of the drugs. In the past decade, engineering targeted drug delivery platforms arose as a novel paradigm to overcome such obstacles and ultimately achieve advanced forms of chemotherapy. This thesis reports successful syntheses of l-RSP, a redox-sensitive self-immolative polymer, and DNS-SN38, thiol-sensitive SN-38 prodrug, as potential candidates for targeted drug delivery platforms. By covalently conjugating a redox-trigger (p-nitrobenzyl alcohol) and self-immolative linker (p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol) to the cyclization spacer (n-2-(hydroxyethyl)ethylene diamine), a novel self-immolative monomer was obtained. Polymerization of the respective monomer …
The Blood Flow And Perceptual Response To Lower Body Resistance Training With And Without Blood Flow Restriction, Kevin Mattocks
The Blood Flow And Perceptual Response To Lower Body Resistance Training With And Without Blood Flow Restriction, Kevin Mattocks
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The muscular response to low-load resistance exercise in combination with blood flow restriction (BFR) is well studied but less was known about the cardiovascular response. It was also unknown what impact resistance exercise at 15% 1RM with or without BFR would have on the acute and chronic cardiovascular adaptations and how that compared to high load resistance exercise. Examining the perceptual responses across a training program is also important as this may dictate overall compliance to an exercise protocol. The purpose of this study was to determine the acute and chronic cardiovascular changes following very low-load (15% 1RM) resistance exercise …
I'M Gonna Stay Right Here Until They Tear This Barrelhouse Down: Black Power And The Origins Of Blues Tourism In Greenville, Mississippi, Tyler Dewayne Moore
I'M Gonna Stay Right Here Until They Tear This Barrelhouse Down: Black Power And The Origins Of Blues Tourism In Greenville, Mississippi, Tyler Dewayne Moore
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation connects and comments on the historiography of the black freedom struggle as well as studies of the blues and blues tourism. To blues studies, it recognizes the artists discovered by Worth Long as well as his field research and festival production in the 1970s. It moves away from the social constructions of authenticity and segregation of sound, and it emphasizes black agency. My dissertation also contributes to the historiography of the black freedom struggle by providing a much-needed examination of rural economic and community development in 1970s Mississippi. For studies of blues tourism, it announces a revisionist account …
Procedural Justice And Police Officers: The Forgotten Perspective, Kirby Laura Rhodes
Procedural Justice And Police Officers: The Forgotten Perspective, Kirby Laura Rhodes
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In recent years, there has been increased attention to questions about police legitimacy and the expectation of citizen compliance. Some scholars argue that procedurally just practices benefit police-citizen interactions (see Mazerolle et al., 2012, 2013). While there are many studies that focus on procedural justice and its effects on the civilian population, there is little research on police officers’ willingness to implement procedurally just practices. This study evaluates police officer perceptions of and willingness to engage in procedural justice using factor analytic techniques. There are four major findings: 1) Police officers are willing to engage in procedural justice, 2) police …
The Relationship Between Metacognitive Awareness Of Reading Strategies Use And 10th Grade Students' College And Career Readiness Achievement In English Language Arts, Davida Smith-Keita
The Relationship Between Metacognitive Awareness Of Reading Strategies Use And 10th Grade Students' College And Career Readiness Achievement In English Language Arts, Davida Smith-Keita
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study examined the relationship between 10th grade students’ metacognitive awareness of readings strategies use and their college and career readiness achievement in English language arts as a primary focus of research and, secondarily, the relationship between metacognitive awareness of reading strategies use and Lexile® growth as a measure of reading ability. The explanatory research design for this quantitative study included a statistical analysis of scores from the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) (Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002), existing college and career readiness achievement scores from the 2016-2017 Georgia Milestones 9th Grade Literature and Composition summative assessment, and existing …
Freedom At The Freak Show: Carnivalesque Imagery In The Fiction Of Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor And Katherine Anne Porter, Virginia Mccarley
Freedom At The Freak Show: Carnivalesque Imagery In The Fiction Of Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor And Katherine Anne Porter, Virginia Mccarley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the function of the circus and the sideshow in the work of Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, and Katherine Anne Porter, arguing that all of these authors employ Mikhail Bakhtin’s idea of the carnivalesque as a reaction to and against the expectations put on them as women who are pressured to conform to the Southern ideal. In the first chapter, I argue that Eudora Welty uses the carnivalesque to reveal the performativity of normalcy in both “Lily Daw and the Three Ladies” (1937) and “A Memory” (1937). These performances, in the first story particularly, offer a critique of …
A Novel Acetaminophen Soft-Chew Formulation Produced Via Hot Melt Extrusion With Inline Near-Infrared Monitoring As A Process Analytical Technology Tool, Pengchong Xu
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
People suffer dysphagia when swallowing hard tablets and capsules. Gelatin based soft chewable tablets was used as an alternative and novel drug delivery format to overcome dysphagia. But conventional method of producing gelatin based soft chewable tablets has many potential issues. The objective of this study is using glycerol and hot-melt extrusion technique to address potential issues and optimizing the formulation. Gelatin (15%), acetaminophen (30%), saccharin (1.5%), xylitol (6.5%), sodium chloride (2%) and six different ratios of water (45-0%) and glycerol (0-45%) were used in seven formulations. The extrusion process temperature of formulation 1-6 and formulation 7 were 90 ëšc …
A Critical Examination Of Understanding’S Characteristics: Why, In A Sense, Understanding Is Unique, Christopher Becker
A Critical Examination Of Understanding’S Characteristics: Why, In A Sense, Understanding Is Unique, Christopher Becker
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Is understanding a unique kind of epistemic state or simply another word for knowledge? Recently, there is a dispute in the literature between those, non-reductionists, who argue that we cannot reduce understanding to knowledge. Sliwa and Khalifa, two reductionists, on the other hand, argue that understanding is basically just another word for knowledge (if we are fairly comparing the two). After considering the dialectic between non-reductionists and reductionists, undogmatically, I argue that Sliwa's arguments in favor of reductionism fail. Sliwa's analytical argument in defense of reductionism is unsuccessful because a special kind of understanding, subjective understanding, can be independent of …
A Song Of Confusion And Annoyance: Kant On The Beauty Of Absolute Music, Ryan Walton Turner
A Song Of Confusion And Annoyance: Kant On The Beauty Of Absolute Music, Ryan Walton Turner
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Kant's evaluation of music in the Critique of Judgement stands as a blemish on an otherwise appealing system of judgments of beauty and of assigning aesthetic worth. In order to resolve this tension, I will present an argument in three parts. First, I will delve further into Kantian judgments of beauty to provide solid contextual grounds for why he draws his conclusions about music and will further elaborate on his various positions concerning music. Second, I will look at a few potential answers for the problem of music given by others in the philosophy of music and briefly evaluate their …
A Righteousness Housed In The Body: The Conception And Division Of Kings' Bodies In Early Medieval Northwestern Literature, Sharon Miller Wofford
A Righteousness Housed In The Body: The Conception And Division Of Kings' Bodies In Early Medieval Northwestern Literature, Sharon Miller Wofford
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines how the bodies of kings in medieval Irish, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse literature demonstrate sacral kingship, a theory which links the prosperity of a people to the strength of the king’s relationship with the divine. I argue that the practice of collecting the heads of English kings as relics, particularly the Northumbrian warrior-kings Edwin and Oswald, is due to an understanding of the king's bodies as a source of power and "luck." I put the dispersal of the heads of Kings Edwin and Oswald in conversation with the work of Andrew Reynolds on deviant burial customs in Anglo-Saxon …
The Role Of Brand Name Fluency: A Pharmaceutical Marketing Perspective, David Wamble
The Role Of Brand Name Fluency: A Pharmaceutical Marketing Perspective, David Wamble
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Background: consumers are exposed to thousands of advertisements, most all of which are designed to promote a particular brand and accompanying brand name. The selection of a brand name is a critical strategic decision and is an important means to building brand equity. The importance of branding elements, specifically brand names, has led pharmaceutical manufacturers to become more creative and open the possibilities of language in brand name development. Given the complexities associated with brand name development in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and the trends observed in recent pharmaceutical brand names, advancing the understanding of how brand name selection can …
The Effect Of Restaurant Menu Labeling On Attitudes Towards Menu Labeling And Eating Behaviors Of Ncaa Athletes, Recreational Athletes, And Non-Athletes’ In A University Setting, Virginia Mitchell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Intro College students eat the majority of their meals outside of the home, which likely means that college students are impacted by calories consumed in restaurants, including campus dining halls. The Affordable Care Act, while not fully operationalized, requires calorie content labels be included on menus and menu boards in restaurants so that consumers are aware of the calories of menu items selected. Therefore, it is important to explore college students, including athletes, attitudes and behaviors toward menu labeling in an on-campus dining facility setting. The objectives of this study were to determine NCAA athletes, recreational athletes, and non-athlete’s attitudes …
How Sweet It Is: Swamp Pop Soda And Modern Day Sugar, Rebecca Lauck Cleary
How Sweet It Is: Swamp Pop Soda And Modern Day Sugar, Rebecca Lauck Cleary
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This thesis accompanies a documentary film about Swamp Pop Premium Sugarcane Sodas, a Louisiana cane sugar beverage created by Collin Cormier and John Petersen, two cousins from Lafayette, Louisiana. The two recognized the long history of sugarcane farming in Louisiana, and were inspired to feature real cane sugar from their home state in their beverages. This paper begins with an overview of research about the historical aspect of sugarcane production and continues with contextualization of the interviews with co-founders Cormier and Petersen, as well as sugarcane farmer Jessie Breaux. The accompanying film contains interviews conducted in the summer and fall …
African American And First-Generation Students’ Perceptions Of And Experiences With An Academic Cohort, Kim Barnes
African American And First-Generation Students’ Perceptions Of And Experiences With An Academic Cohort, Kim Barnes
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Underrepresented student populations are faced with numerous barriers and are often overlooked on many college campuses. The aim of this research was to better understand academic cohorts and if they help reduce some of the barriers faced by African American and first-generation students which can ultimately affect retention and persistence to graduation. In order to gather this information, interviews and surveys were conducted with students once enrolled in the foundations for academic success track (Fastrack) program at the University of Mississippi. Results from the interviews and surveys indicate that while the Fastrack program seemed to support successful social transitions for …