Digital Commons Network^™

Belles Among The Bluffs : The Experiences Of Women During The Siege Of Vicksburg, Shannon Ewing Sexton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Throughout the retelling of the great battles and campaigns of the Civil War, there remains a voice that often goes unheard. It is the voice of those citizens who could not become political officials or military heroes but who often served their section of the country just as passionately and bravely. It is the women of the Civil War era who too often get lost amid the descriptions of battle scenes and war time politics. During the war, these women endured great loss and deprivation, which warrant their being described as "war heroes."

A Vegetation Analysis Of Plant Communities In And Around Selected Holding Ponds At Mcclintic Wildlife Management Area, Mason County, West Virginia, Russell Bowman Shrader

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study was conducted as an analysis of vegetation in and around four ponds at McClintic Wildlife Management Area (MWMA), located in Mason County, West Virginia. The MWMA is the former West Virginia Ordnance Works (WVOW), having served as a trinitrotoluene (TNT) manufacturing site from 1941-1946. Such history presents the area with unique conditions resulting in diverse types and amounts of plants, since any type of forest disturbance, regardless of cause, alters ecosystem functions. This project was originally designed as part of a groundwater pump-and-treat plan for MWMA, where potential impacts of groundwater removal to ponds and the associated plant …

Natural History Of The Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma Opacum (Gravenhorst), In West Virginia, With Special Notes On Reproduction And Larval Development, Jason J. Watkins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study observed a population of Ambystoma opacum in Kanawha State Forest, Kanawha County, five miles south of Charleston, West Virginia. Data were collected from September 1995 to November 1997. Reproductive biology and salamander development were examined. Predation of A. opacum and potential predators were also noted. Like other species in the genus Ambystoma, adult A. opacum are mostly fossorial and rarely seen above ground outside of the breeding season. During the breeding season, adults make their way to the breeding pools. Males ventured to the breeding pool first in early September and ranged in size from 49 to 75mm …

A Fisherman's Heritage, Matthew G. Cooke

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

I would not be a fisherman today, if it were not for my father. He taught me to fish, cast, tie a fisherman’s knot, identify one species of fish from another. He also taught me courage. Often when we fished from one of Kelley’s Island’s many limestone shores, Dad stopped casting and dropped to his knees beside a rock. With a quick hand, he snatched brown water snakes as long as his arm. Holding the writhing serpent in front of my face, he would order me to touch it.

When we were not fishing together, Dad let me wander off, …

Effects Of Perceived Verbal Aggressiveness And Proxemic Violations On Attributions Of Source Blameworthiness For Sexual Harassment, Evelyn René Davis

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

As society moves into the 21st century, sexual harassment remains a major problem in organizations (Buttny, 1993; Cockburn, 1991; Kreps, 1993; Langelan, 1993; Simons & Weissman, 1990; Taylor & Daly, 1995; Wolfson,1997). The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, made it illegal to discriminate against employees regarding race, color, religion, national origin, and sex, but at that point in time, the phrase "sexual harassment” had no meaning. Although women were aware of their daily struggles with gender discrimination in the workplace, no one had coined the phrase, and this pervasive problem was not yet an established part of the …

The Cardiovascular And Metabolic Adaptations To Iso-Caloric Moderate Intensity And High Intensity Exercise, Summerson Desmond

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the industrialized nations, and accounts for 1 million deaths in the United States each year (McArdle, Katch & Katch, 1991). One of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease is physical inactivity, which is a behavioral modified risk factor. Physical inactivity plagues 59% of the people in the United States (ACSM Resource Manual, 1998). Physical inactivity often leads to obesity, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholemia, and places sedentary individuals at more risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), or coronary heart disease (CHD). The question which remains unclear is the quantity and quality of …

Fabrication Of Protein Arrays Using Electron Beam Lithography, Duy-Bao Phan Dinh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Very few electron beam based methods for producing high-resolution patterns of surface bound proteins on glass have been developed.

There are only two types of end groups at the surface of glass, they are silanol and siloxane groups. An estersil layer can be formed on the surface of glass by treatment with hot alcohol creating a hydrophobic layer. The reaction is depicted as follows.

-Si-OH + HOR -SiO-R +H2O R = alkyl chain

The proposal that protein arrays could be fabricated by patterned electron bombardment using estersils as a negative resist was tested in this research. The hydrophobic estersil layer …

The Acquisition And Quantitative Analysis Of Digitally Generated Fourier Transforms Resulting From The Physiognomy Of Various Tree And Shrub Species, Alicia Eldridge-Spears

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

An optical Fourier transform represents the interference of wavefronts produced as light passes through multiple slits. Theoretically, any image containing periodic structure causes diffraction. The cellular arrangement of a plant leaf and the regularity in venation are ideal conditions for diffracting light. As light passes through columns of cells, its path is altered according to the distance and orientation present.

A photograph or slide of a leaf or the leaf itself may be used to produce a diffraction pattern by either optical or digital means. Optically, a laser beam directed through a slide is refracted by a converging lens and …

The Effects Of Color Contrast On Performance Of The Wais-R Digit Symbol Subtest, Wendell S. Francke

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Color contrast has been shown to aid in visual search tasks using electronic displays, while the research regarding the usefulness of color contrast in aiding visual search using a paper medium is mixed. The present study questions whether subjects’ performance will improve on a paper task where the search target is in high color contrast when compared with a task where the target color does not differ from the rest of the search field.

Thirty-nine adults with normal vision were administered two forms of the WAIS-R digit symbol subtest, one with low chromatic contrast and one with high chromatic contrast, …

The Relationship Between Ohio River Bass Tournament Success Rates, Forage Fish Abundance And Environmental Conditions, Jeffrey V. Ginger

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Due to increasing pressure from Ohio River bass anglers with regard to decreasing catch rates in 1981,1990, and 1997, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) initiated a study of black bass populations. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), in conjunction with state and Federal agencies, has collected population data on Ohio River fishes at lock chambers and has measured various water quality parameters since 1957. That data coupled with Ohio River bass tournament data collected by the DNR since 1975 and other fishery data sets provided a historic look into the variability of angler success. These …

Benthic Biodiversity And Physico-Chemical Parameters Of Acid Mine Drainage, Acid Impacted And Nonimpacted Streams, Stephen D. Greene

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

South Fork of Sand Lick Creek, Logan County, West Virginia, drains an abandoned coal strip mine which had exploited Pottsville series coalbeds (Pennsylvania strata). These strata outcrop throughout southwestern West Virginia. North Fork watershed is relatively unchanged, save a small roadcut throughout. South Fork benthic community had not recovered although mining activity had ceased about 20 years earlier. Benthic communities were analyzed with detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Family Chironomidae predominated South Fork benthic community throughout the study. North Fork’s benthic community had as major contributors acid resistant caddisfly family Hydropsychidae, mayfly family Baetidae, and stonefly families Perlodidae and Nemouridae. Family …

A New Model For Predicting Probabilities Of Viable Pregnancy And Multiple Gestations For I̲N̲ V̲I̲T̲R̲O̲ Fertilization, Ray Vernon Haning Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In vitro fertilization (IVF) can be viewed as high stakes gambling with more than one winning outcome and more than one outcome leading to failure. Knowing the odds of successful outcomes, the odds of outcomes leading to failure, and the various costs is a tremendous asset in any form of gambling. Four important variables have been reported to affect pregnancy rates in IVF programs: age of patient, number of unsuccessful prior attempts, embryo morphology, and number of embryos transferred.

While it is desirable to optimize pregnancy rates, such optimization may often result in a high incidence of multiple gestation. Data …

A Cross-Validation Of The Marshall University Step Test On College Males And Females Age 18-24, Mary Robin Hampton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Positive health entails more than the absence of disease; it is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being (Hartung, Krock, Crandall, Bisson, & Myhre, 1993; Payne & Hahn, 1995). Physical fitness, as described by Francis (1987), is the potential for making adequate functional adjustments to increased metabolic demands. Cardiorespiratory fitness (aerobic fitness) is believed to be the single best indicator of physical fitness (Astrand & Rodale, 1985). The standard index of cardiorespiratory fitness is maximum oxygen uptake (VO^^), or the maximum rate at which oxygen can be consumed. VO2max is dependent upon the cardiovascular system’s ability to deliver blood …

Treatment For The Homeless Mentally Ill, Joyel Harless

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The effect of treatment on the homeless mentally ill was explored. Seventeen homeless individuals were screened with questionnaires to determine anxiety and depression (Krug, Laughlin, Scheiner, & Catell, 1976). One group included diagnosed mentally ill subjects, the other were non-diagnosed individuals. Both groups were tested upon admittance to either a treatment facility for homeless mentally ill persons or a community homeless shelter, respectively. They were again screened prior to discharge of either facility. Statistically, a rather significant difference was noted in the decrease of the diagnosed group’s anxiety level upon discharge. A similar, but less significant, statistical difference was also …

London's Air Defense During The First World War: The Scene From The Ground, Dale Edward Hatfield

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

As a result of the first flight across the English Channel in 1909, England faced a new threat to its national security. Despite this early warning she was quite unprepared to face the challenge presented by the German air services during the First World War. England’s air defense consisted of anti-aircraft guns on the ground and planes in the skies. Both of these methods of are defense, however, were lacking in quantity and quality during the early years of the war.

This thesis will trace the evolution of England’s air defense on the ground from the prewar years to the …

Ordinary Children Extraordinary Legacies: Childhood During The American Civil War, Deborah S. Holder

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

War heroes do not have to wear uniforms, display meritorious medals for bravery and sacrifice, or voluntarily fight for their country in military regiments. The real heroes are all people touched by conflict. The strategy of war positions the powerful against the powerless, thereby creating an absurd imbalance within society. Hence, ordinary citizens become heroes not by decision but by circumstance; had they a choice, they most certainly would not choose to participate in war. Joseph Heller once said about his war novel: "Catch-22 says that people in power have a right to do to us anything we can't stop …

Perception Of Marital Satisfaction And Adjustment Between Males And Females In Rural Appalachia, Gina Ingram

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

With the divorce rates having doubled since 1960, numerous researchers have attempted to identify some of the relevant factors associated with successful marriages. This research attempted to identify those factors associated with marital satisfaction and adjustment among Appalachian males and females. Subjects were selected from southern West Virginia. Marital satisfaction and adjustment were evaluated using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). The DAS consisted of four subscales: Consensus, Cohension, Affectional Expression, and Satisfaction. The data were analyzed using Pearson Coefficient Product Correlation and t-tests. There were no significant differences among the descriptive variables and the subscale variables were identified. There was …

Ecology And Population Demography Of The Hellbender, Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis, In West Virginia, W. Jeffrey Humphries

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Using mark-recapture, I studied the population demography and habitat use of the hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, in the West Fork of the Greenbrier River, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Eighteen nocturnal surveys were conducted between April and October, 1998, during which 29 hellbenders were implanted with permanent tags. Male to female sex ratio was 1.06:1. Hellbenders were sexually dimorphic, as females were significantly longer and heavier than males. Total lengths for all captured animals ranged from 29.5 - 56.5 cm and mass ranged from 150.0 - 905.8 g. Seasonal linear movements for 12 individuals ranged from 0.8 - 70.2 m (mean …

Comparing Aggression Between Young-Adult And General Admission Patients In A State-Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital, Jill Kridle

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Because of the inherent danger surrounding violence, aggression studies are particularly important for those working in a health care setting. A constant variable in aggression studies that poses many risk factors is age. This study examined characteristics of aggressors contained on state psychiatric hospital, located in West Virginia. Included on the unit was the neo-adult program and some general admission patients. The study evaluated all aggressors on the unit between September 1997 and August 1998. Comparisons were made to distinguish any possible differences or similarities between the two groups. The results indicated some differences relating to age of aggressor. Young-adult …

The Sedes Sapientiae: Orthodox Sculptural Images Of The Virgin Mary Derived From The Ancient Mother-Goddess Tradition, Carol King

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Virgin Mary is rarely mentioned in the Bible yet legends about her abound throughout the centuries. Worship of the Virgin is recorded as early as the 3rd century, and soon thereafter visual representations emerged to serve as devotional objects for her patrons. Mary’s popularity among the people left the Church with a fundamental problem: they must either sanction her worship and bring the pagans into their fold; or they must diminish her role in salvation, totally rid Christianity of the female divine, and risk losing converts to older-world traditions. This dilemma was settled at the Council of Ephesus in …

Food Habits Of Salmo Trutta And Salvelinus Fontinalis (Pisces: Salmonidae) In Relation To Seasonal Changes And Mitigative Liming Effects In Dogway Fork Of The Cranberry River, West Virginia., Jason A. Morgan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Dogway Fork, a tributary of the Cranberry River in West Virginia, is acidic due to acid precipitation and poorly buffered soils. This study is part of a long-term investigation involving the effects of continuous limestone neutralization on the fishes and benthos of an acid stream. Prior to treatment in 1988, the stream had a pH of 4.5 and there were no fish present. Since treatment began, the pH of the stream has risen to 6.8. Nine species of fish have been collected and six species have reproduced following the improvement in water quality. Densities of specific acid-sensitive benthic macroinvertebrates have …

Does The Intermediate Booklet Category Test Detect Neurological Deficits In Adhd Children?, Mindy B. Layne

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capability of the Intermediate Booklet Category Test (EBCT) detecting neurological deficits among ADHD children. The study included thirty children between the ages of 9 and 14 years with at least an Average IQ. Fifteen of the children were previously diagnosed with ADHD and the other fifteen children did not have any ADHD diagnosis.

Clarification Of The Hybrid Origin Of Carex X Deamii Herm. (Cyperaceae) Based On Macro And Micro Morphological Characters, Paul B. Marcum

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The origin of Carex x deamii Herm. has been in question ever since it was named to science in 1938. Collections of the hybrid have always been associated with C. shortiana Dewey and either C. typhina Michx. or C. squarrosa L.. C. typhina and C. squarrosa are closely related taxa (Section Squarrosae) and often are morphologically similar. Because of this similarity, determining the correct parental species to the hybrid has been extremely difficult. It is known that the hybrid is sterile and only reproduces asexually. Pollen was analyzed to ascertain the viability of all four taxa. This study utilizes both …

An Analysis Of The Training Methods Utilized In Business And Industrial Organizations By West Virginia Training Professionals, Kelli R. Mayes

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The question of which method of instruction is most appropriate for delivering instruction in training and development venues is very important for today's human resource personnel. As more and more business and industrial organizations downsize, reorganize, or even expand, the need arises for new training or retraining of adult workers. This training of employees is crucial in order for the employees to efficiently perform their current jobs or future positions in the workplace.

As technology advances and job requirements change, what types of training methods are business and industrial organizations implementing in order to achieve maximum benefits from employee training? …

The Effect Of Music On Visuospatial Memory, James L. Mccracken

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Music was utilized in an attempt to enhance visuospatial memory. Twenty-eight individuals, who attended a United Methodist Church in southern West Virginia, were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. The experimental group was exposed to new age and classical compositions, counterbalanced for order effects. The new age and classical selections were of similar tempo and complexity. The control group received two relaxation periods, of a comparable length to the music presented to the experimental group. The 7/24 Spatial Recall Test was used to measure visuospatial memory. The measure was administered to each participant immediately after exposure to the music …

Preparation Of N-(Haloaryl) Succinimides, Okey Noe Ii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

N-(3,5-Dichloro-4-fluorophenyl)succinimide (NDCFPS) and N-(3,5-dichloro-4- pyridyl)succinimide (NDPyS) were synthesized using procedures employed previously for N-(3,5-dichIorophenyl)succinimide (NDPS). However, NDPyS was not formed cleanly: extraction from by-products was necessary and purification by column chromatograpy was required. Several potential alternative routes to NDPyS were investigated without success.

Both compounds were administered to male Fischer 344 rats to assess nephrotoxic potential. NDCFPS, contrary to expectations, was non-nephrotoxic. Preliminary results indicate that NDPyS is also non-nephrotoxic.

To Educate The Heathen: A Comparison Of The Treatment Of The Native Peoples Of The United States, Australia, Canada And New Zealand, Howard R. Nolen

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis focuses on the treatment of Native Americans in the United States, with comparisons being made with the treatment of the native peoples of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The treatment of these four countries will not be equal in each chapter due in part to the resources available and because this work's core focus is on the United States. The period covered in the United States begins with white, or European colonization and continues until the period of Franklin Roosevelt's administration. I use the period of colonization as my starting point for each country because the colonization of …

Using Selective Mmpl-2 Clinical Scales To Predict The Severity Of Prison Infractions For First Degree Murderers In A Maximum Security Prison, Margarita Lynn Pauley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The MMPI-2 was administered to 56 adult male offenders in a maximum-security prison serving a life sentence for first degree murder. This study evaluated the predictive ability of the MMPI-2 scales 4, 6 and 9 to distinguish among groups of inmates with high and low infraction rates. Results indicated that as the weighted infraction rate (WRI) increased above 9, the T score on scale 4 sharply decreased at the same rate of the increase for 0-9 WRI. Results also supported a relationship where as the T score on scale 9 increased the WIR also increased. Inmates who refused to comply …

The Bank Of Gallipolis: Its Place In National Banking History, William E. Plants

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In his 1842 report concerning the failure of the Bank of Gallipolis, Ohio Bank Commissioner Bela Latham blamed its demise on “overissue” stemming from an 1839 Board of Directors’ resolution giving carte blanche powers to M.B. Sherwood in consultation with E.E. Smith and A.H. Scoville.1 By passing the resolution, the Directors inadvertently opened the door to fiscal folly. In some respect, the Bank of Gallipolis was doomed to fail even before it began operations in August 1839.

The failure of the Bank of Gallipolis holds more significance than that of the greatest monetary loss to befall the citizens of Ohio …

Linguistic Communication Skills In Rural Appalachian Preschoolers, Brenda Pinkerman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The impact of risk and protective factors on rural Appalachian preschoolers’ (4-years-old) language skills was explored in a longitudinal study of 85 high socioeconomic risk families. Factors examined were family demographics and social support status, mother-child attachment relationships, maternal personality and attitudes, mother interactional behaviors, and infant and child temperament and behaviors. Child language outcome measures included the Preschool Language Scale-3 and pragmatic analyses of spontaneous speech. Data indicated that this population had significantly less developed linguistic skills than other comparison groups, both standardized and low socioeconomic (SES) risk. Differences in language skills for this sample can be predicted from …