Digital Commons Network^™

Analysis Of A Database Insider Threat Model, Andrea Samuel

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

According to Silicon.com's CIO Insight - Beware the Insider Security Threat, insiders are bigger threats to corporate security than external threats such as denial of service attacks or malware. Statistics show that 70% of fraud is perpetrated by staff and that the main data security threat comes from poorly trained or disgruntled employees who are authorized to have access to data and file stores [4]. This research project focuses specifically on the problem of insider threat in relational database systems. The project involves simulating research conducted in Qussai Yaseen and Brajendra Panda's research paper, Predicting and Preventing Insider Threat in …

An Evaluation Study: Does The Workforce Investment Act Impact Secondary Student Retention In Selected Mississippi Delta Communities?, Tyrone Price Dooley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used a quasi-experimental cross-sectional quantitative model to evaluate the Youth Development Program, a component of the federal Workforce Investment Program. This evaluation study determines whether participation in the Youth Development Program reduced dropout rates among youth in secondary schools in seven school districts in the southeast Arkansas Delta. The impact of the Youth Development Program was examined in the following school districts: Dollarway, Pine Bluff, Watson Chapel, White Hall, Stuttgart, Dewitt, and Star City. The cross-sectional analysis covered the 2006 through 2008 program years. The evaluation model consisted of a comparison group that included 437 youth randomly drawn …

Holomorphic Hardy Space Representations For Convex Domains In Cn, Jennifer West Paulk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis deals with Hardy Spaces of holomorphic functions for a domain in several complex variables, that is, when the complex dimension is greater than or equal to two. The results we obtain are analogous to well known theorems in one complex variable. The domains we are concerned with are strongly convex with real boundary of class C^2. We obtain integral representations utilizing the Leray kernel for Hardy space (p=1) functions on such domains D. Next we define an operator to prove the non-tangential limits of a function in Hardy space (p between 1 and infinity, inclusive) of domain D …

Applications Of Site-Specific Recombination Systems In Transgene Expression And Marker Gene Removal, Mehmet Aydin Akbudak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Site Specific Recombination systems, such as FLP-FRT and Cre-lox, have been successfully used for site-specific gene integration and marker-gene deletion in plant systems. They are very useful tools in the integration of single-copy full-length transgene cassettes into the genome because the transgene integration via conventional methods often generate multi-copy locus. Such complex locus containing direct and inverted repeats of full-length and truncated copies of the transgene cassette generate aberrant RNA resulting in gene silencing. Therefore, for stable gene expression, a single copy transgene locus is preferred. However, even single copy locus sometimes succumbs to gene silencing. Although the mechanism is …

Multi-Threshold Cmos Circuit Design Methodology From 2d To 3d, Ross Josiah Thian

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A new and exciting approach in digital IC design in order to accommodate the Moore's law is 3D chip stacking. Chip stacking offers more transistors per chip, reduced wire lengths, and increased memory access bandwidths. This thesis demonstrates that traditional 2D design flow can be adapted for 3D chip stacking. 3D chip stacking has a serious drawback: heat generation. Die-on-die architecture reduces exposed surface area for heat dissipation. In order to reduce heat generation, a low power technique named Multi-Threshold CMOS (MTCMOS) was incorporated in this work. MTCMOS required designing a power management unit (to control when and which gates …

Intraspecific Variation In Two Cosmopolitan Myxomycetes, Didymium Squamulosum And Didymium Difforme (Physarales: Didymiaceae), Katherine Elizabeth Winsett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds or myxogastrids) are one of three groups considered to be true slime molds (class Eumycetozoa sensu Olive 1975). Two vegetative states--amoebae and plasmodia--along with a spore-producing fruiting body characterize the life cycle of the myxomycetes. These organisms are associated with decaying plant material and are found in all terrestrial habitats worldwide. A number of species are considered cosmopolitan, being found worldwide, where they are associated with a diversity of microhabitats and substrates. A review of the literature, including molecular investigations in all three groups of slime molds, is presented, and this is followed by four …

The Effects Of Roof Solar Absorptance On Building Energy Performance In A Variety Of U.S. Climate Zones, Zachary Eubanks

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The solar absorptance of a roof surface directly affects the solar heat gain through the roof. It has been shown that buildings in hot climates benefit from roofs with low absorptance. Cold and moderate climates have received less attention in previous studies. This paper simulates the effects on annual energy use, carbon dioxide emission, and utility cost of varying the solar absorptance of warehouse and small office building roofs in a wide variety of U.S. climate zones using EnergyPlus software and the DOE Commercial Building Benchmark Models. Results show that the optimum absorptance not only depends on the climate zone, …

Recommendations For The Chamlidere Petrified Forest Management Plan, Fatma Ertem

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Anything inherited from our ancestors or from nature can be considered as our heritage. Heritage can be classified as cultural and natural heritage. Turkey has been the cradle of many civilizations, religions, and ethnic groups because of the unprecedented natural heritage and critical geopolitical location of Anatolia. Given all the treasure of cultural and natural heritage in Turkey, heritage management practices have not been emphasized as they deserve. A petrified forest was found in Chamlidere, Ankara (Turkey) in 2004. Chamlidere petrified forest preserves information related to the biodiversity of forests in the Galatian Volcanic Province during the Early-Middle Miocene. When …

Pharmacokinetic Evaluation Of The Blood: Tissue Relationship In Poultry: Screening For Antibiotic Residues In Chicken Muscle, Ixchel Reyes Herrera

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During their life, humans are exposed to numerous substances that are naturally present in the environment or that are the result of man made processes, including heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, pesticides and veterinary drugs. Some of these substances can leave residues in food products and possibly expose consumers to their potential toxic effects. To address these problems extensive regulatory efforts are devoted to prevent, detect and control these substances from reaching the food supply. However, given the vast diversity of food products that requires monitoring and the immense diversity of potential chemical contaminants, the need for an efficient and …

Campus Recreation Program Involvement, Athletic Identity, Transitional Loss And Life Satisfaction In Former High School Athletes, Katie E. Helms

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sports participation can result in strong associations with the athlete role for participants. While strong athletic identity can have positive implications, it can also create vulnerability to emotional difficulty following exit from sport (Brewer, 1993). Exit from sport is inevitable, resulting from a wide range of sources such as injury, aging, de-selection, or not qualifying to participate at a certain skill level. Despite a large proportion of high school students who play sports, there is little opportunity for continuation at the college level. This discrepancy often results in significant transitional loss resulting from exhausted athletic eligibility. The current study examines …

Climbing The Ladder: The Experiences Of Women Senior Leaders In Southern Baptist Colleges And Universities, Allison Barritt Langford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this interview study was to explore the career pathways, barriers, and keys to success experienced by women senior administrators in Southern Baptist colleges and universities. The researcher conducted an interview study with both open-ended and closed survey questions. The interviews primarily involved open-ended questions without response options and were conducted via the telephone. The researcher targeted the population of 42 women senior-level administrators. From this population, 20 women participated in the study. The researcher interviewed the 20 participants and collected a vita for 16 of the 20 women in the sample. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Member …

Violence, Symbols, And The Archaeological Record: A Case Study Of Cahokia's Mound 72, Kathryn Koziol

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Acts of violence are not always easily distinguished in their form. Given the additional difficulties caused by the obscure nature of the archaeological record, it is no wonder that interpretations of these behaviors are so skewed both between and within fields of research. There is little consistency in this academic dialogue, which prevents researchers from grappling with the larger perspectives that should be approached. For instance, just how far back in our human history have events such as genocide occurred? Are these modern in origin? The scale of ancient events and our anthropological scopes need more adjustment to the unique …

A Review Of The Benefits And Applications Of The Thorium Fuel Cycle, Vincent Hall

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper aims to inform the reader of the benefits that can be achieved by using thorium as a fuel for nuclear power. Stages of the thorium cycle are directly compared against the current uranium based nuclear fuel cycle. These include mining, milling, fuel fabrication, use of various reactor designs, reprocessing, and disposal. Thorium power promises several key advantages over traditional nuclear power methods, namely a dramatic decrease in long lived radioactive waste, increased fuel efficiency, greater chemical stability during disposal, and higher adaptability for differing reactor designs across a wider range of the thermal neutron spectrum. Obstacles that face …

Efficient Separation And Sensitive Detection Of Listeria Monocytogenes Using Magnetic Nanoparticles, Microfluidics And Interdigitated Microelectrode Based Impedance Immunosensor, Damira Ashimkhanovna Kanayeva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes continues to be a major foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning and sometimes death in immunosuppressed people and abortion in pregnant women. Nanoparticles have recently drawn attentions for use in immunomagnetic separation techniques due to their greater surface area/volume ratio and better stability against sedimentation in the absence of a magnetic field. Interdigitated microelectrodes and microfluidics make material transfer more efficient and biological/chemical interaction between the surface and solution phase much quicker. Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) with a 30 nm diameter were functionalized with rabbit anti-L. monocytogenes antibodies via biotin-streptavidin bonds and then amalgamated with target bacterial cells …

Tryptophan Anchored Peptides In Lipid Bilayer Membranes: Control Of Peptide Orientation And The Phase Behavior Of Cholesterol-Containing Ternary Lipid Mixtures, Johanna Maria Rankenberg

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Model WALP peptides and "next generation" WALP-derived hydrophobic model peptides were employed to discover principles that govern protein-lipid interactions in biological membranes.

Ternary cholesterol-containing lipid mixtures were examined in the presence of WALP peptides of different lengths (acetyl-GWW(LA)_nLWWA-ethanolamide, with n between 3 and 8). Deuterium NMR spectra from labeled lipids reveal that WALP peptides may stabilize lipid ordered "raft" domains and therefore promote lipid phase separation, albeit to a minor extent. The results depend upon whether dioleolyl- or diphytanoyl-phosphatidylcholine is present as the fluid lipid component.

Several WALP peptides were modified to remove anchoring Trp residues from one …

A Methodology For Implementing Rf Bists In Production Testing To Replace Rf Conventional Tests, Deepa Mannath

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Production testing of Radio Frequency (RF) devices is challenging due to the complex nature of the tests that have to be performed to verify functionality. In this dissertation a methodology to replace the complex and expensive RF functional tests with defect-oriented Built-in Self Tests (BiSTs) is detailed. If a design has sufficient margin to RF specifications then RF tests can be replaced with structural tests using a new data analysis technique called quadrant analysis, which is presented. Data from the analysis of over one million production units of said System on Chip (SoC) is presented along with the results of …

Analysis Of The Response Of Medicago Truncatula Calcium Oxalate Mutants To Abiotic Stress, Wayra Gabriela Navia-Gine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Calcium oxalate crystals are found in most plant species. In Medicago truncatula wild-type A17, crystals accumulate in leaves along the secondary veins and the only role attributed to them so far is defense against chewing insects. Calcium oxalate deficient (cod) mutants were isolated in M. truncatula; the cod mutants include cod5, which completely lack crystals in the leaves and cod6 that accumulates fewer and smaller crystals compared to A17. We analyzed gene expression in the cod mutants and A17 using GeneChip® Medicago Genome Arrays and found important differences in transcriptome between the three genotypes. In particular, we found a gene …

Characterization Of Neuronal Groups Regulating Sexual And Agonistic Behavior In Male Chicken (Gallus Gallus), Jingjing Xie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The study aimed to understand the neuronal regulation of male sexual and agonistic behavior in broiler breeders. First, brain structures associated with sexual and agonistic behavior were identified by mapping Fos expression. The ventromedial subnucleus of medial portion of bed nucleus of the stria teriminalis (BSTM2) was specifically activated by male courtship behavior. The medial preoptic nucleus (POM) and lateral septum (SL) were associated with both sexual and agonistic behaviors. The bed nucleus of the pallial commissure (NCPa) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) were closely related to stress. Second, Fos-ir neurons were phenotyped by double labeling Fos with aromatase (ARO) …

Factors That Influence The Adoption Of Agricultural Conservation Programs In Northwest Arkansas, Edison Anthony Froelich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A survey was developed and administered to agricultural producers in Northwest Arkansas in order to better understand producer awareness of, application for and participation in six federal and state conservation programs available in Arkansas: the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, the Arkansas Revolving Loan Program, the Arkansas Nonpoint Pollution Management Program , the Arkansas Soil Nutrient and Poultry Litter Application and Management Program, and the Surplus Poultry Litter Removal Incentives Cost Share Program. Survey results found that less than half of the sample was aware of any one of the programs. A logit model was developed …

Redox-Magnetohydrodynamic (Mhd) Microfluidics: Fundamentals, Optimization, And Applications To Analytical Chemistry, Melissa Christine Weston

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microfluidic systems are of great interest in analytical chemistry for the development of lab-on-a-chip devices. This dissertation describes fundamental investigations of magnetohydrodynamics with added redox species (redox-MHD) as a new microfluidic approach for use in analytical applications. Redox-MHD is attractive because it offers a unique combination of desirable features that are otherwise only available separately with individual micropumps. Redox-MHD is compatible with aqueous and nonaqueous solutions, does not require moving parts, easily reverses flow direction, and requires only low voltages. An ion flux is generated from the oxidation or reduction of an electroactive species at specific locations by activated electrodes …

Two Essays On The Accounting Treatment For Information Technology Expenditures, Kimberly Swanson Church

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current accounting measurement and reporting system is ill-equipped to provide intangible investment information that is decision useful for stakeholders in the information economy. Potentially relevant intangible items are not reported on the balance sheet, since current standards mandate the immediate expensing of these intangible items. Presumably FASB's uncertainty with the fundamental issues of extent and timing of future benefits to the firm has led to concerns with relevance, reliability, and objectivity of capitalizing some intangibles, which results in potential long term value generating expenditures being immediately expensed on the income statement. Prior research has demonstrated extent and timing of …

Linkage Of Asteroids And Meteorites By The Study Of Terrestrial Analogs, Daniel Robert Ostrowski

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Asteroids are one group of the bodies that can provide insights into the origin and early history of the solar system. Asteroids are considered to be fairly pristine, with alterations only occurring to their surface from the space environment. Studying them provides opportunities to learn about the primordial solar system, its materials, and processes and how it evolved into the current condition. Many asteroids have been discovered, but few have their surface compositions determined. The C and X complexes provide a difficulty in determination because their near infrared spectrum is featureless.

The C asteroids have been long associated with the …

Factors Affecting The Institutional Perception Of Alumni Of The University Of Arkansas, Anthony Mcadoo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alumni relations programs are a foundational component to institutional advancement and are often the unit that regularly communicates news and information about the institution to its alumni. Alumni relations professionals can strategically position a higher education institution among its alumni by including and emphasizing information that is found to have a positive impact on the opinion of alumni. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the factors that impact alumni opinion of the University of Arkansas, loyalty to components of the University and overall current opinion. This study utilized secondary data from the Alumni Attitude Study® …

Relationships Among Person And Environment Variables And Turnover Intention In Adults With Multiple Sclerosis, Wanda Shull

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The organization and management literature presents a large base of research on the concept of turnover intention, i.e. the point at which a person decides to leave employment. What is known is that turnover intention is the precursor to employee turnover, yet very little research exists in the rehabilitation field to address this concept in terms of persons with chronic illness and disability. This study examines this variable in the population of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Employing multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to analyze three blocks of variables and their impact on turnover intention, the results show that groups …

Electrospun Scaffolds For Directed Pancreatic Differentiation Of Human Ips Cells, Karl Sonntag

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this work, an electrospinning device for fabricating three-dimensional scaffolds was constructed. The device can be used to produce tissue engineered scaffolds electrospun for directing the differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells into glucose-responsive, insulin-secreting cells for diabetes treatment. Electrospinning utilizes high electrical charge to generate nanofibers from polymers dissolved in solution. A standard setup for such a device includes a high-voltage power source, a syringe pump, and a grounded collector. The process works by dissolving the polymer in a volatile solvent, and filling a syringe with the polymer/solvent mixture. Next, the syringe is locked into place in …

Generational Affiliation As A Component Of Culture: Focus Group Perspectives Of Three Generational Cohorts, Elisabeth Anne Nesbit

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the multicultural elements related to generational affiliation. Much of current generational literature is anecdotal and does not empirically explore the culture of each generation. A constructivist ground theory approach was applied to the study of three generational cohorts (Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials) using focus groups to (a) explore the values, beliefs, and worldview inherent to each generation, and (b) extend theory on multiculturalism Data from nine focus groups, three for each generational cohort, were analyzed for key themes within each generational cohort. Results indicated that, in keeping with the American …

Biogeography And Microhabitat Distribution Of Myxomycetes In High-Elevation Areas Of The Neotropics, Carlos Alonso Rojas-Alvarado

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Myxomycetes are a group of amoeboid organisms with the capacity of forming fruiting bodies that resemble some macrofungi. The ecology and global distribution of species within the group have been studied only during the last half century. For this reason, a number of questions regarding the nature of the interactions that exist between myxomycetes and their environment still lack the empirical evidence required to obtain complete answers. In the Neotropical region, species assemblages have been moderately well studied, but their biogeography and macroecology have received little attention. In high-elevation areas of this region, the situation is especially precarious, due the …

The Relationship Among Beginning And Advanced American Sign Language Students And Credentialed Interpreters Across Two Domains Of Visual Imagery: Vividness And Manipulation, Linda Stauffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the visual-gestural nature of ASL it is reasonable to assume that visualization abilities may be one predictor of aptitude for learning ASL. This study tested a hypothesis that visualization abilities are a foundational aptitude for learning a signed language and that measurements of these skills will increase as students progress from beginning ASL students to advanced language learners and, ultimately to credentialed interpreters. Participants in this study consisted of 90 beginning and 66 advanced ASL students in five interpreter education programs in four southern states along with 68 credentialed interpreters. Students and interpreters were administered the Vividness of Visual …