Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Transformational, Transactional And Laissez-Faire Leadership Styles Between Professional And Student Leaders In Collegiate Outdoor Programs, Bradley D. Beggs

Masters Theses

This thesis is a quantitative research project that investigates the leadership styles of collegiate outdoor program leaders. The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge of the leadership style(s) of collegiate outdoor program leaders, particularly between student and professional leaders. A purposive sampling method was used to select outdoor programs as well as to solicit participation using an email listserv maintained by the Association for Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE). A total of n=113 leaders responded., resulting in 80 complete sets of data. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire Short (MLQ5x) was used to determine leadership styles. A repeated measures ANOVA …

Optimization Of Cosmological Simulations With Artificial Intelligence, Jay Billings

Masters Theses

Galaxy collisions are an important part of the large-scale structure of the Universe and an important catalyst for intragalactic processes like star formation. Therefore, realistic models of these interactions are an important part of any theory that plans to accurately describe the evolutionary processes of the Universe and, given the size of the problem, efficient computation and data analysis are key. This dissertation presents a proof-of-concept that an artificial intelligence suite, nominally composed of a genetic algorithm and neural network, can optimize the search of the galaxy collision parameter space. Furthermore, this dissertation discusses the possibility that this method can …

Hips Unsocketed, Names Changed, Austin L. Church

Masters Theses

This collection of poems represents my work from the past two years. I experiment with a variety of forms and measures, though most of these poems are in free verse. Two images serves as a cipher for understanding them as a whole: a peach tree and a red fox. Every year, I would wait in anticipation for the hard green buds to appear on the peach tree in my backyard, then, for them to change color, swelling with sweetness. By the time the ones that escaped the frost and insects were ripe enough to eat, I had forgotten about them …

A New Fully Implicit In Time Two-Dimensional Inverse Heat Conduction Method, Bryan S. Elkins

Masters Theses

A new combination of methods used to solve the transient, two-dimensional inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP) is presented in this thesis. A simple implicit in time with space marching approach is used in combination with digital filtering for regularization. Results are presented for both one-dimensional and two-dimensional problems. As much as 10% measurement error is added to the data to simulate experimental results.

One-dimensional results with “perfect” data suggested that refining the spatial and temporal meshes improved the accuracy of the inverse solution. However, the nodal Fourier number was found to have no effect on accuracy. Further investigation into the …

‘Balancing Acts’: A Qualitative Investigation Of Division I Football Players’ Roles Of Student And Athlete, Patricia Y. Jones

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine African-American Division I football players’ perceptions of their ability to balance their roles as “students” and “athletes”. Three major questions were addressed: Can student-athletes balance both the roles of “student” and “athlete”? If so, how are they able to do so? And, are they truly successful at it? Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with eight African-American football players at a Division I university. Six themes emerged which included: (a) parental emphasis on education and sport; (b) “childhood dreams” versus sport realities; (c) reality check; (d) perceptions of student-athletes; (e) pressure to become a …

The Effects Of Prey Abundance And Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis) Crops On Bat Activity In South-Central Texas Agroecosystems, Kimberly S. Kennard

Masters Theses

Agroecosystems produce insects in great abundance, with episodic irruptions in time, and patchy distributions in space. In the industrial scale agroecosystems of south-central Texas, millions of Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) consume these insect pests. In the past decade, growers in Texas have planted transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) crops on a large scale, which may reduce populations of target insect species by up to 95%. To investigate potential impacts of this evolving agricultural landscape on insectivorous bats, I examined the response of foraging bats to emergences of insects from replicate Bt and non-Bt fields of corn and cotton in the …

Predicting And Analyzing Gentrification In Atlanta, Georgia, Jonathan M. Law

Masters Theses

First viewed as an aberration by some when it began to occur in inner cities, the process of gentrification is now common and even significant in U.S. cities, as it runs counter to the urban sprawl that plagues most of them. Gentrification can have far-reaching effects, as it usually involves rising property values and changes in ethnic make-up, and sometimes gives rise to concerns over displacement of original residents and affordable housing. In the context of a broad literature on gentrification which has failed to produce much agreement on its causes or how it works, this research attempts, utilizing census …

Use Of The Annagnps Pollutant Loading Model For Prediction Of Sediment Yields In A Mountainous Cumberland Plateau Region: Correlations With The Stream Bed Sediment Characteristics, Michael Patrick Massey

Masters Theses

This study attempts to develop a relationship with the hillslope sediment yield (estimated from a computer model) and the deposited sediment particle size characteristics within stream channels. By using specific hydrological parameters within a watershed, a calibrated Annualized Agricultural Non-Point Source (AnnAGNPS) pollutant loading model was created for four different sub-watersheds in the mountainous New River Basin of eastern Tennessee. The AnnAGNPS pollutant loading model predicted daily runoff and sediment yield reasonably well, but it poorly predicted daily peak flow rate for most sub-watersheds analyzed in the New River Basin. Overall, the AnnAGNPS pollutant loading model provided satisfactory results in …

University Of Tennessee, Knoxville Multi-Hazard Mitigation Disaster Resistant University Plan, Kelli D. Taylor

Masters Theses

The purpose of creating this Multi-Hazard Mitigation Disaster Resistant University Plan is to meet the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. This hazard mitigation plan documents the process of creating a plan for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including identifying hazards and risks associated with UTK and identifying a hazard mitigation strategy specific to UTK that will lessen the campus’ vulnerability and make it more resistant to disaster and more sustainable. This plan identifies goals for hazard mitigation and risk reduction of natural and man-made hazards to UTK’s campus by following the planning guidelines and requirements as included …

The Influence Of Perennial Ryegrass Overseeding And Grooming On Bermudagrass Varietal Performance Under Continual Traffic, Adam W. Thoms

Masters Theses

Athletic field managers often make decisions regarding what turfgrass species and varieties to use from past experiences, or from non-sports turf related research such as the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program results. The wear tolerance of turfgrass varieties varies among species and varieties, which can greatly affect the performance of an athletic field. Mowing can also influence athletic field turf. Therefore advancements in mowing technology were tested to determine the impact of mowing, and mowing plus grooming on wear tolerance.

A two-year study was conducted at the University of Tennessee East Tennessee Research and Education Center in Alcoa to test four …

Applied Stress Effects On The Isothermal And Cyclic High-Temperature Oxidation Behavior Of Superalloys, Bryan R. Barnard

Masters Theses

The effects of applied tensile stresses on the isothermal and cyclic oxidation behavior of two nickel-based superalloys, HAYNES^® 75^® and HAYNES^® 230^®, were investigated through measurements of specific mass change, oxide morphology and thickness, degree and depth of internal oxidation, compositional changes in and around the oxide scales, and x-ray diffraction. Here, an applied tensile stress generally led to larger Cr/Ni ratios in the oxide scales, greater chromium depletion in areas directly under the oxide scales, lower specific-mass-change values, and thinner oxide scales. These improvements in oxidation resistance are attributed to a greater concentration of …

The Validation Of The Sensewear Pro Armband To Assess Energy Expenditure During Field-Based Activities, Paige Dudley

Masters Theses

Purpose: To examine the validity of the SenseWear Pro3 armband in estimating energy expenditure during a wide range of field-based activities.

Methods: 41 participants (mean age = 34.5 + 11.7 yrs.) performed one of two routines with 6 activities each, Routine 1 (Outdoor Aerobic Activities) or Routine 2 (Indoor Home-based Activities), while wearing the SenseWear Pro3 (SW) and the Cosmed K4b2 portable metabolic unit. Routine 1 (n=16) included road walking, track walking, walking with 6.8 kg (15 lb.) bag, singles tennis, track running, and road running. Routine 2 (n=25) included TV watching, reading, doing laundry, ironing, light cleaning, and aerobics. …

Resilient Modulus And Strength Index Properties Of Stabilized Base For Tennessee Highways, Wesley M. Macdonald

Masters Theses

Typical material used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation for highway bases was evaluated for application to the new Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. Two types of granular Tennessee highway base material were mixed with different stabilizers and tested in the lab according to AASHTO T-307 99 (2003). Unconfined Compressive Strength and California Bearing Ratio tests were also done in an effort to correlate these results with resilient modulus. Three different combinations of base and stabilizer were tested and modeling coefficients were produced. Base structural layer coefficients were generated and compared to coefficients currently in use by TDOT.

Development Of Gate-Controlled Dc Electrokinetic Micropumps, Prachya Mruetusatorn

Masters Theses

Lab-on-chip (LOC) devices have received considerable attention in research and development for automated, high-throughput biological and chemical analysis. While much progress has been accomplished; however, fluid flow control still needs improvement and reminds one of the significant challenges for the future practical LOC devices. This thesis explores the application of electroosmosis (EO) technique and field effect flow control (FEFC) technology for micropumps, an important microfluidic component of LOC systems.

In this work, electroosmosis method was employed to electro-kinetically move the working fluid under a longitudinal electric field, and the FEFC technique was also utilized to manipulate the Electroosmotic Flow (EOF) …

Characterization Of Food Safety Knowledge, Attitudes, And Behaviors Of Adolescents In East Tennessee, Ashley S. Pedigo

Masters Theses

Educational research suggests that middle school is an ideal time to teach food safety since adolescents are in the process of setting life-long behaviors and are, therefore, more likely to synthesize new food safety knowledge into positive behaviors.

The objectives of this study were to: 1) Describe the baseline food safety knowledge and attitudes/ behaviors of 7^th grade students in East Tennessee 2) determine the relationship with geographic location, socioeconomic status, race, and gender; and 3) compare the current data (Study 2) to a previous study (Study 1) that pre-tested 7^th grade students prior to an education intervention. …

The Production Of Recombinant Trichothecene 3-O-Acetyl Transferase And Its Protective Effects On Hd11 Chicken Macrophage Cells Challenged With T-2 Toxin, Shannon Leigh Perrin

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.