Digital Commons Network^™

Short-Term Effects Of Winter Cover Crops On Soil Properties, Yield, And Partial Returns In A No-Tillage Soybean Rotation, Drew Dillon Kirkpatrick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cover crops have the potential to provide many benefits including weed suppression, erosion control, and improvements to soil quality. These benefits can be affected by species, biomass accumulation, and management practices. Although large amounts of biomass are good for maximizing benefits, it can result in problems for establishing the subsequent crop. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] accounts for over 50% of Arkansas crop hectares annually; therefore, understanding the effect that a cover crop can have on the following soybean crop is crucial to the successful implementation of cover crops within the state. A study was established to evaluate winter cover …

Poems And Translations, Rome Hernández Morgan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This document is separated into two parts, a collection of original poems and a collection of translations of the crônicas of Rubem Braga. The collection of poems, titled, “Because I Never See You,” attempt to parse the complexities of familial and intimate relationships, addiction, and BIPOC experience. The collection of translations attempts to offer a small sample of the crônicas of Rubem Braga (1913-1990), a Brazilian journalist who is known throughout Brazil for “elevating” the form of the crônica from ephemera to the literary.

Influence Of Local- And Landscape-Scale Factors On Avian Assemblage In Fragmented Tallgrass Prairie Landscape, Pooja Panwar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural expansion and increasing urbanization are driving rapid landscape modification in the Tallgrass prairies ecosystem and are affecting biodiversity at multiple spatial scales. Thus, the conservation of fragmented grassland and steeply declining grassland avifauna is dependent on the relationship between local- and landscape-scale factors and avian assemblage. We also need to understand how these factors, operating at different spatial scales, drive the occupancy of different guilds in the assemblage. We conducted repeated point count surveys during the breeding season of 2019 at 66 grassland sites across Arkansas and Missouri, USA. We developed a multi-species occupancy model to estimate species richness, …

Geospatial Analysis Of Registered Sex Offenders: A Case Study From Pulaski County, Arkansas, Maggie Rose Bridges

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this case study was to analyze the spatial distribution patterns of the residences of registered sex offenders in Pulaski County, Arkansas to determine the impact of state enforced residence restrictions. Density and clustering factors were used to identify census tracts of the study area with high and low concentrations of offenders. These zones were then compared to identify which characteristics were similar and dissimilar between high and low concentration zones. The results indicate that there is a non-random distribution of registered sex offenders in the study area. The findings also indicate that the residence restrictions placed on …

Mineral Rites, Emma Van Dyke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This document is a collection of original poems written between Fall 2017 and Spring 2021.

Values And Success In Collegiate Athletics, Nathan Shelby Hutchens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The rapid commercialization of intercollegiate sports has changed the landscape of the hiring decisions and methodologies within university-associated athletic departments – especially within the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (DI-FBS) (Wong, 2017). Most notably and recently, the strategies used to hire athletic directors (ADs) have underwent considerable revision – yet successful hires are far from a sure thing. Many strategies include allusions to leadership style, yet leadership styles are as numerous as there are researchers who study them – and are rarely implemented holistically, thus making their assessment and associated outcomes tenuous at best (Peachey et al., 2015). Hambrick and …

Investigative Study Of Microalgal And Electrochemical Wastewater Treatment Systems And Modeling Of The Wafer-Enhanced Electrodeionization Using Supervised Learning, Humeyra Betul Ulusoy Erol

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater has a serious impact on environment and public health due to its high concentration of nutrients and toxic contaminants. Without proper treatment, excess nutrients discharged in wastewater can cause a damage to the ecosystem such as undesirable pH shifts, cyanotoxin production, and low dissolved oxygen concentrations.

Main objectives of this dissertation work were to investigate i) the biofuel potential of P. cruentum when grown in swine wastewater, ii) the influence of four most commonly used ion exchange resins on the system efficiency and selectivity for the removal of sodium, calcium, and magnesium ions, and iii) the modeling of wafer-enhanced …

Evaluation Of Nutritional Factors That Influence The Efficacy Of Tributyrin As A Feed Additive For Broilers, Brooke Bodle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tributyrin (TB) is a glyceride ester of butyrate that has the potential to improve broiler performance and intestinal development. Therefore, to fully evaluate this potential, three experiments were conducted to evaluate effect of tributyrin (TB) on broiler growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics, intestinal morphology, and gastrointestinal function in birds fed diets varying in composition reared in battery cages and floor pens. Experiment 1 explored the supplementation of graded doses of TB and its impact upon growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass characteristics in a step-down program when added to a reduced energy and amino acid diet. A linear reduction …

The Intersection Of Writing Process Pedagogy And Prolepsis: A Phenomenological Case Study Of Secondary Writing Instruction, Jennifer O. Peñaflorida

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the lived experiences and essences of secondary high school students and participating teachers in a three-week summer journalism camp sponsored by the National Writing Project and funded by the MacArthur T. Foundation. This study employs Moustakas' (1994) modification of the van Kaam method for phenomenological data analysis in order to reveal the intersection of writing process pedagogy and prolepsis, a writing framework I developed. Data sources included pre-and-post writing samples, semi-structured interviews, field notes and student writing artifacts which were collected between May 27, 2019 and June 14, 2019. Data were analyzed …

Spore Dispersal Of Slime Molds And Higher Fungi Via Animal Vectors, Courtney Trimble

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Myxomycetes and dictyostelids are Amoebozoans that are cosmopolitan inhabitants of a variety of habitats, particularly forest environments. Both groups reproduce using spores which are primarily dispersed via wind in myxomycetes but this characteristic poses a problem for dictyostelids. The spores of dictyostelids are incased in a mucilaginous matrix that makes wind ineffective except in exceptional cases. It has been suggested that animals such as birds may play an important yet understudied role in the dispersal of these organisms. This study investigated how animals could potentially serve as vectors for spore dispersal of dictyostelids and myxomycetes with some limited data obtained …

Disgust Versus Anger-Relevant Trauma Analogues: Associations With Affect And Disclosure Behavior, Teah-Marie Bynion

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to high prevalence rates of sexual assault experienced by college-aged women, it remains important to consider factors associated with negative posttraumatic outcomes (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder). One factor consistently linked to negative outcomes following sexual assault is elevated peri- and posttraumatic disgust. Particularly, when such feelings are self-focused, peri- and posttraumatic disgust is linked with feelings of dirtiness (mental contamination). The current study extends this line of research to disclosure behavior. Disclosing a sexual assault to another person can be beneficial, however many survivors will never disclose. Theoretical accounts suggest that specific feelings associated with a sexual assault may …

Climate-Driven Impacts On Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity: A Case Study Involving Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax), Riri Wiyanti Retnaningtyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring biodiversity, to include its relative dispersal and contraction, has become a conservation task of great importance, particularly given the catastrophic and ongoing loss of habitat due to climate change. However, the timing, direction, and magnitude of these rates vary across taxa and ecosystems. Predicting specific impacts of climate change can thus be difficult and this, in turn, hampers management action. Metrics are needed to not only quantify contemporary requirements of species, but also predict potential distributions that fluctuate in lockstep with climate.

Montane ecosystems in the Himalayas are highly impacted by climate change, yet remain largely understudied due to …

Racial Terror Lynching In Northwest Arkansas: Recounting Of The Story Of Three Enslaved Males Lynched In 1856 In Washington County - Documentary, Obed Lamy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While Northwest Arkansas is considered as diverse and progressive today, it also shares a common history of racial violence, and yet almost unknown, with the Southern United-States. Little is being said about the slave plantations in Elkins, racial cleansing in Springdale, or public spectacle lynchings in Fayetteville. This is because white people who hold political and economic power also control how history is written and decide what is to be learned from their perspectives. Marginalized communities, especially Black people, have not always had agency to tell their own stories. The lynchings of three enslaved males, Anthony, Aaron, and Randall, in …

Effects Of Sleep On Intrusive Symptoms And Emotional Reactivity In A Laboratory-Based Film Analog Study, Anna Marie Thi Thanh Nguyen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized by four symptom clusters. Recently, research highlights the need to focus on the impact of intrusive symptoms as a possible risk factor for the development and maintenance of PTSD. Cognitive and sleep models contribute to further understanding of intrusive symptoms. Recent work also highlights disgust as an emotion closely associated with the emergence of posttraumatic stress symptomology following traumatic events. This study used a film eliciting disgust in order to examine the effects of sleep on the intensity of intrusion symptoms and emotion reactivity. The sample consisted of 49 college students randomly assigned to …

Replication And Tribological Engineering Of Physical Surfaces Using Two-Photon Lithography, Shelby Robert Maddox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Up to one-fifth of all energy consumed each year goes directly to overcoming frictional effects. This waste will remain even if renewable energy becomes feasible as a large-scale replacement for conventional fuel sources. If that wasted energy could be saved instead, then overall energy consumption could either decrease or be redirected to where it would be most beneficial to human and environmental flourishing. To this end, there is a need for strategies and techniques to reduce frictional energy loss. It is well established that surface texturing can be used to reduce friction. There are many industrial methods in current use …

Leaders Of The Pack: The Effect Of Companion And Livestock Animal Ownership And/Or Management On Leadership Skills In College Students, Laurel E. Dhority

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Having and maintaining good leadership skills should be an important way of life for most college students. As these individuals search for their first jobs and employment outside of the university experience, many businesses and employers will utilize these leadership traits and officer positions within specific clubs and organizations to select who to extend a job offer. Many student associations which place their focus on animals, both agriculturally raised livestock and companion animals, take pride in the skills and proficiencies they teach their members. This study utilized a survey of both multiple choice and Likert Scale styled questions in order …

Exploring How Maternal Phosphorus Status Affects Calf Growth And Performance, Elizabeth Lafferty

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study will focus on how maternal phosphorus status of beef heifers affects the growth and performance of their calves. Heifers have been offered free-choice mineral with either 0 or 4% supplemental phosphorus from 30 days after weaning until calving. A study by H. Hilfiker, a University of Arkansas honors student, investigated the effects of these treatments from 30 days after weaning until 60 days after the breeding season when heifers were confirmed to be bred or open. For this developing heifer project 64 crossbred Angus heifers were assigned randomly into 8 groups (8 heifers/ group) before assigning each group …

Comparative Analysis Of Azo Dye Restriction In The International Textile Industry, Kayla Demark

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

Azo dyes are the most used type of dye in the textile industry. Some of these dyes have the potential to be extremely toxic to both human health and the environment. While regulations of these dyes vary across the world, it is suggested that not enough is being done to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful azo dyes (Rawat et al., 2016). It is the responsibility of apparel companies to ensure that their products that contain azo dyes are safe for consumers.

The purpose of this study was to understand how azo dyes and their by-products are restricted …

Impact Of Different Plant-Based Foods Consumption On The Composition And Diversity Of Gut Microbiota, Ayoub Al Othaim

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plant-based diets are primarily derived from plant sources, including fruits and vegetables. Such patterns are associated with health benefits by promoting general health and preventing many diseases and metabolic disorders. Fruits and vegetables are key sources of high-quality nutrients such as dietary fibers and polyphenols. Since they are rich in dietary fibers and polyphenols, whole fruits and vegetables represent unique and somewhat understudied modulators of the gut microbiota and its associated functions. This study aims to (i) investigate the impact of varying dilutions of cherry juices concentrate on the composition of the murine gut microbiota, (ii) investigate the impact of …

Pathogenicity Of Staphylococcus Agnetis Associated With Lame Broilers With Osteomyelitis, Sura Faris Salih Zaki

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We developed High Resolution Melt Analysis (HERMA) as a rapid and reliable molecular diagnostic assay for the detection and identification of the main bacterial species recovered from the blood and lesions of bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) from the lame broilers at the University of Arkansas poultry research farm. Also, the present study confirms that raising young birds on suspended wire flooring has been proved to successfully induce lameness attributable to BCO with birds being more susceptible to bacteraemia than those that were raised on litter flooring. The newly described pathogen, Staphylococcus agnetis, has been reported to be overrepresented in …

Iowa Land And Landowners: Fear Or Opportunity, Neil D. Hamilton

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Our relation to the land changed as modern agriculture changed. Today many issues involving the land seem to focus on fear and conflict, revealing a fragility of agriculture surprising for how it confounds the expected image of strength and stability. In many ways, our fragile relation to the land contrasts to the optimism of the relation in the past, in the years of settlement and expansion. Part of the change reflects the adverse impacts of modern agriculture catching up with us, and part stems from a society more willing to focus on issues of equity, inclusion, and inequality. The good …

Food Hubs And Rebuilding Missing Middle Market Structure In Agriculture: The Social In Supply Chain Development, Stephen Luoni

Community Design Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Tens of millions of Americans became food insecure during the COVID-19 pandemic as independent farmers dumped millions of tons of food due to economic lockdowns. Yet contract growers looped into vertically integrated monopoly supply chains escaped system breakdowns. Food provisioning is often seen as polarized between local scale and continental/ global market scale. Food supply and consumption are functions more of market structure than scale. Farmers reliant on direct sales to local restaurants, schools, universities, and hospitals saw their markets evaporate overnight. This Food Away from Home market constitutes 54 percent of food consumed nationally yet is vulnerable since direct-to-consumer …

Analysis Of The White-Tailed Deer Population Of Hobbs State Park, Jesse Morrison

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

White Tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the only deer species native to Arkansas, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem. Healthy deer populations are important for environmental and human wellbeing, and overpopulation can lead to poor herd health, overgrazing, increased vehicle collisions, and transmission of diseases. Monitoring deer populations through surveys can be a useful tool in managing wildlife and maintaining Arkansas’ natural resources.

This study analyzed trends in Hobbs State Park’s deer population and estimated the current roadside deer population of the park. Data from past surveys was analyzed for trends using a Mann-Kendall Test, and a distance sampling …

Design Of Control Logic And The Human-Machine Interface For A Demonstration Plant Growth Chamber Implemented On A Programmable Logic Controller, Rachael Koehler

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This honors thesis covers the planning, development, and implementation of system controls and human-machine interface (HMI) for a demonstration plant growth chamber. The work is a continuation of an ongoing project to be used as an educational and recruiting tool manifesting the skills acquired from the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering. This work includes emergency controls, overall design interface, and controls for both the aeration and lighting subsystems of the growth chamber. Overall design interface controls established included development of two user modes, Administrator and Visitor. The Administrator user will have full …

An Analysis Of The Factors That Influence Success Rates Of Honors College Students, Braden Bateman

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

University honors programs provide students with challenging yet rewarding opportunities. Pursuing honors often offers students opportunities (such as access to uique coursework or specialized mentorship) that are not available to the general student popultion. However, honors programs also hold students to more or higher educational milestones in order to graduate with honors. Data from the University of Araksas Fayetteville (UAF) suggest students who start in honors as new freshmen typically graduate at rates much higher than students who were not honors freshmen. However, the percentage of those honors freshmen who complete their honors requirements is much lower than those who …

How Companies Can Overcome The Barriers To Sustainability In The Fashion Industry, Madison Perreault

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

The primary intent of this paper is to explore existing case studies on the barriers to sustainability in the fashion industry as well as incorporate my own contributions by crafting and analyzing the results of a survey. This survey will give insight to the attitudes and behaviors of respondents towards sustainable fashion. I will also investigate government policies on this topic, or the lack thereof. Finally, I will offer my recommendation on how businesses can overcome the barriers to sustainability in the fashion industry.

The Influence Of Peer Irrigators On The Extensive And Intensive Margin Of Irrigation Techniques, Victoria Bailey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We examine how irrigation techniques in use by family and friends influence the use and share of land utilizing different irrigation techniques by Arkansas producers. A bivariate sample selection model simultaneously estimates how farm characteristics determine the use and explain the share of a farm that utilizes an irrigation technique. We find that the irrigation techniques in use by family and friends do affect the irrigation techniques a producer uses and the share of acres utilizing different irrigation techniques. A producer with a family or friend that uses end-blocking irrigation is 41% more likely to use end-blocking themselves. Having a …

Mvskoke-Nene Momis Komet Yvkvpvkkeyetos/We Keep Walking The Mvskoke Path: A Reflexive And Phenomenological Ethnographic Study Of The Ceremonial Beliefs And Practices Of A Modern Mvskoke Community In Florida, Christopher B. Bolfing

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an ethnographic investigation of the intersection between cosmology, worldview, ethnoecology, and traditional religious performance, particularly in terms of the relationship between subjective experience and intersubjectivity. It is a study of how people come to understand the world – an attempt to understand understanding. I explore the acquisition of social, cultural, and ecological knowledge through participation in the traditional religious ceremonialism of a Mvskoke ceremonial community, called the Busk. I write about living people and living religious traditions, but I am also a member of this community and, therefore, I am also telling my own story. Reflexivity, then, …

Methods And Effects Of Shadowing Using Online Authentic Videos On L2 Acquisition Of Mandarin Chinese Tones, Ai-Ling Lu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mandarin Chinese tones are notoriously difficult for second language (L2) learners. Previous research focuses on tone training methods that can help learners produce monosyllabic lexical tones, and studies about the production of multisyllabic lexical tones at the sentence level in spontaneous speech are limited. This study applies shadowing—a method where the learners repeat what they heard with as little delay as possible—to tone training and compares the effects of using authentic videos and textbook audios as shadowing materials for beginner L2 Mandarin learners’ tone improvement at the sentence level. Fourteen students in elementary Chinese classes at an American university participated …

Investigating The Role Of Social Capital And Everyday Communication In Campus Community Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaleb A. Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigated the role of social capital and everyday communication in campus community resilience capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study conceptualized the university community as a micro-community that experienced sharp disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the same way that traditionally conceptualized communities harness communication to build resilience, this study provides evidence that micro-communities, such as the university campus, have the same potential. Focus groups with students, faculty, and staff, as well as one-on-one semi-structured interviews with students, resulted in 557 pages of single-spaced transcripts that provided rich data to understand this community resilience context. …