Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of A Blended Learning Environment On Students' Discourse In A Secondary Mathematics Classroom, Brandi Blake

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To prepare students for college and careers, the Common Core Mathematical Practice Standards propose teachers engage students in classroom discourse where they make sense of mathematics by working collaboratively and communicating their thinking. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the relationship between a blended learning environment and the discourse students produce while in an AP Calculus AP course. Participants in this study are members of a large high school enrolled in either hybrid or virtual learning environments. Data were collected through recorded observations, coded using the Mathematics Classroom Observation Practices Protocol (MCOP2) and analyzed using statistical …

The Ability Of Mississippi School Personnel To Recognize And Act On Internalizing Disorders In Students, Madison Varner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood internalizing disorders traditionally do not garner much attention in academic settings; however, previous research has found that 1 in 4 public school students in Mississippi experiences some form of an internalizing disorder. These disorders strongly affect both behavior (e.g. bullying, school attendance, and social performance) and academic performance (e.g. literacy, mathematical learning). Under several existing pieces of legislature, public schools should already be providing treatment for these disorders; however, few schools have any provisions for the numerous students silently struggling. The primary objective of this study was to investigate teachers’ understanding of internalizing disorders and their frequency in school …

Application Of Hot-Melt Extrusion And Fused Deposition Modeling On Screening Filaments And Developing Diverse Dosages, Pengchong Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) provides a flexible and cost-beneficial solution to patient-centric medicine and its potential to challenge current pharmaceutical supply chains. Fusion deposition modeling (FDM) is one of the most commonly applied 3D printing techniques in pharmaceutical study. But the poor mechanical properties of printing filaments have limited mainly the application of FDM 3D printing in the pharmaceutical area. In this dissertation, the development of texture analysis methods to evaluate the printability of filaments was investigated first. The parameter “Stiffness” was successfully developed to measure and predict the printability of filaments in the direct-extrude FDM printer. Then, the combination of …

On Ramsey And Gallai-Ramsey Numbers Of Some Classes Of Graphs, Qinghong Zhao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 1930, Frank Ramsey showed that one will find a monochromatic clique of a specified size in any edge coloring of a sufficiently large complete graph. This result is commonly known as Ramsey's theorem. The role of Ramsey number is to quantify some specific problems related to Ramsey's theorem. Given a graph H, the Ramsey number R_2(H) is the minimum integer p such that every 2-edge-coloring of the complete graph K_p contains a monochromatic copy of H. Ramsey numbers have been a hot topic in graph theory for decades due to their intrinsic beauty, wide applicability and overwhelming difficulty. Let …

Finding Aid For The Herschel Brickell Collection (Mum00043)

Archives & Special Collections: Finding Aids (alphabetical)

The collection consists of correspondence, typed manuscripts, published works, and the journal collection of Herschel Brickell, Mississippi-born book reviewer who served as an attaché for the United States State Department in Bogotá, Colombia.

Improving Three-Dimensional Instructional Practices Via Professional Development, Alethea Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this applied research study was to improve the use of three-dimensional pedagogy in science classes in chronically low-performing schools. The need to build teacher capacity became evident after the state adopted more rigorous science standards revealing deficits in teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. This study utilized two elements, three-dimensional professional development and the science cadre, to build teacher capacity as well as foster collaboration and create buy-in throughout the district among science leaders. Data collected and analyzed from classroom observations, student surveys, and teacher interviews revealed improved usage of three-dimensional instruction and increased buy-in throughout the district to …

Building Cultural Competence In Schools Through Teacher Capacity, Latonya R. Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the dynamics of how teaching culturally responsive strategies to teachers can help eliminate the opportunity gap between students of color and their White counterparts. The action research method involved first collecting quantitative data through several surveys and then explaining the quantitative results with in- depth qualitative data through interviews and professional learning communities. In the first phase of the study, the culturally responsive and teacher efficacy scale data was collected from the participants within the study and the district at large. While the district survey was not mandated, it was strongly encouraged. …

Perceptions Of English Learner Support Provided By K-12 Leaders To Educators In Mississippi, Ladonna Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The demographic of public schools in America is continuously changing. According to the United States Department of Education (USDE), the English learner population increased in over 25 states from the 2009-2010 school year to the 2014-2015 school year (USDE, 2017). In 2014-15, there were more than 4,800,000 English learners enrolled in schools, accounting for 10% of the total student population (USDE, 2017). With this shifting demographic, educators must be prepared to meet the needs of EL students.

The purpose of this study is to examine educators and instructional leaders’ perceptions of EL instructional support and to highlight the need for …

On Symmetric And Computationally Efficient Gini Correlations In Several Bivariate Distributions Dissertation, Courtney Vanderford Michael

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The standard Gini correlation plays an important role in measuring the dependence between random variables with heavy-tailed distributions. It is based on the covariance between one variable and the rank of the other. Hence, for each pair of random variables, there are two Gini correlations and they are not equal in general, which brings a substantial difficulty in interpretation. We study two symmetric and computationally efficient Gini correlations with the computational complexity of O(nlogn). The properties of the two symmetric Gini correlations are explored. The influence function approach is utilized to study the robustness and the asymptotic behavior of these …

Abaqus Implementation Of A Hyperelastic Damage Model For Glass-Reinforced Polymers Under Shock And Impact Loading, James Stuart Fraser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Accurate computational modeling of the ballistic response of heterogenous materials is crucial when designing lightweight armor and protective structures. Currently, due to the structural complexity inherent in composites, this behavior is poorly understood. In the present work, a novel computational model to describe the glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GRP) response to shock and impact loadings was implemented in the commercially available Abaqus© finite element software via a VUMAT subroutine. Before damage initiation, the model utilized an experimentally-determined tetragonally-symmetric stiffness matrix for the elastic representation of the GRP. Once damage was initiated, a hyperelastic continuum damage mechanics (CDM) based model described the …

The Impact Of The Good Behavior Game On Adolescent Student Behavior In Restrictive And Inclusive Learning Environments, Allison Nicole Oliver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three articles investigating the effects of the Good Behavior Game to increase academic engagement and decrease disruptive behaviors in students who have behavior disorders. Previous literature examined the effects of the Good Behavior Game on student populations in elementary and mainstream settings. Unfortunately, there is a lack of investigation with use of the Good Behavior Game in secondary settings with students with disabilities, especially behavioral disorders. Collectively, these three articles will determine the impact of the Good Behavior Game in secondary settings with students with behavior disorders in mainstream, inclusive and restrictive learning environments. This dissertation …

The Impact Of Ethnicity Within The Field Of Speech-Language Pathology, Maliah Wilkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The estimated racial/ethnic diversity within the field of speech-language pathology is considered to be less than 10% despite population trends predicting that over half of the United States’ population will be identified as a racial/ethnic minority by 2044 (Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060, 2014). The limited diversity is likely to be coupled with inclusion and equity barriers in higher education (i.e., barriers related to financial and educational demographics, graduate school preparedness/support, etc.). In the field of speech language pathology, little is known about the impact of these challenges experienced by students from …

Closing The Opportunity Gap In Mathematics Education, Candies Nicole Winfun-Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shifting our attention from the achievement gap (standardized test results) to the opportunity gap (unequal opportunities and experiences among students of differing socioeconomic and racial backgrounds) is necessary to shrink gaps in the American educational system. Although previous studies have focused on the achievement gap in terms of students’ success on standardized tests, there has been limited research on the missed opportunities experienced by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in high school mathematics classrooms. This qualitative study revealed the lived experiences of BIPOC students as participating in college and career mathematics readiness activities in a single high school …

Understanding Classroom Engagement For Middle School Students, Jason W. Wood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand the dynamics of student engagement and motivation in middle school students. The action research method involves collecting quantitative data through a student survey first and then explaining the quantitative results with in-depth qualitative data through interviews and focus groups. In the first, quantitative phase of the study, the motivation and engagement scale data will be collected from middle school students in the fifth through eighth grade of Regents School of Oxford to test the motivation and engagement of these students to assess whether intrinsic motivations relate to classroom student engagement. The second …

The Impact Of Blended Classroom Pedagogy On Student Gpa In A Community College Stem Course, Sarah Mattox Holt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

America is facing a shortage of STEM workers and colleges must meet the demand by educating qualified graduates. However, attrition rates are high in STEM classes, particularly in minority groups. Blended learning has increased in popularity in higher education over recent years and has the potential to improve current teaching practices. Yet, limited research centers on the success of blended learning implemented in a community college STEM course. This quantitative research study (N=1264) was designed to evaluate student success in the blended learning environment versus traditional environment in an introductory community college biology course for science majors. The study indicated …

Dye And Redox Shuttle Interactions To Promote Fast Electron Transfer In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Abeysinghe Mudiyanselage Dinesh Bandara Nugegoda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Harnessing the sun's power using dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) is a possible answer to address the energy challenge. Increasing the performance of DSC devices by increasing the rate of productive electron transfers is critically essential. In this regard, to increase the rate of electron transfers from the redox shuttle to the dye, a strategy of coordinating the redox shuttle through non-covalent interactions such as Lewis acid-Lewis base interactions, π-stacking interactions, and halogen bonding interactions to the dye are considered. DSC devices were fabricated using newly synthesized dyes and redox shuttle pairs to study each strategy. The performance of the devices …

Achieving Record Photocurrent: Strategies For Harvesting And Utilizing Low Energy Photons In Organic Dye-Sensitized Photovoltaics, Jonathon Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An urgent challenge limiting the improvement of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) technology is the availability of chromophores capable of harvesting the full spectrum of solar irradiation; this is especially evident at longer wavelengths. Therefore, the achievable power conversion efficiency (PCE) is effectively capped due to limited photocurrent generation. Molecular design strategies involving proaromaticity and cross-conjugation are employed in this work to facilitate access to low-energy near-infrared (NIR) photons. Utilizing the ubiquitous Donor–p-spacer–Acceptor (D–p–A) architecture, these concepts are studied by incorporating an indolizine donor (RR13 and RR14), and thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine (allowing additional substitution for cross-conjugation, JW1) and thieno[3,4-b]thiophene (AP25) p-spacers. The sensitizers …

Finding Aid For The Evelyn Uhrhan Irving Collection (Mum00146)

Archives & Special Collections: Finding Aids (alphabetical)

Correspondence of modern language professor Evelyn Uhrhan Irving with various public officials and media outlets on foreign policy and domestic matters.

Measurement Of Differential Branching Fractions Of Inclusive B →Xuℓ+Νℓ Decays, L. Cao, W. Sutcliffe, R. Van Tonder, F. U. Bernlochner, I. Adachi, H. Aihara, D. M. Asner, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, S. Bahinipati, P. Behera, K. Belous, J. Bennett, M. Bessner, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, A. Bobrov, M. Bračko

Faculty and Student Publications

The first measurements of differential branching fractions of inclusive semileptonic B→Xuℓ+νℓ decays are performed using the full Belle data set of 711 fb-1 of integrated luminosity at the (4S) resonance and for ℓ=e, μ. With the availability of these measurements, new avenues for future shape-function model-independent determinations of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element |Vub| can be pursued to gain new insights in the existing tension with respect to exclusive determinations. The differential branching fractions are reported as a function of the lepton energy, the four-momentum-transfer squared, light-cone momenta, the hadronic mass, and the hadronic mass squared. They are obtained by subtracting …

One Story, Two Authors And Seven Layers, Edwin B. Smith

University of Mississippi News

Gregg Davidson's 'The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One' melds scholarship with faith

Characterization And In Vitro And In Vivo Evaluation Of Tacrolimus-Loaded Poly(Ε-Caprolactone) Nanocapsules For The Management Of Atopic Dermatitis, Guilherme Dos Anjos Camargo, Leandro Ferreira, Diego José Schebelski, Amanda Martinez Lyra

Faculty and Student Publications

Background: Tacrolimus (TAC) is a drug of natural origin used in conventional topical dosage forms to control atopic dermatitis. However, direct application of the drug often causes adverse side effects in some patients. Hence, drug nanoencapsulation could be used as an improved novel therapy to mitigate the adverse effects and enhance bioavailability of the drug. Methods: Physicochemical properties, in vitro drug release experiments, and in vivo anti-inflammatory activity studies were performed. Results: TAC-loaded nanocapsules were successfully prepared by the interfacial deposition of preformed polymer using poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). The nanoparticu-late systems presented a spherical shape with a smooth and regular surface, …

Learning Orbital Dynamics Of Binary Black Hole Systems From Gravitational Wave Measurements, Brendan Keith, Akshay Khadse, Scott E. Field

Faculty and Student Publications

We introduce a gravitational waveform inversion strategy that discovers mechanical models of binary black hole (BBH) systems. We show that only a single time series of (possibly noisy) waveform data is necessary to construct the equations of motion for a BBH system. Starting with a class of universal differential equations parameterized by feed-forward neural networks, our strategy involves the construction of a space of plausible mechanical models and a physics-informed constrained optimization within that space to minimize the waveform error. We apply our method to various BBH systems including extreme and comparable mass ratio systems in eccentric and noneccentric orbits. …

Anharmonic Vibrational Frequencies Of Water Borane And Associated Molecules, Brent R. Westbrook, Ryan C. Fortenberry

Faculty and Student Publications

Water borane (BH3 OH2 ) and borinic acid (BH2 OH) have been proposed as intermediates along the pathway of hydrogen generation from simple reactants: water and borane. However, the vibrational spectra for neither water borane nor borinic acid has been investigaged experimen-tally due to the difficulty of isolating them in the gas phase, making accurate quantum chemical predictions for such properties the most viable means of their determination. This work presents theoretical predictions of the full rotational and fundamental vibrational spectra of these two poten-tially application-rich molecules using quartic force fields at the CCSD(T)-F12b/cc-pCVTZ-F12 level with additional corrections included for …

Study Of E+E- → D (1 S,2 S)Η And E+E- → D (1s)Η′ At S =10.866 Gev With The Belle Detector, E. Kovalenko, A. Garmash, P. Krokovny, I. Adachi, H. Aihara, D. M. Asner, V. Aulchenko, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, S. Bahinipati, P. Behera, J. Bennett, M. Bessner, T. Bilka, J. Biswal, A. Bobrov, A. Bondar, G. Bonvicini

Faculty and Student Publications

We report the first observation of the processes e+e-→D(1S,2S)η at s=10.866 GeV, with significance exceeding 10σ for both processes. The measured Born cross sections are σ(e+e-→D(2S)η)=2.07±0.21±0.19 pb, and σ(e+e-→D(1S)η)=0.42±0.08±0.04 pb. We also set the upper limit on the cross section of the process e+e-→D(1S)η′ to be σ(e+e-→D(1S)η′)<0.037 pb at 90% C.L. The results are obtained with the data sample collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider in the energy range from 10.63 to 11.02 GeV.

Measurements Of Q2 Moments Of Inclusive B →Xcℓ+Νℓ Decays With Hadronic Tagging, R. Van Tonder, L. Cao, W. Sutcliffe, M. Welsch, F. U. Bernlochner, I. Adachi, H. Aihara, D. M. Asner, T. Aushev, R. Ayad, V. Babu, P. Behera, K. Belous, J. Bennett, M. Bessner, V. Bhardwaj, B. Bhuyan, T. Bilka, J. Biswal

Faculty and Student Publications

We present the measurement of the first to fourth order moments of the four-momentum transfer squared, q2, of inclusive B→Xcℓ+νℓ decays using the full Belle dataset of 711 fb-1 of integrated luminosity at the (4S) resonance where ℓ=e, μ. The determination of these moments and their systematic uncertainties open new pathways to determine the absolute value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element Vcb using a reduced set of matrix elements of the heavy quark expansion. In order to identify and reconstruct the Xc system, we reconstruct one of the two B-mesons using machine learning techniques in fully hadronic decay modes. The …

The Belle Ii Online–Offline Data Operations System, Matthew Barrett, Takanori Hara, Michel Hernández Villanueva, Kunxian Huang, Dhiraj Kalita, Petteri Kettunen, Prashant Shingade

Faculty and Student Publications

Data collection at the Belle II experiment started in the spring of 2019. During the early stages of the experiment it is important that the raw data are both copied to permanent storage and made available soon after being recorded to allow for the timely commissioning and calibration of the detector. Automated procedures have been developed to transfer the data from the detector in a timely manner; these procedures include fault management, performance monitoring, and quality checks. It is important that the systems put in place will also scale to the much higher data rates expected in the coming years …

Framing And Agenda Setting Of The Day Of Republika Srpska And Its 2016 Referendum, Nađa Beglerović, Matthew T. Becker

Faculty and Student Publications

The purpose of this article is to explore broadsheet newspaper framing and agenda- setting of two events using the five- frame model developed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). This article provides insight into how the leading broadsheet newspaper within BiH’s Republika Srpska frames relationships between the three main ethnic groups and is the first such study to occur in BiH. By identifying and exploring the most common frames in Glas Srpske during the five -year period (from 31 December 2015 to 30 December 2020), the research is meant to answer the following research questions: How does Glas Srpske frame the …

Software Training In Hep, Sudhir Malik, Samuel Meehan, Kilian Lieret, Meirin Oan Evans, Michel H. Villanueva, Daniel S. Katz, Graeme A. Stewart, Peter Elmer, Sizar Aziz, Matthew Bellis, Riccardo Maria Bianchi, Gianluca Bianco, Johan Sebastian Bonilla, Angela Burger, Jackson Burzynski, David Chamont, Matthew Feickert, Philipp Gadow, Bernhard Manfred Gruber

Faculty and Student Publications

The long-term sustainability of the high-energy physics (HEP) research software ecosystem is essential to the field. With new facilities and upgrades coming online throughout the 2020s, this will only become increasingly important. Meeting the sustainability challenge requires a workforce with a combination of HEP domain knowledge and advanced software skills. The required software skills fall into three broad groups. The first is fundamental and generic software engineering (e.g., Unix, version control, C++, and continuous integration). The second is knowledge of domain-specific HEP packages and practices (e.g., the ROOT data format and analysis framework). The third is more advanced knowledge involving …

Envisioning A Legal Framework For Outer Space Cultural Heritage, Lucas Lixinski, M. M. Losier, Hannah Schreiber

Journal of Space Law

No abstract provided.

Ole Miss Launches $1.5 Billion Campaign, Tina Hahn

University of Mississippi News

No abstract provided.