Digital Commons Network^™

Developing And Validating A Novel Screening Instrument For General Psychological Distress, Steven M. Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study presents the results of both factor analyses in developing the General Psychological Distress Screener (GPDS), and provides preliminary data of its predictive validity. As a new screening instrument, the GPDS assesses mental fatigue and emotional distress in adults and predicts certain psychiatric disorder diagnoses. Drawing upon network analysis principles, two studies were conducted to construct and refine the GPDS. Study 1 identified the variable constructs from psychopathology networks that were used in Study 2. Study 2 used principal axis factoring to develop a 4-factor solution, which was subsequently reduced to a 2-factor model for improved interpretability. Confirmatory Factor …

Increasing Minority Student Enrollment: An Applied Research Study On Increasing The Enrollment Of Minority Students In Advanced Placement Courses, Tamekia Helm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Addressing the disparity in Advanced Placement (AP) course enrollment among minority students at Greater High School is the focus of this research. Through an extensive review of the literature, the study examines the various factors contributing to this gap, including access limitations and systemic barriers. Additionally, teacher perceptions, student attitudes, and parental involvement are explored to understand the influence on AP course enrollment decisions. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, including surveys and interviews, data is collected from students, teachers and parents to gain comprehensive insights.

Proposed solutions to enhance AP course enrollment include targeted outreach initiatives and support for minority students. …

Trait Forgiveness And Trait Anger: Links With 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Bianca Kirsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Higher levels of trait anger and unforgiveness are linked with elevations in blood pressure, which increases one’s risk for hypertension. Most of the research examining the association between trait anger, trait forgiveness, and blood pressure (BP) uses single-time point assessment of BP and thus, is not able to capture day-to-day BP variability. Further, existing research has primarily focused on the forgiveness of others. The purpose of this study is to address these gaps in the literature. This is a preliminary analysis using about one-fourth of the target sample. Sixteen community-dwelling adults …

Weak Disorder Limit On Diamond Hierarchical Graphs With Vertex Disorder In The Critical Case, Casey Reid Lochridge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We compare three models for a directed polymer in a random environment (DPRE): the rectangular lattice, the branching lattice, and the diamond hierarchical lattice. Our focus is primarily on the diamond model, in which the polymers traverse a recursively defined diamond graph with a random environment composed of random variables indexed by the vertex set. The diamond graphs are constructed iteratively according to a given branching parameter b ∈ {2, 3, 4, . . .} and segmenting parameter s ∈ {2, 3, 4, . . .}, and our main result concerns the critical case b = s. In this case, …

Southern Animals: Multispecies Encounters In Midcentury Southern Fiction, Kacee M. Mckinney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation expands our understanding of how nonhuman animal figures, symbols, and encounters within southern literature have had ideologically profound impacts on our conceptions of humanity, southernness, and relationality. This dissertation examines prose fiction, including short stories, novellas, and novels, from four influential southern writers—Richard Wright, Carson McCullers, Tennessee Williams, and Flannery O’Connor—who were all actively engaged with representing, critiquing, and expanding American conceptions of the south, the nation, and the ‘human’ at midcentury. With an understanding of southern literature as a rich site for not only regional representation but also broader disruptions of national injustices and ideologies of domination …

Enhancing Flex Student Success: Factors Influencing Achievement In The Istudy Program At The University Of Mississippi, Jennifer Jewel Sanford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions have recently increased the number of online courses offered to students. A need exists to understand student success within asynchronous self-paced online education programs. This study explores the factors that impact student success in the Independent Study Program (iStudy) at the University of Mississippi, focusing specifically on Flex (Full-Year) enrolled students. Student success is defined as achieving a completion grade of "C" or higher. The proposed study utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative analysis of student performance data with qualitative feedback from student performance data and exit surveys. The assessment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of …

Improving American Learners’ Pronunciation Of Arabic Pharyngeals: Traditional Vs. Tbi Method, Yasmine Sedeek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mastering the phonological aspects of a second language (L2) poses significant challenges for adult learners, often affecting their intelligibility in acquiring that language (Derwing, Munro, & Wiebe, 1998). McAllister (1997) has highlighted L2 learners’ struggles in perceiving and producing novel segmental features, which is corroborated by The Perceptual Assimilation Model of L2 speech learning (PAM-L2) proposed by Best & Tyler (2007), which posits that the perception of L2 phonetics is a critical precursor to their accurate production. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to improve the intelligibility of Arabic pharyngeals (/ʕ/ and /ħ/) among English-speaking learners studying Arabic as …

Investment Decisions Of Institutional Investors, Sunghan Bae

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the first essay, we investigate whether social preference affects institutional investors’ socially responsible investing (SRI) by examining US insurance firms. Prior literature suggests that investors value firms’ socially responsible endeavors and are willing to sacrifice financial gains when conducting SRI. We show that, on average, insurers allocate less weight to securities with high ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) scores. However, a subset of insurers with high Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scores overweight high ESG securities. Moreover, we find that insurers with high CSR scores experience positive abnormal returns when they invest in high ESG stocks. This indicates that insurers …

Indirect And Direct Pathways Of Migratory Shorebird Effects On Nitrogen Cycling Within Temporarily Flooded Agricultural Fields, Victoria Blocker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The global human population continues to grow exponentially, and agriculture will need to become more productive to meet growing food demands. Humans also need clean water and other services that ecosystems provide. This requires future agriculture production to reduce environmental and wildlife impacts through improved efficiencies and best management practices. Migratory shorebirds rely on wetlands throughout North and South America as stopover habitat for rest and refueling during migration. Temporarily flooded farmlands in the Mississippi Delta have proven to be beneficial locations for shorebirds during migrations along the central flyway. This conservation practice also enhances wetland properties that promote excess …

Application Of Hot-Melt Extrusion Technology For The Preparation Of Carbamazepine Extended-Release Tablets, Chamundeswara Srinivasa Akash Kalla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is an anti-convulsant and specific analgesic for trigeminal neuralgia that reduces polysynaptic responses and blocks post titanic potentiation. Moreover, CBZ is effective in partial and generalized convulsions and mixed types. It is not effective in petit mal seizures. Carbamazepine extended-release tablets are used to treat episodes of mania (or) mixed episodes i.e., symptoms of mania and depression that happen at the same time, in patients with bipolar disorder. The present study was designed to develop CBZ extended-release tablets with acrylic acid-based polymer (Eudragit® RL PO) using a melt granulation and to match the USP dissolution test specification. Thermal …

Title Character: A Novel, Di Bei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inspired by true events, Title Character: A Novel tells the intimate and fraught relationships of Asian female artists during a pandemic in Idaho: Jade, a rebellious girl born amid the one-child policy in Beijing, writes her love story into a script; Pearl, an ambitious actress raised in rural China, stars in Jade’s film and dates the method actor who plays her lover. Strung together by one film, young women of the Asian diaspora mirror and maneuver each other, while playing out their performances of self with art as their arena.

More Than A Feeling: Materializing Sympathy In Nineteenth-Century American Literature, Kathleen Downes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“More than a Feeling: Materializing Sympathy in Nineteenth-Century American Literature” breaks from a long tradition of criticism that only considers the nineteenth-century belief that sympathy was a benevolent, voluntary, imaginative act of feeling that maintains moral rectitude through the identification of suffering with others. In this context, sympathy is primarily defined as identificatory sympathy. “More than a Feeling” expands the definition of sympathy in the nineteenth century as also something that could be atmospherically communicated, transmitting good or bad feeling, and thus affecting and infecting those around them. This other form of sympathy, which for this project I term “effluvial …

Development Of Fenofibrate Solid Dispersion Via Hot Melt Extrusion And 3d Printing Technologies, Janhavi Santosh Deshmukh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to develop an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) of fenofibrate using Hot Melt Extrusion (HME) and 3D printing. By using HME, 3D printable filaments were prepared. Fenofibrate (10% w/w), Soluplus®, and Polyethylene oxide-N80 were used to prepare the HME filaments. The filaments were divided into two parts, the first part was used as a feedstock for the Fused disposition modeling 3D printing (FDM 3D printing) to print fenofibrate tablets with different percent infill densities, 90%, 70% and 50%. The second part was milled and filled into gelatin capsules to compare the dissolution release profile of …

On Inference-Time Adversaries In Object Detection Models, Soumil Datta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing use of AI in various applications, its ability to impact different communities is a crucial aspect to the advancement of humanity and technology. However, with its often unexplained properties, AI models could wreck havoc if loopholes are found. Adversarial attack algorithms have been shown to cause deep neural networks to fail on image classification and object detection tasks while being visually imperceptible to humans. Adversarial attacks cause out of distribution predictions and can cause the model to fail in unexpected ways.

Formulation Development And Characterization Of Isoniazid-Pyridoxine Combination Gummies Using An Extrusion-Based 3d Printer, Aditi Rajendra Holkunde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to formulate and evaluate Isoniazid-Pyridoxine-loaded gummies for use in a population ranging from pediatric to geriatric and to study the applicability of BIO X 3D printer in printing gummy formulations. Semisolid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing is an emerging technology in personalized medicine. To address clinical multi-dose requirements, SSE has been explored to manufacture new preparations. In this study, Isoniazid (INH) and Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (PDX) were used to make gummy formulations for use in the treatment of Tuberculosis. A suitable semisolid mixture for SSE was prepared and incorporated into the BIO X 3D printer for extrusion-based 3D printing …

Running In The Rain: Stories, Vinh Hoang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A short story collection.

Mapping In/Exclusion: Queer Identity In Oxford, Mississippi, Julia Kraus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis employs a mixed methods approach to investigate LGBTQ communities in Oxford, Mississippi, within the unique context of the Bible Belt panopticon. Through an examination of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Oxford (UUCO) and Oxford Pride, the study delves into the themes of visibility and surveillance, resistance and subversion, community and identity, and institutional interactions and impacts. The research is grounded in seven original interviews with UUCO members, providing nuanced insights into the functioning of LGBTQ communities within a conservative environment. Additionally, the creation of a podcast episode titled “Queering Oxford: the Long Path to Pride” offers an innovative …

Magnolia State Of Mind: Memory And Memorialisation In Mississippi, Cosmo Mcgee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the ways Mississippi has historically and contemporaneously crafted its collective memory through symbolism. Confederate memorial groups endeavoured to create a “Lost Cause” memory of the state’s Antebellum past, validating its White supremacist systems into the 1960s. With the violence of the Civil Rights era failing to stop integration, Mississippians would spend the next sixty years debating the best ways to represent the state’s history.

This work looks at three distinct manifestations of Mississippi’s memorial culture: the discussions around and changes to the state flag, the cultural and sporting atmosphere of the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”), and …

Evaluation Of Process Parameters For Continuous Manufacturing Of Quetiapine Fumarate Immediate Release Tablets Using Twin Screw Wet Granulation, Tejaswini Naguboyina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Granulation is one of the important unit operations in the manufacturing of solid dosage forms like tablets and capsules that regulate the quality of end products. It is a process of particle enlargement by agglomeration technique, which improves flow properties, compressibility, reduction of dust formation, drug content uniformity, dissolution rates, and overall product stability. Traditionally, it has been a batch process due to a better understanding. However, there has been a shift towards continuous manufacturing using a Twin-screw granulator, which is more robust, scalable, and versatile for various applications. This work presents the use of Twin screw wet granulation (TSWG) …

Spins And Kicks: An Analysis Of Dynamical Properties Of Compact Binaries Using Gravitational Waves, Sumeet Kulkarni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The detection of over 90 compact object mergers involving black holes and neutron stars as gravitational wave events by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors over the course of three observing runs has ushered in the new era of gravitational wave astrophysics. Within a decade, we have transitioned from a detection to the population era, with a combined catalog of these events making it possible to study the population properties of compact objects, estimate their local merger rate, and provide clues as to how they can form binaries. This dissertation focuses on two particular displays of the dynamical dance …

Montesquieu: The Nature Of L’Esprit Des Lois, Christian Jax Murray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When Baron de Montesquieu received a copy of his L’Esprit des lois, he was horrified by the total removal and reorganization of critical parts of his text, changed ideas, and an abnormal amount of printing errors in his work. While he saw these issues hindering the reception of his work, this thesis argues that the chaos of the text, in both its style and publication, made the book more popular instead of hindering it. Montesquieu, his editor, and his publisher constructed a new kind of text that was broad in its subject matter and ambiguous in its meaning where its …

Stabilized Fingolimod Nanoemulsion Ophthalmic Formulation For The Treatment Of Retinal Degeneration, Mekhala Sharad Naik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fingolimod (FTY) is a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist and an inhibitor of ceramide synthase, reducing cellular ceramide levels and mitigating photoreceptor degeneration. The current research focuses on enhancing the stability of a previously reported FTY nanoemulsion (FTY-NE) topical (eyedrop) ophthalmic formulation. However, FTY undergoes oxidative and base mediated hydrolytic degradation, and the previously reported formulation, although effective, failed within 90 days storage at room temperature. This study explores various approaches, such as addition of buffer, cosolvents, steric stabilizer, viscosity enhancer, emulsifying agent, and a chelating agent in the NE system to increase shelf-life. The FTY-NE formulations (0.3% drug load) were prepared …

Moving Minds: Examining The Potential Effects Of Movement On Executive Function Among 3-Year-Olds, Zubie Reagan Pearce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to examine the effect of movement on the conscious control of behavior (i.e., executive function or EF) in three-year-old children. Two questions were addressed regarding the role of movement in preschoolers' EF. First, the study investigated how altering movement within EF tasks influenced children's EF performance by manipulating relevant motor patterns (i.e., arm movement within EF searching and sorting tasks) in 3-year-olds. Children wore slightly weighted armbands while engaging in two distinct EF tasks, one focusing on motor control (i.e., reaching for an object) and the other on cognitive control (i.e., sorting objects based on rules). Second, …

Moderation In Online Incel Forums: A Comparison Of Warning Behaviors, Katherine Elizabeth Norris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Incels constitute an online community characterized by shared negative perspectives concerning masculinity, women, and societal norms. Platforms such as Twitter and Reddit have implemented content moderation measures aimed at curtailing the dissemination of incels' ideologies, which often promote violence and suicidal ideation. To observe the influence of content moderation on incel discourse, this study examined posts from two distinct incel forums: one subject to moderation and another without such restrictions. Employing thematic analysis, common themes within the posts were identified, and the occurrence of negative language was quantitatively assessed. Findings revealed that the moderated forum exhibited a higher prevalence of …

From Likes To Looks: The Relationship Between Tiktok Use And Body Satisfaction In A Young Adult Population, Madeline Pruett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body dissatisfaction is becoming an increasingly pervasive problem among young adults, presenting severe implications including the onset of eating disorders and related behaviors. This alarming trend can be attributed, at least in part, to the ubiquity and influence of social media platforms, which serve as a modern catalyst for appearance pressures. While there is a substantial body of research establishing the connection between body dissatisfaction and traditional social media, the examination of newer platforms like TikTok, which have become highly popular among young adults, remains limited. As such, the present study aimed to bridge this gap by investigating the relationship …

Mirroring The Target Environment: Text And Task Authenticity In Esl Business Textbooks, Kurt Wildon Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the utilization of authentic reading materials in ESL textbooks and the role that textbook-based tasks serve in enabling ESL classrooms to mirror the target environment. Three original studies are conducted, and two models are designed and applied in order to address the research questions, which aim to establish a standard metric for assessing semi-authenticity of materials and to determine to what degree ESL textbooks prepare students for utilizing subsequent academic textbooks in similar topical areas. Textbooks developed for ESL business and academic business courses are analyzed to determine task category prevalence, reading texts in the ESL genre …

Modeling The Relationship Between Protein Sequence And Structure Using Triangular Spatial Relationship-Based Keys, Arianna Nicole Swensen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protein structure comparison and our understanding of protein sequence and structure relationships are intertwined. In this work, I use the TSR-based key generation algorithm to develop a model for relating sequence and structure. I develop embeddings for the sequence-based keys and the structure-based keys as the basis for a translation model between the two sets of keys, evaluating the efficacy of local and global embedding generation techniques in the context of the TSR-based comparison method.

Development Of Multiple Dosage Forms Using Fused Deposition Modeling 3d Printing Coupled With Hot-Melt Extrusion Dissertation, Peilun Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the integration of Hot Melt Extrusion (HME) and Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printing as a novel continuous manufacturing process for pharmaceutical dosage forms. Emphasizing the creation of personalized and complex drug delivery systems, this work highlights the potential of 3D printing technology in revolutionizing pharmaceutical manufacturing by offering customized dosage, precise API distribution, and efficient production with minimal waste. The first chapter delves into the fabrication of bilayer tablets utilizing HME in conjunction with dual-nozzle FDM 3D printing, examining the mechanical properties of HME filaments and the printing quality through a novel 3D printed tablet retention …

Molecular Modeling Of Inhibitors Of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 And Urinary Tract Infections, Priyanka Samanta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years worldwide. Glycans initiate host–pathogen interactions in two particular infectious diseases, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and urinary tract infections (UTIs). In this work, recent advances of computational tools in drug design are utilized to target these glycanspecific host–pathogen interactions for the potential prevention of SARS-CoV-2 or UTIs.

SARS-CoV-2 viral entry into the host cell is mediated by the viral S-protein. Carbohydrate molecules bind to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S-protein which interacts with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and leads to host cell invasion. Here we report computational studies …

Attitudes Toward Arabic-Accented Speech In English, Sarah Aldossari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study explores the attitudes of undergraduate Flagship students in the United States towards Arabic-accented speech in English. It examines the Familiarity Principle among these students and analyzes their attitudes based on socio-intellectual status, aesthetic quality, and dynamism of Arabic-accented speech. The study also discusses the relationship between pronunciation features and language attitudes and intelligibility of communication.

The study used mixed methods to collect and analyze data on students' attitudes towards Arabic-accented speech. It used a verbal-guise technique, a Speech Dialect Attitudinal Scale questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire data revealed that 54% of students valued socio-intellectual status, 48% aesthetic …