Digital Commons Network^™

Stress, Depression, And Anxiety, Oh My: Examining The Effects Of A Single-Session Seminar On Depression And Anxiety Symptomatology, Katelyn Sharpe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Young adults (aged 18-25) were identified as the most stressed age group due to internal and external factors that are relatively unique to their group. High stress levels are alarming as they coincide with a multitude of adverse effects on psychological health, including difficulty falling and staying asleep, reduction in overall sleep quality, and exacerbated depression and anxiety symptomatology. Young adults attending post-secondary education institutions are at particular risk for developing and maintaining these adverse psychological effects of stress, especially considering the low rate in which they seek treatment for psychiatric difficulties. Limited literature exists to date regarding condensing a …

Constructing And Validating Feature Models Using Relational, Document, And Graph Databases, Hazim Shatnawi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Building a software product line (SPL) is a systematic strategy for reusing software within a family of related systems from some application domain. To define an SPL, a domain analyst must identify the common and variable aspects of a family of systems and capture them for later use in construction of specific products. To do so, Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis (FODA) introduced the feature model as an abstraction to represent the common and variable aspects, using a feature diagram to depict the model visually. However, this abstraction is often difficult for developers to use because most tools rely on specialized theories, …

Philophilia, Andy Sia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A collection of poems.

Blood Money: 12th Century Trade Wars And The Fourth Crusade, Alexander Evgeniy Stalowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The historiography of the Fourth Crusade has neglected long-term macroeconomic developments and its influence on the Fourth Crusade within the Byzantine Empire and the Italian states of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa. It is well-established that the Venetians rerouted the crusading forces to Constantinople which caused political, religious, and economic challenges that altered the Mediterranean world. Yet, the trend of writing on political events and short-term microeconomics and macroeconomics from 1180 to 1204, has done great disservice to the larger trans-regional disputes that engulfed the Mediterranean during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This thesis will attempt to fill the void of …

Reducing Disparites In Act Results According To Racial Identity: An Applied Research Study Into The Weact Program In Tinlake High School, Marcus Stewart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT The ACT provides opportunities for students of various socioeconomic backgrounds, racial identities, and family structures. Throughout the nation, there is a disparity that involves Black students scoring less than White students on the test by a margin of five points. The applied mixed methods research aimed to identify elements to help decrease the gap in student scores. The combined efforts of all the elements, tutorials, boot camps, ACT prep classes, and providing ACT resources in daily instruction formed the WeACT program. The students of Tinlake High School were exposed to this pilot program to assist in their ACT growth. …

Convective Heat Transfer Enhancement Of A Channel-Flow Using Horizontally-Oriented Piezoelectric Fans, Janak Tiwari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Experimental and numerical studies were carried out to investigate the convection heat transfer enhancement of air channel flow using a piezoelectric fan, operated at 90.3 Hz. Its peak-to-peak displacement was increased up to 11.8 mm. The average velocity of channel flow was ranged up to 3 m/s, covering both laminar and turbulent flow regimes. The effects of fan location on the heat transfer performance were evaluated by changing the relative position of the fan tip to the heated surface. A maximum heat transfer enhancement of 102 % was obtained at the channel flow rate of 15 LPM. The fan was …

The Current Treatment Of English Phrasal Verbs In Mext-Authorized Textbooks For Japanese Junior High School Students, Natsuko Yamada

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This comparative analysis, focusing on the 150 highest-frequency phrasal verbs in the phrasal verb pedagogical list (Garnier and Schmitt, 2015), highlights the limited occurrence across English language textbooks for Japanese junior high school. The spoken and written data of Japanese learners of English (i.e., NICT-JLE and NICE) shows considerable differences in the usage patterns of phrasal verbs compared to native English speakers. These results indicated that Japanese learners’ underdeveloped productive knowledge of phrasal verbs could cause intelligibility problems with native speakers especially in oral communication. In order to overcome the semantic and phonological complexity of phrasal verbs, and to break …

"No Place In American History": Remembering And Forgetting The Sultana Disaster, Elias John Baker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project examines the historical memory of the Sultana steamboat disaster of April 27, 1865. The Sultana, ferrying recently-released federal prisoners, exploded north of Memphis, killing over 1,700 in the nation’s worst maritime disaster. Contemporaries interpreted the disaster through a variety of lenses, finding evidence of recalcitrant rebels, the heroism of Union soldiers, and critiques of Republican emancipationist wartime policy. Steamboat safety advocates deployed the disaster’s memory to successfully press Radical Republicans for the 1871 Steamboat Act, establishing the nation’s first maritime safety code. The disaster’s survivors gathered at reunions and published personal narratives to secure the Sultana, and the …

A Valence-Bond Operator Algebra For Quantum Spin Models And Its Applications, Huu Tran Do

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Heisenberg Hamiltonian is the prototype model for quantum magnetism. The Hamilto- nian includes exchange couplings between vector spins, which are the intrinsic magnetic moments of localized electrons. The classical energy between any pair of interacting spins can be minimized by aligning them parallel (ferromagnetic case) or antiparallel (antiferromagnetic), depending on the sign of the coupling. But quantum fluctuations play a key role, and a full quantum mechanical treatment of the many-body system is generally required. Finding the exact ground-state energy and wave function of isotropic antiferromagnetic (AFM) systems for an arbitrary spin-S and lattice morphology is still a challenging …

Evaluation Of Manufacturing Methods For Antenna Design, Caleb Daniel Keathley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper proposes several antennas designed to satisfy both dimension and frequency constraints of a handset. The proposed antennas are modeled and simulated in CST software. After multiple iterations, the final antenna designs are manufactured using both a milling machine and a 3D printer. The fabricated antennas are measured using a network analyzer and compared to their expected simulation results.

Just Southern Food: Food Justice For The Mississippi Delta, Christian Tabor Owen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this research is to promote food justice for the Mississippi Delta by investigating facts about the intersections of extreme poverty, food insecurity, and chronic illness in the Mississippi Delta. By exploring relevant literature and highlighting current initiatives, this work looks at the semantics of food justice and related terms, discusses challenges unique to the Mississippi Delta, and broadly characterizes public health models with the greatest potential for food justice advancement in this region. Pivotal to interpreting food justice not only for the Mississippi Delta or the Global South, but for any community, is a clear understanding …

Dynamics For Discretized Gravity In The Causal Set Approach, Benjamin Pilgrim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Causal set theory is an approach to quantum gravity which replaces the continuous spacetime manifold with a discrete set of points and a partial order. In this work, I will focus on causal sets embeddable in two-dimensional manifolds, and define an action based on chains which in the continuum limit replicates the Einstein-Hilbert action; furthermore, I will propose a variational principle based on this action and numerically show it can distinguish nonflat manifoldlike causal sets from the most common type of nonmanifoldlike causal sets. I will then supplement this action with a boundary term similar to the Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term …

Interictal Avoidance Of Sensory Stimuli Among Individuals With Migraine, Daniel Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Migraine is the most debilitating neurological disorder worldwide and is associated with high economic and psychological costs. Common behavioral strategies for coping with migraine include avoidance of stimuli believed to precipitate an attack, though literature suggests that avoidance behaviors may serve to exacerbate migraine-symptoms and increase disability. Although the incorporation of trigger avoidance in modern conceptualizations of headache-related disability represents a more comprehensive understanding of disability occurring outside of migraine attacks (interictally), extant literature has emphasized trigger avoidance to the exclusion of other factors. Learning principles suggest stimuli that exacerbate migraine may take on similar eliciting properties as pain and …

Psychometric Evaluation Of Memory And Concentration Sections In The Standardized Assessment Of Concussion, Seungho Ryu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to evaluate validate the memory and concentration sections of the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) from the SCAT5. Two studies were conducted. The first study examined item difficulty and discrimination using 10 new word lists of 3 versions in the immediate memory section using item analysis based on classical test theory and to equate scores earned on different versions of 10 word lists using test equating methods. The second evaluated the validity of digits backwards in the concentration section, and evaluated current and new scoring methods for the digit backwards. Two hundred young adults …

Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy: Sensitivity Analysis For Anisotropic Materials With Hexagonal Symmetry, Christopher Lee Sevigney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Resonance ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) is an experimental method by which material properties are obtained by careful observation of the resonant vibrations of a meticulously crafted sample. Among the most common applications of this technique is the determination of single-crystal elasticity. Previous works have considered the reliability of elasticity information obtained via the RUS method when the material is of isotropic or cubic symmetry, and this work extends these efforts to materials with hexagonal symmetry, such as titanium di-boride. The reliability of elasticity information obtained by RUS is evaluated by Sobol Analysis and by close examination of the stiffness-frequency functionality. Findings …

Full Issue, Journal Editors

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

There’S A Magic To It, John Herring

Yalobusha Review

No abstract provided.

Turnover Intentions Of Self-Initiated Expatriates: The Role Of Servant Leadership And Organizational Embeddedness, Caleb W. Lugar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The topic of this dissertation is turnover of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). The significance of the SIE domain is evidenced by the exponential growth in SIE literature since the publication of the seminal research article authored by Inkson, Arthur, Pringle, and Barry (1997). Research in the SIE domain is also of interest to practitioners employed in multinational organizations who increasingly recognize that SIEs are an untapped source of global talent. To contribute to the SIE literature, in Essay One, of my three-essay dissertation, I first provide a systematic SIE literature review. Second, my unique contribution is a systematic review of the …

"Slums Are Our Most Expensive Luxuries": Little Rock's Metroplan And The Making Of The Neoliberal City, 1939-1980, Monica N. Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores Little Rock, Arkansas, as a site that provides a surprising perspective for understanding the national history of postwar urban policy. By centering Little Rock, this dissertation joins recent efforts to historicize neoliberalism and serves as a starting point to understanding the role of smaller cities in the history of neoliberalization.

Coping With Pain And Health-Related Quality Of Life Among Adults With Sickle Cell Disease, Monika Salkar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives

The objectives of this dissertation are to: 1) to examine the psychometric properties of the CSQSCD among adult sickle cell disease (SCD) patients; 2) to identify psychosocial predictors of health-related quality (HRQOL) among adult SCD patients; and 3) to identify the distinct, multidimensional patterns of strategies for coping with SCD and their association with HRQOL among adult SCD patients in the United States.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted using a web-based self-administered survey. Adults with SCD were recruited with the help of Rare Patient Voice, a market research company that maintains a panel of SCD patients. Psychometric properties …

Chronology Of The Fatherland Site, Daniel Shawl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A recently discovered mound (Mound E) at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians (22AD501, the Fatherland Site) dates to the Foster phase of the Mississippian period (1300-1500 CE). This new chronology is stems from analysis conducted on ceramic assemblages from Robert S. Neitzel’s (1965) excavations and ceramic assemblages from Tony Boudreaux’s (2019) excavations at the site. Frequency seriations, non-metric multidimensional scaling, and radiocarbon dates suggest that Mound E was constructed and in use several hundred years prior to European contact at the site. The results of this body of research brings new insight into a portion of history of …

Decentralized Narrowband And Wideband Spectrum Sensing With Correlated Observations, Xingjian Sun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates the utility of several approaches to the design of good distributed sensing systems for both narrowband and wideband spectrum sensing problems with correlated sensor observations.

Effectiveness Of An Educational Intervention To Reduce Ageism In Undergraduate Students In An Entry-Level Nutrition Class, Ann Irvin Armstrong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although the older adult population continues to increase, ageism remains an issue in the healthcare system and is prevalent among nutrition-related professionals. The aim of our study is to is determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention to reduce ageism among pre-healthcare professionals including Nutrition major students. Undergraduate students enrolled in an entry-level nutrition class were recruited and randomized into an intervention (INT) group (n=30) and a control (CON) group (n=29). The online educational intervention consisted of pre-recorded lectures and videos regarding ageism and myths regarding aging for the INT group, and on cultural competency and biases (other than ageism) …

Nature's Converts: Reading The Land And Nature In The Early American Conversion Narrative, 1727-1831, Cullen Rex Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the connections between cultivating the land and cultivating the soul through select readings of early American conversion narratives composed between 1727-1831. Over a century after British Colonists colonized the shores of New England, members of the United Ministers of Boston championed the efforts of their descendants, who both cultivated the land and the Indigenous and new arrived souls emplaced within the North American landscape. As they told their readers in 1727, their dual cultivating efforts were worthy of universal adulation and imitation. And in 1836, the words of Reverend Nahum Gold echoed those of the United Ministers …

Development Of Ibuprofen Tablet With Polyethylene Oxide Using Fused Deposition Modeling (Fdm) 3d Printing Coupled With Hot-Melt Extrusion, Sooyeon Chung

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ibuprofen is known to plasticize several polymers used in the pharmaceutical field, and it is considered challenging to achieve an immediate release by fused deposition modeling (FDM). Therefore, this study aimed to print ibuprofen tablet with a focus on achieving immediate release. Polyethylene oxide (Polyox WSR N80) was used as a main matrix to form the ibuprofen filament due to its water-soluble property and manifesting suitable mechanical property even with the high drug loading (40% w/w). Several release modifiers such as Kollidon VA64, Kollidon 12PF, Kollicoat IR, Kollidon CL, and Mannitol were added separately to the formulation to enhance the …

Manipulations Of A Memory Interference Paradigm, Lindsay Kyle Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The AB/DE, AC/FG paired associate learning task, which has been utilized in numerous experimental studies, is purported to induce both proactive (PI) and retroactive interference (RI) simultaneously. However, until now, there have not been any studies validating or determining the optimal format of this paradigm. As such, the purpose of this series of experiments was to make manipulations to the task in order to maximize its efficacy. Across the series of experiments implemented herein, we manipulated various aspects of the paradigm (e.g., semantic relatedness of the word pairs, number of trials) driven by theoretical underpinnings of memory interference theory. Experiments …

Rap1a Overlaps The Age/Rage Signaling Cascade In Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Stephanie Burr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diabetic individuals have an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease due to stiffening of the left ventricle, which is thought to occur, in part, by increased AGE/RAGE signaling. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulate within the body over time, and under hyperglycemic conditions, the formation and accumulation of AGEs is accelerated. AGEs exert their effect by binding to their receptor (RAGE) and can induce myofibroblast differentiation, oxidative stress, cell-extracellular matrix contraction, and cell migration. Previous findings from our lab have demonstrated that preventing the production of Rap1a, a Ras-like GTPase signaling protein, in cardiac fibroblasts will decrease type 2 diabetes …

Topics On Applications Of Optimization Theories On Statistical Methodologies, Duc Anh Anh Doan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, We show the results of our researches in statistical sampling, functional optimization, and methodology for partially observed Markov process (POMP) models. In statistical sampling, we introduce a p-generalized smoothing method that enables the Langevin-Monte Carlo method to generate a sample from a log concave distribution weakly smoothing potential function. For our optimization research, we introduce an accelerated inexact gradient (AIG) method. Combining the strengths while mitigating the weakness of its parent methods: gradient descent and Nesterov's accelerated gradient, AIG converges with excellent rates for both convex and non-convex optimization problems for smooth objective functions. Furthermore, we also …

The Middle To High School Transition: An Applied Research Study To Improve And Support High School Readiness In High-Poverty Schools, Robert Davis Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The applied research study aimed to improve high school readiness for eighth-grade students transitioning to ninth-grade in high-poverty schools. Middle school educators are struggling to prepare students for ninth-grade without the proper transition support programs. This applied research study's framework was based on improving student performance, preventing academic achievement loss, addressing social-emotional learning, and informing students of operational procedures to prepare them for the high school environment. An action plan was developed and implemented in three phases to address each element of concern intentionally. Phase one consisted of Saturday Academy tutoring to improve student performance in reading and math. Implementation …

Gestures Of Dissent: Self-Fashioning Performance From Southern Women Writers During The Fin De Siécle, Elisa Fuhrken

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores Southern women writers during the latter half of the nineteenth-century who asserted and crafted a modernized identity by turning to various modes of transgressive performance and performance spaces. For women of the nineteenth-century, this meant extricating themselves from a domestic, sentimental identity and apprehending a more fluid, dynamic type of being. The modes of performance, such as spectatorship, orality, and gesture, allowed these women to express and articulate an alternative feminine identity while also engaging with an embodied epistemology. This thesis looks at three Southern women writers: Sherwood Bonner’s novel Like Unto Like and her travel letters …