Digital Commons Network^™

Comparison Of Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization And Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry For The Direct Analysis Of Hops Bittering Compounds, Chhiring Sherpa

Masters Theses

Hops acids are essential components in the beer brewing process containing alpha acids (α-acids) and beta acids (β-acids) as the major hops bittering compounds. Quantifying these acids is vital for quality control and determining bitterness levels and hops variety profiles. Current industry standards, like High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), though effective, are time-consuming and solvent-intensive, providing incomplete information.

This research introduces a novel method using mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI-MS) to analyze hops bittering acids without chromatographic separations. This approach offers rapid analysis, high throughput, and eco-friendliness.

Comparison with direct electrospray …

Reconnect: The Importance Of Beauty Within Architecture, Rebekah Lueck

Interior Design Capstones

In a world where secular design has become the norm, this project addresses the profound disconnect individuals experience in modern spaces. This research investigates the impact of contemporary design principles on user well-being and the built environment. It explores how secularism and modern design have contributed to this disconnect and alienation, and further how reforming a classical view and approach of architecture and design contribute to its remedy.

The integration of classical architecture not only offers an aesthetic and functional solution but also serves as a powerful response to the negative impacts of the fragmented view that has been embraced …

Establishing Practical Equivalence Of Factor Loadings In Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Christopher Edward Shank

Dissertations

This dissertation compares the performance of equivalence test (EQT) and null hypothesis test (NHT) procedures for identifying invariant and noninvariant factor loadings under a range of experimental manipulations. EQT is the statistically appropriate approach when the research goal is to find evidence of group similarity rather than group difference; despite this, the conventional approach to measurement invariance analysis relies upon NHT. EQT has proved effective for invariance detection using global model-data fit statistics in simulated and real-world data (Counsell et al., 2020) but its use in partial measurement invariance (PMI) analysis for evaluation of factor loading differences between groups has …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Heavy-Metal Oxoanion- And Phosphonate-Binding Nanojars, Pooja Singh

Dissertations

Nanojars are an emerging class of anion-binding and extraction agents. These supramolecular coordination complexes (2 nm wide) exhibit exceptional anion binding strength that points to their possible application in the recovery of toxic or valuable anions from water bodies. Nanojars of the formula (TBA)2[XO3/42−⸦{CuII(μ-OH)(μ-pyrazolate)}n] (TBA = tetrabutylammonium cation; XO3/42− = anion; X = Se, Te, Cr, Mo, W, HP, HAs, HV; n = 26 – 36) are synthesized from Cu2+, OH−, pyrazole and the TBA salts of various anions. Nanojars possess hydrophobic exteriors with an array of pyrazolate ligands and hydrophilic interiors with a …

Network Level Detection Of Iot Attacks Via Time Series Shape Mining, Srijani Basu

Masters Theses

This research proposes a method, for detecting intrusions in the Internet of Things (IoT) realm. This approach was specifically tested using datasets containing both benign, and attacks on smart home devices like the Belkin Wemo Power Switch, Lifx Smart Bulb, Amazon Echo, and Netatmo Welcome Camera. These attacks consist of specification-compliant volumetric DDoS attacks, which can be both direct and reflective, with very low traffic volumes implemented in an ON-OFF pattern. Here, the ON-OFF pattern can be referred to as a pulse attack strategy.

We combined non-linear statistical moving averages, and Dynamic Time Warping into a single framework that can …

Spatial Patterns Of Women Enrolled In Undergraduate Higher Education Coursework In The Us From 2010 To 2020., Dorcaslove Naa Oyo Quartey

Masters Theses

Higher education in the United States has witnessed a significant transformation over the years, characterized by a positive change in women’s enrollment across colleges and universities. Despite significant gains in recent decades, differences in women's participation to higher education persist across the United States. This may be due to several reasons. This thesis investigates the spatial patterns of women's enrollment in undergraduate higher education coursework across the United States from 2010 to 2020. As women's participation in higher education has become increasingly pivotal for societal progress, understanding the geographical distribution of their enrollment provides critical insights into regional disparities. Employing …

Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents: Liquid-Liquid Extraction Of Organic Water Pollutants, Abigail Louise Maletta

Masters Theses

Pollution is a topic of significant research within the scientific community. The massive demand for industrial processes to deliver the technology and resources we rely on has opened numerous avenues for pollutants to enter the environment, affecting air, water, soil, and the food chain. Oftentimes, these pathways are intertwined, and the interplay between water and air currents spreads pollution globally, creating a cascade of environmental impacts. Water, a vital resource for all forms of life, is particularly susceptible to industrial pollution. Among the most prevalent water pollutants are heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, and organic compounds, often released …

Diagnosing Discharge Events Within A Novel Miniature Simplified Coaxial Ion Trap Mass Analyzer, David Virgil Sirbescu-Stanley

Masters Theses

Mass spectrometry is a technique that organizes material samples by mass to reveal their chemical composition by forming a spectrum. Since their invention, ion trap mass spectrometers have undergone significant enhancements. This work, funded by the National Science Foundation and in collaboration with Brigham Young University, the Simplified Coaxial Ion Trap (SCIT), attempts to simplify ion trap geometry and combine three ion traps into one device. Successful demonstration of the SCIT functionality could reduce costs, reduce manufacturing complexity, and shrink total instrument volume. At the same time, trapping capacity and analytical efficiency will be increased. However, as discussed within, challenges …

Learning From Our Assessment Heroes: The 2023 Mini Grant Recipients, Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Measures of Success Series

Come and meet the 2023 University Assessment Steering Committee’s Assessment Mini Grant awardees. Learn about key accomplishments of these WMU instructors and administrators as they share highlights from their assessment projects focused in a variety of subjects and areas ranging from anthropology, finance and commercial law, geological and environmental sciences, Fulbright Foreign Student Program, history, and interdisciplinary health.

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session ,March 14, 2024, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes

Remarks by the Chair Pro-Tem

Remarks by the President

Updates by the Faculty Senate President

Updates by the Western Student Association President

Capital Intern Program Presentation: Cultivating a Leader: WMU Student's Journey in the

Capital Intern Program

Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

Consent Items

• Liquor License – Multiple Events
• Curriculum Proposals
• Personnel Report
• Annuity and Life Income Funds Performance Report
• Operating Cash Investment Performance Report

General Public Comments

Grand Connections: A Workshop Series To Support Grandparents Caring For Grandchildren Under 5, Kathy Kinsner

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

A workshop series for grandparents caring for grandchildren under five was developed by ZERO TO THREE and piloted online in 2021 as part of a multi-year effort to create resources specifically for grandparents and kinship caregivers. Seven workshops, each 90 minutes long, offer a unique 3-generation approach: Grandparents receive the latest information on child-rearing, strategies for collaborating with their grandchild’s parents, and opportunities to connect with their grandchildren through read-alouds and art activities. Workshop materials (detailed lesson plans, slide decks, and grandparent handouts) are available online at no charge to organizations wishing to run a program of their own.

Of …

"The Lover's Confession": A Translation Of John Gower's "Confessio Amantis", Brian Gastle, Catherine Carter, Andrew Galloway

TEAMS Varia

John Gower’s Confessio Amantis (The Lover’s Confession) is one of the most important English works of the fourteenth century, influencing authors from Chaucer to Shakespeare. Within its frame of the lovesick lover’s confession are well over a hundred stories, mainly derived from classical mythology, the Bible, and history which exemplify the Middle Ages serve as moral lessons (exempla) for personal and political behavior. Echoing the octosyllabic line of the original, this is the first complete modern English translation of the entire (33,000-line) poem, including its Latin verses and glosses.

"I’M Not Teaching Them Per Se": Designing And Delivering Asynchronous Undergraduate Online Stem Courses, Regina L. Garza Mitchell, Whitney Decamp, Brian Horvitz, Megan Grunert Kowalske, Cherrelle Singleton

Instruments for Measuring Online Teaching Practices

Although online courses have been a part of academia for nearly 30 years, they are still perceived as “different” than face-to-face instruction. Through in-depth interviews with four instructors, we explored how STEM faculty approach teaching asynchronous online undergraduate STEM courses. The faculty interviewed for this study viewed online courses as “not regular class[es]” and teaching those classes as “not teaching per se.” Each of the instructors had assumptions about what a classroom was and about good instruction, but even for instructors who taught online for multiple years, those assumptions remained grounded in the face-to-face environment. There is a need for …

Developing An Observation Protocol For Online Stem Courses, Brian Horvitz, Whitney Decamp, Regina L. Garza Mitchell, Megan Grunert Kowalske, Cherrelle Singleton

Instruments for Measuring Online Teaching Practices

The use of online instruction for undergraduate STEM courses is growing rapidly. While researchers and practitioners have access to validated instruments for studying the practice of teaching in face-to-face classrooms, analogous tools do not yet exist for online instruction. These tools are needed for quality design and control purposes. To meet this need, this project developed an observational protocol that can be used to collect non-evaluative data for the description, study, and improvement of online, undergraduate STEM courses. The development of this instrument used a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach to the research, design, pilot-testing, refinement and implementation of the …

Geological And Environmental Sciences - 2024, Dept. Of Geological And Environmental Sciences

Geological and Environmental Sciences News

• Greetings from the Department Chair
• Thank You to our Donors
• Faculty Updates
• Emeritus Faculty Updates
• MGRRE Updates
• MGS Updates
• Geosciences Advisory Council
• Student Clubs
• Awards and Honors, 2024
• Department Graduates
• Publications 2023–24

“Everyone Else Gets To Have The American Dream:” How Social Security Disability Policy Shapes Disability Identity, Katie Savin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In the United States welfare state, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is the primary institution that shapes the disability experience through its disability benefit programs. This study used qualitative methods to explore 33 disabled adult beneficiaries’ experience with SSI/SSDI policy administration and the impact on their sense of worth, self-concept, and identity. Critical Disability Studies and a constructivist grounded theory approach drove data analysis. What emerged from the data was a negative disability identity experience referred to as the Social Security model of disability. Capitalist ideals that assign morality to formal work meant that disabled participants faced exclusion and stigma …

You Don’T Have To Be Their Best Friend: Complicating The Instructor-Student Relationship Through A Mixed-Method Typology, Jessalyn I. Vallade, Kyle Rudick

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

The purpose of this study was to explore the nuances of instructor-student relationships with a nationally representative sample of students. Participants were randomly assigned to describe relationships with their best, worst, and/or last instructor and rate their satisfaction with each relationship, and the level of closeness with the instructor. Coding of student descriptions revealed 13 themes, organized into six pairs of constructive/destructive relationship anchors and one neutral category (Professional Relationship). Importantly, professional relationships were not as close as constructive relationships but were equally satisfying, indicating the closeness in instructor-student relationships has diminishing returns. Results are discussed in the context of …

Cárcel De Amor / The Prison Of Love, Laura Francis, Álvaro Garrote Pascual

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

No abstract provided.

Net Present Value And Payback Period: An Analysis, Ezekiel Cotter

Honors Theses

Capital budgeting is essential for the long-term success of a business. A firm must make the correct decisions when investing capital in projects. If firms do not make the correct decision, it will lead to investing in projects that do not add value to the firm, and it may also decrease the firm’s value. Multiple capital budgeting techniques exist to varying degrees of use. These techniques include Accounting Rate of Return, Internal Rate of Return, Modified Rate of Return, Payback Period, Discounted Payback Period, and Net Present Value. There is widespread research that spans decades of literature on which capital …

Development Of An App For The Kalamazoo Nature Center, Ernest Au

Honors Theses

Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC), which has been recognized by its peers as one of the top nature centers in the country, is home to over 14 miles of hiking trails winding through woods, wetlands, and prairies. There are numerous places/plots in KNC that have an interesting and impressive history besides being home to a variety of animals and hundreds of wildflowers and other plant life. To improve the visitor’s experience at KNC, we will design a software app via the senior capstone project at the department of Computer Science at WMU. As the first step towards establishing a reference model …

The Influence Of Aviation Technology On Human Complacency, Aurora Burton

Honors Theses

The thesis covers automation complacency in the aviation industry. The purpose being to provide a foundation of complacency-related accidents to support or dismiss the Federal Aviation Administration’s claim to automation-induced inattention. Complacency factors are outlined in a multitude of fields, creating a background for aviation discussion. To outline the parameters of literature review, behaviors associated with complacency are addressed. Next, a compilation of accident reports is examined and categorized. Specific, impactful accidents relating to complacency are detailed and explained. Summarily, three solutions to human-driven complacency are proposed, evaluated, and analyzed. Including the following: proficiency advancement, technology improvement, and change in …

Early Carbonate Diagenesis Of The Miocene Dam Formation In Southwestern Qatar, Mohammed Al-Musawi

Dissertations

The timing and mechanisms of platform-scale dolomitization have been the subject of a long and contentious scientific debate known as the “dolomite problem.” The current study provides new insights through an investigation of the Miocene mixed carbonate-siliciclastics-evaporites Dam Fm in southwestern Qatar. Petrographical, mineralogical, and geochemical data are integrated from two research cores, the Dam-01 and Dam-02. The Dam Fm provides an ideal site to investigate dolomitization because these rocks are: (i) relatively young, (ii) have not been deeply buried, (iii) exhibit no evidence of diagenetic resetting, and (iv) characterized by alternating meter-scale depositional cycles that help constrain the relative …

Investigation Of Public Trust In Science In Connection With Views About Tentative Nature Of Science And Epistemological Beliefs, Asghar Pervaiz Gill

Dissertations

Trust in science is contested in everyday discourse and decision-making. Science education research and instruction must delve into and contribute to enhancing public trust in science. In this context, nature of science (NOS), and epistemological beliefs (EBs) emerge as closely related research areas highlighting the tentative NOS and uncertain aspects of knowledge, which can potentially influence trust in science. In a series of three interrelated studies, this research explores the public trust in science in relation to NOS views and EBs.

The first study emphasizes the role of science education in building trust among undergraduate chemistry students. It assesses the …

The Effects Of Adolescent Trauma, Mental Health Treatment, And Demographic Variables On Educational Outcome, Christopher Postema

Dissertations

Poor educational performance in adolescence can occur due to trauma, substance use, or other stressors. This study used conflict theory as a foundation, suggesting differences in educational outcomes can be attributed to systems perpetuating the current power structures that cause inequality in academic opportunities and performance. Trauma in adolescence can have adverse effects on educational outcomes and emotional stability. Research suggests that mental health therapy as well as a reduction in trauma symptoms can improve educational outcomes. Race, gender, substance use, socioeconomic status, and employment are important variables that could influence educational outcomes. Interaction terms were found in the literature …

Development Of S.T.E.A.M. Daises In Formal And Informal Environments For Educating Primary I Learners, Frances Neville

Masters Theses

The federal government has made education a competition among ourselves. Learning is not a rivalry to be imposed on our physical and cognitive development as humans. Escalating beliefs recognize education is more encompassing than CCSS, assessments and the grade level time frames in which standards are to be taught. On the precipice of anti-intellect, low expectations, and what has been termed “The Dumbing of America” an investigation into what it would take to close the achievement gap and increase student learning is overdue.

The goal for my Michigan based project, S.T.E.A.M. Daises, was to develop a program focusing on the …

Three Essays On Work And Marital Satisfaction In China, Peng Luo

Dissertations

This dissertation comprises three research papers that delve into the relationship between the work characteristics of married Chinese employees and their individual satisfaction in both marriage and work. A common feature of these papers is the meticulous pairing of data, which ensures that each observation includes vital information about their respective spouses. This dataset allows me to conduct a comprehensive exploration of how spouses' work attributes influence individuals.

The first paper employs cross-sectional data to study whether how spouses met through work, and differences in their respective industries are related to their marital satisfaction. The results reveal that how spouses …

Using Explicit Instruction And Frequency Building To A Performance Criterion To Teach Writing To College Students With Disabilities, Alyssa R. Mcelroy

Dissertations

Proficient writing skills are critical for academic, vocational, and social outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). However, many individuals struggle to develop proficient writing repertoires. Explicit Instruction (EI) and Frequency Building to a Performance Criterion (FPBC) are two effective teaching strategies. EI is comprised of clear, direct instructions and scaffolding to support a gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student, and follows a model, lead, test format. Once a skill is mastered, it should be built to fluency. FBPC is method that uses timed practice and feedback to build skills to …

A Multi-Objective Stochastic Programming Model For Resilient And Sustainable Supply Chains Under Uncertainty, Mohammad H. Majdfaghihi

Dissertations

Supply chain resilience (SCRES) and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) have garnered significant attention in the field of Supply Chain Management (SCM) science. This heightened interest is largely attributable to the increasing frequency and severity of uncertainty and disruptions in global supply chains. Resilience is a beneficial approach to managing uncertainties and preparing for and mitigating the adverse consequences of Supply Chain (SC) disruptions. Sustainability is a key concept in SCM, driven by governmental regulations and heightened stakeholder and customer concerns for environmental and societal well-being. Studies on SCRES have traditionally focused on preparing for and reacting to disruptions and …

Teaching Without A Roadmap: A Mixed Methods Study Of New Teachers' Experience With A Missing Curriculum, Christopher Reid Williams

Dissertations

As new teachers enter the field of education, they face many challenges as they work to quickly adapt to the many demands of the job. One of the most pressing factors for new teachers is deciding what to actually teach each day. For educators, the curriculum represents the master plan that both guides their educational efforts and supplies the tools to get the job done. However, new teachers experience varying levels of curriculum support when they begin their careers, and some receive absolutely no support at all. This study describes those cases of beginning a teaching career with little to …

A Critical Comparison Of Answering Behavior Threshold Determination Methods As An Indicator Of Engagement On The 2015 Pisa Science Items, Lauri Elizabeth Mackelburg-Davis

Dissertations

The validity of low-stakes achievement tests is questionable when disengaged answering (i.e., rapid-guessing and rapid-omitting) is present in even moderate amounts. Thus, identifying these disengaged test-takers is important so that statistical or behavior mediation practices can be put into place. The first step in identifying disengaged examinees is to determine the divide between the engaged examinees and those that are disengaged. Many methods for discriminating between disengaged from engaged answering behavior on computer generated assessments exist. Many methods require expertise in statistical methods, while others require little to no mathematics knowledge. However, these simpler methods are routinely used with little …