Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Multi-Day Music Enrichment On Salivary Cortisol And Cage Behavior In Shelter Dogs, Stacy D. Engerbretson

Dissertations

Rehoming shelters provide their animals with environmental enrichment with the expectation that modifying the physical space will improve kennel-related stress and subsequently abate undesirable behaviors. Although enrichment has shown moderate success at improving in-kennel behavior, increased use of physiological measurements of stress, such as cortisol, has garnered doubt as to which canine behaviors are truly elicited by a biological state of distress. Consequently, it is unknown if past examples of successful kennel enrichment decreased biological stress in addition to affecting behavior. This study explored music’s effect on salivary cortisol and music’s potential as a long-term, kennel enrichment strategy. Shelter dogs …

Teaching Matching-To-Sample To Low-Performing Children With Autism, Blaire E. Michelin

Dissertations

Matching-to-sample is a basic procedure used in most programs for pre-school children with autism. However, a few children fail to acquire this skill with standard matching-to-sample procedures. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate an alternative method for teaching matching-to-sample to those children when the traditional methods are likely to fail. First, simple discriminations with the matching materials were taught, then the discriminations were made more complex across successive sessions. Initially, all discriminations were taught using bins to separate the comparison stimuli. All three children acquired matching-to-sample, which generalized to matching novel two-dimensional stimuli, not placed in bins.

Behavioral Contrast Using A Simulated Organizational Task, Brandon M. Ring

Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to bridge a gap between Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) and the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (EAB). Although OBM’s historical and scientific roots are nested within EAB, OBM research does not always strictly follow or adhere to basic research definitions or procedures. That is, terms that have specific operational definitions in EAB and Applied Behavior Analysis are sometimes used incorrectly in OBM research. Similarly, these terms are often associated with specific experimental procedures in basic literature, yet OBM research procedures may not follow the strict procedural guidelines. The purpose of the present study was …

A Critical Inquiry Approach To Teaching Young Adult Literature, Steffany Comfort Maher

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a critical inquiry approach to teaching young adult literature in English language arts classrooms. Critical inquiry is derived from critical theory and critical pedagogy approaches, as well as pragmatic philosophies of inquiry. The author shows from convincing examples that a critical inquiry approach to teaching empowers students to ask meaningful questions about both what they are reading and the world they live in.

Chapter One: Methods of Teaching Young Adult Literature: Past, Present, and Future is an introduction to critical inquiry and the teaching of young adult literature. Chapter Two: Critical Inquiry in Teaching Young Adult Literature: …

Prediction Of Forelimb Muscle Activities And Movement Phases Using Corticospinal Signals In The Rat, Sinan Gok

Dissertations

The targeted population for this project is primarily patients with high level spinal cord injury (SCI) and individuals with motor neuron diseases (MND). In both SCI and MND cases motor control is interrupted due to lack of communication between the brain and the musculature, although both sides are otherwise functional. The approach in this project is to use neural engineering techniques to restore the motor function that was lost because of an injury or disease.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) attempt to extract the volitional signals from the cortex when the brain's normal outputs to the musculoskeletal system are impaired. However, BCIs …

Numerical Simulations Of Thin Viscoelastic Films, Valeria Barra

Dissertations

This dissertation is developed in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and it focuses on numerical simulations of the dynamics of thin viscoelastic films in different settings. The first part of this dissertation presents a novel computational investigation of thin viscoelastic films and drops, that are subject to the van der Waals interaction force, in two spatial dimensions. The liquid films are deposited on a flat solid substrate, that can have a zero or nonzero inclination with respect to the base. The equation that governs the interfacial dynamics of the thin films and drops is obtained within the long-wave …

Submandibular Mechanical Stimulation Of Upper Airway Muscles To Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Ferhat Erdogan

Dissertations

The extrinsic tongue muscles are activated in coordination with pharyngeal muscles to keep a patent airway during respiration in wakefulness and sleep. The activity of genioglossus, the primary tongue-protruding muscle playing an important role in this coordination, is known to be modulated by several reflex pathways mediated through the mechanoreceptors of the upper airways. The main objective is to investigate the effectiveness of activating these reflex pathways with mechanical stimulations, for the long-term goal of improving the upper airway patency during disordered breathing in sleep. The genioglossus response is examined during mandibular and sub-mandibular mechanical stimulations in healthy subjects during …

Direct And Indirect Controls On Bee Community Composition, Caroline Marie Devan

Dissertations

Bees are important pollinators, critical for the continued survival of plants in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. Diverse bee communities have been shown to increase richness in plant communities and plant reproduction depends upon bee community richness. Yet there is growing concern that pollinators, especially bees, are declining globally. This dissertation focuses on evaluating the mechanisms responsible for bee community composition in order to promote bee conservation in natural systems and their restoration in human-dominated urban and agricultural landscapes.

Bee populations are impacted directly by three things: floral resources, nesting resources and risk, primarily from natural enemies. Bees are indirectly …

A Biodegradable Piezoelectric Composite Scaffold Containing Zinc Oxide For Cartilage Repair Applications, Ateka Mohd Arabi Khader

Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 27 million adults in the United States. OA causes degeneration of articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Articular cartilage has limited ability to regenerate and repair. Bone and cartilage tissues have known piezoelectric properties, which means they can generate electrical activity in response to mechanical deformation. Using a biomimetic approach, zinc oxide (ZnO), which has known piezoelectric properties, is fabricated into a flexible three-dimensional fibrous scaffold by embedding ZnO nanoparticles into slow degrading polycaprolactone (PCL). Zinc ions can be released from the fibrous scaffold over time, which also may be beneficial for cell function since zinc has well-known …

The Association Of Kangaroo Mother Care, Energy Conservation, And Bonding In Preterm Neonates, Dorothy Forde

Dissertations

Purpose:To examine the association of kangaroo mother care (KMC) on energy utilization and bonding as evidenced by reduced biochemical markers of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) degradation, hypoxanthine (Hx), xanthine (Xa), and uric acid (UA), and (allantoin), a measure of oxidative stress in preterm infants 24-36 weeks gestation. A secondary objective was to compare specific physiological parameters using bedside monitoring and perfusion and oxygenation of the gut using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) during 1 hour of KMC compared to incubator care.

Study design: A randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the effects of 1-hour of KMC or 1-hour incubator care on urinary markers …

Oxygen Consumption In Sepsis, Julie Graham

Dissertations

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that can lead to septic shock and death. With over 300,000 annual cases (AHRQ, 2011) costing a staggering $1.5 billion (Health Care Utilization Project Brief #185), the importance of sepsis is becoming clear. However, some basic biological mechanisms are poorly understood. Study Purpose: This study investigated the relationships between select demographics, resting energy expenditure (REE), serum lactate, SOFA score mortality index, oxygen consumption [by way of measuring net oxygen consumed, (V02) and net carbon dioxide produced (VC02)], and sepsis. Specific Aims: Aims were to describe 1) patient demographics, serum lactate, SOFA score mortality index, …

A Whole New World: Students With Disabilities Transition To Postsecondary Education, Warren Whitaker

Dissertations

Since the inception of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, there has been a steady increase in the enrollment of students with disabilities in higher education. With the postsecondary transition in educational supports from the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) in high school to ADA in college, there has been a lack of research related to the experiences of these students with disabilities while they are in college. Considering the changes in disability experience resulting from education policy changes from high school (IDEA) to college (ADA/Section 504), the purpose of this study was to examine the …

The Academic And Social-Emotional Effects Of Classroom Service Dogs/Specialized Therapy Dogs With Handlers On Student Learning And Behavior In K-12 Special Education Students In Emotional/Behavioral Disordered Placements As Perceived By Their Teachers, Sharon Kalkoske

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to determine and describe the academic and social-emotional effects of classroom service dogs/specialized therapy dogs with handlers on student learning and behavior in K-12 special education students in Emotionally/Behaviorally Disturbed (EBD) placements as perceived by their teachers.

Methodology: This study utilized qualitative data from semistructured, open-ended interview questions to analyze the research questions regarding the perceptions of teachers and educators on service dogs/specialized therapy dogs with handlers on student learning and behavior in K-12 special education students in EBD placements. The population for this study included educators working in special education classrooms …

Factors Which Influence Adult African Americans' Asthma Self-Management, James Daniel Holland

Dissertations

There are approximately 22.2 million Americans' who are living with asthma and of those 18.4 million are adults. African Americans' are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma compared to Caucasians, and experience more asthma attacks. In this study, the Social Cognitive Theory was used to examine the relationships among personal characteristics, environmental factors, asthma self-efficacy, self-management behaviors, and quality of life (QOL) in African American adults with asthma.
A correlational design was used.

Sustaining A Career In Community And Technical College Leadership By Coping With Job Stress Through Emotional Intelligence, Claire Korschinowski

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the use of emotional intelligence for coping with organizational role stress as perceived by senior-level leaders serving as college presidents, vice presidents and deans in the Washington State community and technical college system. A second purpose of this study was to describe the differences in perceptions amongst senior-level leader’s use of emotional intelligence as a stress coping strategy.

Methodology: For this qualitative phenomenological study, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews from 15 senior-level leaders. Participants identified a variety of ways emotional intelligence factors into coping with organizational …

Southeastern Tanzanian Benedictine Monasteries: Filling A Void Of Governmental Services For The Poorest Regions, John Christie-Searles

Dissertations

This research illuminates the partnership of a particular civil society actor, Benedictine monasteries, in achieving developmental goals and delivery outcomes for education and health in Tanzania. Faith based organizations (FBOs) like these Benedictine monasteries quietly persevered with their work. These monasteries without governmental support were able to achieve similar results in areas of Tanzania deprived of infrastructure and consistent governmental administrative attention.

Monastic apostolate fervor is similar to the professionalism exhibited by international aid organizations and nongovernmental organizations in their desire to meet the needs of the poor. Motivations are complex and varied from evangelization to political and strategic agendas …

A Profile Of Selected Conservatorships In Failing Mississippi School Districts, Josh Jones

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with the success of conservatorships as a method for school district improvement by analyzing school accountability ratings, results from an adaptive leadership instrument, and action plans of conservators. A sequential exploratory design was used to examine the action plans implemented by conservators to increase academic achievement in five failing school districts. The quantitative data from this study consisted of accountability ratings from districts under the control of a conservator within the 2012 – 2016 time period and data from the adaptive leadership questionnaire. This questionnaire was sent to administrators in …

Assessing At-Risk Students' Attitudes Toward The Implementation Of Instructional Technology, Christopher Harper

Dissertations

With the growing trend on the reliance on technology in today's youth, education has also been changing with the implementation of technology in the classroom setting. With immigrant populations increasing in the US, K-12 education must meet the demand in education to not only first generation immigrant students, but also to their reliance on technology. Research has been conducted on at-risk students and the implementation of technology in the classroom, but not so much on what first generation immigrant at-risk students think of the implementation of one computer for every student in the classroom setting and if they find it …

Thirteen Unlikely Stories, Joseph Gray

Dissertations

Thirteen Unlikely Stories is a collection of fiction composed and revised at the

University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers.

Rendering Reliance: Consuming Coloniality In The Global North, Victoria L. Brown

Dissertations

In this dissertation, I offer a theoretical lens for understanding how the Global South is imagined by the Global North. The Global South has become a popular cause that for-profit companies use in order to engage in what Samantha King terms cause-marketing. While individuals in the South are certainly helped by these campaigns, they are harmed through Northern consumers being empowered by private companies encouraging them to adopt a colonizing gaze that subjugates those in the South with adhering to stereotypes. I develop three rhetorical devices that fulfill stereotypes long-held about those who are “other.”

First, I offer the endangered …

Cowboy Art Song: A Contextual And Musical Analysis Of Libby Larsen's "Cowboy Songs", Ann Gabrielle Richardson

Dissertations

This dissertation sprang from a combination of two personal interests: cowboy culture and classical art song. The union of my cowgirl heritage with my career as a classical vocalist has long fueled an interest in a particular niche of repertoire: soprano art song with thematic connections to the North American cowboy. A conducted state of research reveals no scholarly literature exploring this specific topic. Libby Larsen’s collection, Cowboy Songs, fulfills the aforementioned niche, successfully capturing the spirit, musical idioms, and cultural themes of the North American cowboy.

Chapter I lays a contextual foundation for cowboy song, providing a catalogue …

Concerto For Jazz Trombone And Wind Ensemble, Michael Joseph Conrad

Dissertations

Concerto for Jazz Trombone and Wind Ensemble is an original piece that incorporates distinct elements of jazz music within a largely classical framework. The analysis presented examines the role of improvisation, the use of blues tonality, and the incorporation of quintessential jazz harmonies throughout the work. My research explores the way in which these jazz elements operate in the context of a prototypical concerto format with a wind ensemble instrumentation and classical forms. The compositional devices and musical components of each section are examined in great detail, from the motivic unity of the first movement to the blending of blues …

Exporting America: The U.S. Information Centers And German Reconstruction, James Podesva

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the establishment of United States Information Centers in West Germany immediately after the Second World War, and their role in securing the support of West German elites for American occupation policies, particularly democratic self-government. Located at the intersection of culture, economics, and American politics, the America Houses (Amerikahäuser) educated curious Germans about the United States, presenting a carefully curated vision of American life that minimized conflict and highlighted the material and cultural prosperity enjoyed by the mythical “average American.” The Americans contended that with the adoption of democracy and a reformed market economy, affluence was something West …

The Effects Of In Vitro Fish Oil And Dietary Fish Meal Supplementation On Microdomains Within Bovine Luteal Cells, Michele Renae Plewes

Dissertations

Lipid microdomains are regions of plasma membrane rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids, ranging in size from 10–200 nm in diameter. These structures serve as platforms to facilitate co-localization of intracellular signaling proteins during agonistinduced signal transduction. The omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are a distinct class of fatty acids that have been shown to incorporate into lipid microdomains, disrupting the structural integrity of domains, and possibly attenuation of cell signaling. Fish byproducts, such as fish oil or meal, are a rich source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that can be supplemented into cell cultures and diets of breeding females as a …

Ecological Teacher Preparation: Rooting Place To Practice, Rosalind Elise Zimmerman Wright

Dissertations

This study is an exploration of ten faculty perceptions of the perceived influence of an ecological or place based focus in three teacher education programs. The qualities and characteristics of such programs, the influence that such a focus could have on curriculum, and the perceptions of faculty members regarding the interactions between the physical place in which the program resides and curriculum were of particular interest to this study. These questions are investigated by using an educational connoisseurship and criticism methodology. The qualities and characteristics of ecologically focused teacher education programs include immersion and integration, mentorship and reflection, and connection …

The Postmodern Indian: Representation And The Films Of Sherman Alexie, Tara P. Mccrink Burcham

Dissertations

For hundreds of years, Native Americans have been characters in American media. For most of those years, whites determined the way in which Native Americans were represented. First in print, radio, silent movies and later talkies and television, representations of Native Americans have included being uneducated sidekicks, savages, noble savages seeking to steal white women, drunken idiots, or hilarious jesters all for the entertainment of viewers. This troublesome history of negative depictions of Native Americans is the reason this research is directed at the films by Native American writer and filmmaker Sherman Alexie. This research is a qualitative analysis of …

Advancement Of Interpolyelectrolyte Complexes For The Delivery Of Genetic Material, Keith Hampton Parsons

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the development and advancement of interpolyelectrolyte complexes (IPECs) and block ionomer complexes (BICs) for the delivery of genetic material, namely RNA, to cells, both human and insect. RNA interference (RNAi) provides a powerful tool for disease treatment and the elimination of crop pests at the genetic level. Therefore, development of successful delivery vehicles for its effector molecules, small interfering and double stranded RNAs (siRNA and dsRNA), is imperative. IPECs and BICs show the most promise as RNAi vectors, and thus this work focuses on ascertaining the structure-property relationships affecting RNA delivery as well as applying such …

The Characterization Of The Transcription Factor Msab And Its Role In Staphylococcal Virulence, Justin Batte

Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus is a common human pathogen that is responsible for a wide range of infections, ranging from relative minor skin infections to life-threatening disease such as bacteremia, septicemia, and endocarditis. S. aureus possesses many different virulent factors that aid in its ability to cause this wide array of infections. One major virulence factor includes the production of capsular polysaccharide (CP). The production of CP plays a major role in the virulence response during infection specifically by providing S. aureus an antiphagocytic mechanism that allows the pathogen to evade phagocytosis during an infection. S. aureus has developed complex genetic regulatory …

Antimicrobial Materials Via Thiol-Ene Chemistry, Dahlia Amato

Dissertations

With the increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, the escalation of opportunistic/pathogenic infections is a looming global crisis. To avoid the pitfalls of conventional antibiotics, this dissertation focuses on developing macromolecular solutions to develop novel antimicrobial materials based on essential oils (thymol, carvacrol, and aldehydes). It is well established that essential oil derivatives exhibit high potency towards a wide range of pathogenic microbes. The rapid photopolymerization kinetics, limited by-products, and homogeneous network formation afforded by thiol-ene photopolymerization are utilized to either encapsulate essential oil derivatives or convert them into monomers which can subsequently be incorporated into new antimicrobial materials with new …

A Mechanistic Understanding Of Self-Propagating Amyloid-Β Oligomer Conformations In Alzheimer Disease, Dexter Nathanael Dean

Dissertations

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the widespread deposition of proteinaceous plaques abundant in amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates. Although the plaques mainly contain high molecular weight, insoluble Aβ fibrils, the low molecular weight soluble aggregates called oligomers have been shown as the primary toxic species responsible for synaptic dysfunction and neuronal loss in AD. The process of aggregation is nucleation-dependent, but also highly stochastic and inhomogeneous resulting in biophysically diverse assemblies. Recent advances in the field indicate a potential correlation between the phenotypic diversity observed in AD subtypes and aggregate polymorphism. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms which …