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Mesoscale Studies Of Nanostructured Multi-Functional Materials, Lukasz Kuna

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, multiple studies centered around functional properties of materials for applications in devices and novel technologies are carried out utilizing a mesoscale modeling approach. The studies involve simulating the properties of dielectric nano/microstructures with coupled polar and elastic degrees of freedom and developing a greater understanding of their dependence on the structure size, morphology and applied external conditions. Of particular focus in this work are optical properties of electroactive materials including zero- and one-dimensional structures such as nanoparticles and nanowires, as well as mesoscopic functional properties of larger structures such as polycrystalline ceramics (with submicron grain sizes) and …

One-Step Coassembly Of Nanocoatings And Effects Of The Deposition Methods, Sonia Chavez

Doctoral Dissertations

Organic/inorganic hybrid nanocoatings with a nacre like structure have attracted high interest because of their outstanding properties. A one-step coassembly method has previously been developed to prepare polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocoatings with a high concentration of well-aligned MMT nanosheets. To obtained these coatings, dip coating is commonly used for flow-induced orientation.

In this dissertation, different coating methods are investigated to explore alternatives to overcome the deficiencies of dip coating. Spray coating is a versatile method that has virtually no limitation on substrate size or shape. Spray coating was varied through time and number of cycles. In addition, a rotational …

The Interactive Effects Of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles And Light On Coastal Planktonic Organisms, Vena Haynes

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted

“The Main Thing I Would Want Somebody Who's To Ever Read My Story To Understand Is…”: Using Narrative Inquiry To Advocate For Systemic Changes For High-Profile Black Athletes, Akuoma Nwadike

Doctoral Dissertations

The academic outcomes for high-profile Black Athletes (HPBAs), the young men participating in men’s basketball and football, continue to trail those of their peers, especially in college. Researchers have uncovered ample evidence that dispels beliefs about reduced intellect, instead pointing to systemic injustices that result in academic under-preparation and miseducation. But these findings have not resulted in widespread systemic change for HPBAs. Therefore, I designed a study to take another look into this underperformance phenomenon, applying a scarcely used framework, methodology, and findings presentation in HPBA research. I applied an ecological systems theory (EST) framework to seek out the specifics …

Effects Of Stereotype Threat On Intra- And Interpersonal Coordination Dynamics, Andrew Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations

Great progress has been made on both intra- and interpersonal coordination by recasting them as the product of distributed parts and processes, in terms closer to those of physics than psychology. However, insofar as coordination is an a posteriori product of competing and cooperating forces defined across an organism-environment system, the full breadth of forces present must be considered. This requires approaching the consequences of the organism’s embedding within higher-level social and cultural systems.

Across three experiments, Stereotype Threat (ST) manipulations were used to affect the sociocultural context or meaning of coordination. These experiments were intended to address complementary issues …

An Examination Of Preservice Teachers’ Dispositions Related To Educating Students Who Are Blind Or Visually Impaired, Sheena Nicole Manuel

Doctoral Dissertations

This quasi-experimental study examined preservice teachers' attitudes, dispositions, and levels of self-efficacy regarding their ability to work with students who are blind or visually impaired effectively. This study assessed preservice teachers' attitudes of blindness using Bell and Silverman's (2011) Social Responsibility about Blindness Scale. Participants' dispositions were assessed with the Shippen, Crites, Houchins, Ramsey, and Simon's (2005) Preservice Inclusion Survey about students who are blind/visually impaired. Participants' self-efficacy beliefs were assessed using Tschannen-Moran and Hoy's (2001) Teachers' Sense of Efficacy (short-form) scale. Viewing the hypotheses through the lens of Bandura's (1971) Social Cognitive Theory, specifically Triadic Reciprocal Determinism, information was …

Three Essays On Managing Information Security Using The Fraud Triangle, Randi Jiang

Doctoral Dissertations

Managing information security has increasingly become more important as information security breaches, computer fraud, and other devastating events are increasingly more frequent and disrupting business processes. Information is one of the most important enterprise assets. Therefore, information is valuable and should be properly protected. Accounting employees are tasked with specific responsibilities of information risk management. Therefore, ineffectively managing accountants may result in countless problems for the company, not the least of which are reputational problems, loss of stock value, material financial reporting errors, and financial losses. In Essay 1, I examine the elements of the fraud triangle and the impact …

The Parity-Violating Asymmetry In The N→Δ Transition At Low Q2, Thamraa A. Alshayeb

Doctoral Dissertations

Qweak has used the parity violating asymmetry to test the Standard Model (SM) by constantly flipping helicity states of a longitudinally polarized electron beam that scatters in the unpolarized LH2 target. The main focus of the Qweak experiment at Jefferson Lab was the recently published determination of the proton’s weak charge. In order to make corrections to the measured asymmetry at low 𝑄 2 due to inelastically scattered electrons, dedicated measurements were made of the parity violating asymmetry in the N→∆ transition at two different beam energies.

The measured inelastic asymmetries are used to extract the low energy constant dΔ, …

Coupling Micro/Nanoscale Electoporation To Enhance Genetic Probe Delivery For Cell Therapy, Xuan Liu

Doctoral Dissertations

Emerging as an effective option, immunotherapy is gradually being recognized by the cancer treatment community. However, due to its wide use of viral vectors for gene delivery, many limitations and safety concerns impede its adoption in clinical practice. This promotes the emergence of many non-viral gene delivery methods including the use of inorganic or organic nanoparticles to carry and deliver genetic probes as complexes through chemical mechanisms and the use of mechanical or electrical forces to physically breakdown delivery barriers of the cell membrane to allow quick probe internalization. Compared to the former (chemical methods), the latter (physical methods) shows …

Grit, Personality, And Job Performance: Exploring Nonlinear Relationships, Ellen Lovell

Doctoral Dissertations

Hiring employees suitable for specific jobs is a challenge facing organizations, as the cost of a poor hire is approximately 30% of that employee’s first-year earnings, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Employers look to individual differences, such as cognitive ability and personality, to help match applicants with appropriate jobs, as they are supported by research evidence. However, some variance in job performance is explained by differing combinations of these variables, among others.

Research in education and psychology have recently highlighted grit as a potentially strong predictor of success in non-work contexts. Grit was introduced by Angela Duckworth, who …

The School Leader's Role In Co-Teaching And It's Impact On The Academic Achievement For Students With Disabilities, Laquina Chanel Dove-Cummings

Doctoral Dissertations

iii ABSTRACT The purpose of this research study was to analyze the role of school leaders in the implementation of co-teaching as an instructional model on teacher collaboration and academic outcomes for students with disabilities. Federal guidelines and provisions forged the increase of mainstreaming students with disabilities into the full inclusion setting. As a result, school administrators are increasingly implementing co-teaching as an instructional model to provide opportunities to access the general education curriculum while receiving special education supports and services in the full inclusion setting. A mix-method study of semi-structured interviews with school leaders and coteachers and data analyses …

Abc Method And Fractional Momentum Layer For The Fdtd Method To Solve The Schrödinger Equation On Unbounded Domains, Joshua Paul Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations

The finite­difference time­domain (FDTD) method and its generalized variant (G­FDTD) are efficient numerical tools for solving the linear and nonlinear Schrödinger equations because not only are they explicit, allowing parallelization, but they also provide high­order accuracy with relatively inexpensive computational costs. In addition, the G­FDTD method has a relaxed stability condition when compared to the original FDTD method. It is important to note that the existing simulations of the G­FDTD scheme employed analytical solutions to obtain function values at the points along the boundary; however, in simulations for which the analytical solution is unknown, theoretical approximations for values at points …

More Than A Feeling: The Role Of Self-Compassion On The Affective Response To Negative Events In The Workplace, Michael A. Knott

Doctoral Dissertations

Affective reactions and employee emotions have been studied since the days of the Hawthorne studies (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939). According to Affective Events Theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996), people react affectively to events in the workplace, and these reactions have consequences for the individual, the team, and the organization. For instance, negative events may lead to negative affect, which may mean decreased job attitudes for the individual (Judge & Larsen, 2001). These reactions may also be moderated by dispositional characteristics such as personality (Weiss & Kurek, 2003) and self-esteem (Ilies, De Pater, & Judge, 2007). The following dissertation focused on …

Stress Analysis Of Operating Gas Pipeline Installed By Horizontal Directional Drilling And Pullback Force Prediction During Installation, Hongfang Lu

Doctoral Dissertations

With the development of the natural gas industry, the demand for pipeline construction has also increased. In the context of advocating green construction, horizontal directional drilling (HDD), as one of the most widely utilized trenchless methods for pipeline installation, has received extensive attention in industry and academia in recent years. The safety of natural gas pipeline is very important in the process of construction and operation. It is necessary to conduct in-depth study on the safety of the pipeline installed by HDD method.

In this dissertation, motivated by the following considerations, two aspects of HDD installation are studied. First, through …

Influence Of Extracellular Cues Of Hydrogel Biomaterials On Stem Cell Fate, Haley Barnett

Doctoral Dissertations

The field of tissue engineering has developed to try and find an alternative approach to treat lost or damaged tissue. The field of tissue regeneration aims to develop tissue scaffolds composed of biomaterials, a cell source, and appropriate biochemical/phsysiochemical stimuli to replace current therapies. Stem cells offer great promise due to their self-renewal capabilities and their numerous differentiation possibilities. However, stem cells are extremely sensitive to their external environment which presents a challenge when culturing them on biomaterials. Surface elasticity, topography, surface chemistry, and exposure to biomolecules all represent environmental stimuli that could affect stem cell behavior. This research aims …

Measuring The Onlooker Effect In Information Security Violations, Sahar Farshadkhah

Doctoral Dissertations

Todays’ organizations need to be ensured that their critical information is secure, not leaked, and inadvertently modified. Despite the awareness of organizations and their investment in implementing an information security management plan, information security breaches still cause financial and reputational costs for organizations. A recent report of the Ponemon Institute for 2019 showed that the global cost and frequency of data breach increased, and negligent insiders are the root cause of most incidents. Many insider threats to cybersecurity are not malicious but are intentional. Specifically, more than 60 percent of reported incidents in 2019 were due to negligent or inadvertent …

Preservation And Utilization Of Wet Brewer's Grains In Diets Of Dairy Heifers, Eric Hatungimana

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

PRESERVATION AND UTILIZATION OF WET BREWER’S GRAINS IN DIETS OF DAIRY HEIFERS

By

Eric Hatungimana

University of New Hampshire, May 2020

Three experiments were conducted. The objective of Experiment 1 was 2-fold: 1) to evaluate the effect of storage of wet brewer’s grains (WBG) treated with salt or a commercial preservative (PRES) on yeast and mold growth and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and 2) to evaluate in situ dry matter (DM) and protein digestibility of WBG treated with salt and PRES. Seven treatments were used for objective 1: control (0%), PRES (0.05%, 0.10%, 0.15%); or salt (1.4%, …

Peer Victimization And Delinquency: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Their Relationships, Nicholas Alexander Adams

Doctoral Dissertations

The correlation between peer victimization and delinquency has long been established in the sociological and criminological literatures. However, the research to this point has focused on one or the other as an outcome. This study addresses this gap in the literature by teasing out a causal relationship between them. By using 3 waves of the Developmental Victimization Survey, peer victimization and delinquency are treated as both predictors and outcomes for each other. In doing so, this study finds evidence to support a causal relationship between experiencing peer victimization at wave 1 and later delinquent behavior at wave 3. It also …

Bullying Trends In The United States And An Analysis Of The Impact Of Prevention Programs On Bullying Subtypes And Gender, Reeve Kennedy

Doctoral Dissertations

This three-article dissertation presents three standalone articles that address bullying trends over time within the United States (US), gaps in bullying prevention program outcomes (both within the US and internationally), and the role of study and methodological features on the findings. The first article used meta-regression to establish trends in different types of bullying involvement from 1998 to 2017, identified factors that help explain variation in bullying trends, and determined differences in those trends by gender and grade. The second article used meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs on three subtypes of traditional bullying victimization: physical, relational, …

Human And Climate Impacts On Flooding Via Remote Sensing, Big Data Analytics, And Modeling, Eunsang Cho

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the last 20 years, the amount of streamflow has greatly increased and spring snowmelt floods have occurred more frequently in the north-central U.S. In the Red River of the North Basin (RRB) overlying portions of North Dakota and Minnesota, six of the 13 major floods over the past 100 years have occurred since the late 1990s. Based on numerous previous studies as well as senior flood forecasters’ experiences, recent hydrological changes related to human modifications [e.g. artificial subsurface drainage (SSD) expansion] and climate change are potential causes of notable forecasting failures over the past decade. My dissertation focuses on …

Novel Topologies In Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: A Study Of Triangulenes And Other Molecular Shapes, Carter James Holt

Doctoral Dissertations

Triangulenes are the homologous series of triangle-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, first contemplated by chemists nearly 100 years ago. Computational models predict that triangulenes will be polyradicals, with high-spin electronic ground states. Recent technological advances have allowed the molecular-scale synthesis and on-surface characterization of the first three members of this series using atomic force microscopy techniques. In this work, a short and scalable synthesis of the [3]triangulene ring system was developed. Cascade cyclization of a tetra-benzyl alcohol precursor in trifluoromethanesulfonic acid solution gave the planar and three-fold symmetrical 4,8,12-trihydro[3]triangulenium carbocation. This new species has been characterized by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) …

The Effects Of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation During Conflict On Partner-Directed State Aggression, Katherine Debra Marjorie Lee

Doctoral Dissertations

Emotion regulation has been identified as a predictor of intimate partner aggression (IPA), a widespread and costly problem in the United States. However, researchers who study emotion regulation and IPA have primarily focused on the individual, despite the fact that IPA is often bidirectional and emotion regulation, a risk factor for IPA, is largely a dyadic process. Further, the majority of emotion regulation and IPA researchers have conducted correlational studies and therefore are unable to establish emotion regulation as a causal and temporal antecedent to IPA empirically. The purpose of the current dissertation was to investigate the impact of interpersonal …

An Asymptotic Self-Sustaining Process Theory For Uniform Momentum Zones And Internal Interfaces In Unbounded Couette Flow, Brandon Montemuro

Doctoral Dissertations

Meinhart \& Adrian (Phys. Fluids, vol. 7, 1995, p 694) were the first investigators to document that the wall-normal ($y$) structure of the instantaneous streamwise velocity in the turbulent boundary layer exhibits a staircase-like profile: regions of quasi-uniform momentum are separated by internal shear layers across which the streamwise velocity jumps by an O(1) amount when scaled by the friction velocity $u_\tau$. This sharply-varying instantaneous profile differs dramatically from the well-known long-time mean profile, which is logarithmic over much of the boundary layer, and prompted Klewicki (Proc. IUTAM, vol. 9, 2013, p. 69--78) to propose that the turbulent boundary layer …

The Impact Of Fine Scale Drivers On Upwelling Processes, David Kenward

Doctoral Dissertations

Ionospheric upwelling and outflow are large-scale processes which affect the dynamics of the greater magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system. Though these terms historically refer to the propensity of ions to increase in scale height and escape Earth's gravity due to a the collective effect of energization processes; that same behaviour is frequently observed to occur with neutral species within the cusp regions of the ionosphere. Although many different driving mechanisms have been identified which contribute to the energization and increase in scale height of the ionosphere, the relative energy budget of these individual drivers is debated. In this dissertation, data from the Rocket …

Full Disclosure: Scholars In Rhetoric And Composition Discuss Transparency In Religious-Based Research, Lauren Short

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores how and why scholars in Rhetoric and Composition, who study religious topics, choose to disclose (or not) their positionalities in relation to their research. Included in this investigation are scholars of atheist rhetorics, as well. Through interviews with scholars of religious topics in Rhetoric and Composition and textual analysis of religiously-based academic scholarship in the field, I explore the situations and contexts in which scholars feel most comfortable disclosing their positionalities and how they do so. Furthermore, I examine why some scholars choose not to disclose their positionalities in particular instances.

Drawing upon queer theory and “coming …

Housework And Perceptions Of Fairness: How Do They Affect Older Married Women's And Men's Sexual Frequency And Sexual Satisfaction?, Kirsten Elizabeth Kemmerer

Doctoral Dissertations

This study analyzed how weekly housework hours and perceptions of fairness surrounding the division of household labor are correlated with midlife to older married women’s and men’s sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction. I analyzed statistical data from Wave 3 of the National Survey of Families and Households (2001-2003), and the sample consisted of 1,920 individuals (954 men and 966 women) ages 40-70 years old. Findings from my study showed that the sexual satisfaction of older Americans matters, while sexual frequency does not. For instance, results illustrated that when weekly housework increased, sexual satisfaction decreased. I also found that the perceived …

Investigating The Spatial And Temporal Scale Variability Of Ebullitive Flux From A Subarctic Thaw Pond System, Sophia Burke

Doctoral Dissertations

Arctic regions are experiencing more rapid warming than other parts of the world, leading to destabilization of carbon (C) that has been sequestered in permafrost, especially in peatlands where the C content of the peat is very high. More frequent incidence of thaw in permafrost peatlands is leading to the development of small thaw ponds that are known to be sources of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, yet there is a lack in long-term studies of CH4 emission from these formations. This is of concern because CH4 has thirty-two times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a one-hundred-year …

Indefinable Forces: How Teachers Negotiate Narratives Of Ability And Inclusivity While Applying Universal Design For Learning, Beth S. Fornauf

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite efforts of educators and advocates to include students with labeled disabilities in all aspects of public education, many are segregated, deprived of interactions with peers, and offered content lacking in rigor and relevance. In one New England state, public schools have the opportunity to participate in a statewide initiative that aims to combat such exclusion, and make learning more effective for all through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is a pedagogical framework focused on the design of instructional materials, methods, and environments to optimize teaching and learning for all students. This ethnographic case study explores how educators applying …

Fear And Loathing In Post 9/11 America: Public Perceptions Of Terrorism As Shaped By News Media And The Politics Of Fear, Reinmar Cristobal Freis-Beattie

Doctoral Dissertations

The politics of fear have deeply divided the United States of America. Decades of propaganda portray Muslims as a terrorist threat to the dominant US culture and society. The War on Terror and its consequences, including the rise of ISIL and the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis, resulted in the destabilization of democracy in both the US and Europe. I argue that the US public’s fear of terrorism is not just a fear of violence but instead reflects racial tensions and anxieties in a rapidly changing world. These tensions and anxieties are fueled by media coverage leveraging a general fear and …

Broadband Radio Mapping And Imaging Of Lightning Processes, Julia Napolin Tilles

Doctoral Dissertations

Though thunderstorms and lightning are commonplace on Earth, it is still unclear how lightning initiates, propagates, and how it is involved in generating intense bursts of gamma-rays that can be detected by spacecraft. Lightning is a hot, highly-ionized plasma channel, capable of carrying up to hundreds of kiloamperes electric current, and extending many kilometers in length for hundreds of milliseconds at a time. Despite its immensity, lightning can be difficult to observe, as it primarily initiates and propagates deep within thunderclouds, optically obscured by thousands of cubic kilometers of cloud water and ice. Broadband radio interferometry has been developed to …