Digital Commons Network^™

Continuance Intention Of Using Online Food Delivery Applications: Customers With Food Allergies, Jeongyeon Ahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the predictors of the continuance intention of using online food delivery applications (OFD apps) in the context of U.S. consumers with food allergies. Extending the UTAUT2 model with two context-specific variables, perceived risk, and trust, the current study tested the relationships in the extended model. A self-administered online survey was conducted to collect a sample of 293 U.S. OFD app users with food allergies and the extended UTAUT2 model was tested using a three-step hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results of the study revealed that habit and trust were the only significant constructs that predict the continuance …

Genomic Analysis And Metabolic Potential Of Myxobacteria, Hanan Albataineh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Myxobacteria are known for their large genomes that bestow them with a distinct lifestyle that is characterized by fruiting body formation, gliding motility, social interactions, predation, and secondary metabolite production. The powerful combination of whole-genome sequencing and bioinformatics-driven analysis of sequence data has delivered unexpected insights into myxobacterial microbial communities. We applied these two approaches to investigate the chemical space and biosynthetic potential of myxobacteria. Mining different myxobacterial genomes for biosynthetic gene clusters led us to the discovery of a cryptic acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) synthase encoded in the genome of the myxobacterium Archangium gephyra. Bioinformatic analysis of this AHL synthase …

Bridging Souths: Interdisciplinarity And Knowledge Production In Southern Studies, Matthew David Streets

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the viability of southern studies, a regional studies project on the study of the U.S. South, as an academic field of study and institutionalized site of multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary knowledge production. Southern studies has undergone numerous turns and paradigm shifts since its institutionalization in the 1970s. These ontological, epistemological, and methodological developments have reoriented the objectives of interdisciplinary knowledge production. Despite the present permeability of disciplinary boundaries, the institutional structure and its racial, capitalist, and disciplinary hierarchies hinder communication and collaboration across disciplines and fields and between the “ivory tower” and “real world.” Understanding the impact …

Do Individuals With Functional Gastrointestinal Symptoms Experience Emotions Differently? An Examination Of Emotional Responding During A Series Of Emotion Induction Tasks, Sara Witcraft

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are disorders of the brain-gut axis characterized by physiological and emotional disturbances, including heightened comorbidity with psychiatric disorders. Individuals with FGIDs experience difficulties with emotional processing, including the awareness, identification, and regulation of emotions. Although emotional processing is implicated in the maintenance and exacerbation of FGID pathology, literature examining these associations is limited. The current study aimed to enhance understanding of the emotional processing of individuals with FGIDs. We recruited individuals with and without FGID symptoms and examined the: (1) association between gastrointestinal distress and psychopathology; (2) association between gastrointestinal distress and emotional and physiological responsivity; …

Performance Cultures And Black Atlantic Literature, 1750-1833, Chinaza Amaeze Okoli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation approaches performance cultures as integral components of early black Atlantic writing, and considers how meaning is produced at the intersection of writing and vernacular performance. It asserts that black writers, in their portrayal of performance practices, encode avenues and strategies for accessing other black voices in their communities. Pairing writing by black authors and a selection of comparable vernacular practices, my dissertation examines how these forms signify upon each other, offering new contexts for interpreting the black experience in the long eighteenth century. In exploring this thesis, my work approaches Olaudah Equiano’s narrative as illustrative of the ways …

Tiktok As Art: Visual Culture Art Education In An Afterschool Art Program, Chloe C. Morrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research and the objective were to investigate the firsthand experience of

visual culture art education in an after-school art program. The after-school

program was focused mainly on an underserved population. We focused our

concentration on the social media app TikTok. The author investigated visual

culture theorists and discovered ideas from Terry Barrett and his use of

denotations and connotations and their relationship to art. The participants were

members of the Boys and Girls Club of Nacogdoches who analyzed TikTok

videos using annotations and denotations, then in return created their own

individual videos inspired by an original TikTok video. The …

Growing Concerned: How Societal Stress Relates To Plants In The Home, Trenton W. Birdwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Design trends are constantly in flux, but the reasons why people prefer new trends are not readily apparent. This thesis brought together multiple aspects of interior design to investigate how design has changed. After a review of available studies, the researcher decided to focus on natural design in homes because this area has previous research upon which to build. This study compared data to examine how stress in America relates to plant imagery. The research questions asked what, if any, relationship exists between societal stress and the use of plants, plant-like objects, and window views.

Measures of stress included hospitalization, …

Cyberchondria And Covid-19 Health Threats Related To Attentional Bias And Safety Behaviors, Jacqueline J. Charles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyberchondria is described as excessively searching online for health information that ultimately increases worry and anxiety about one’s health (Starcevic et al., 2019). Research has demonstrated an increased attentional bias in anxious individuals for threat-related stimuli. Attentional bias for health information exacerbated by the frequent exposure to health threats during the COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to additional health-seeking behavior. The current study aimed to explore the potential relationship between COVID-19 health threats and cyberchondria level on attentional bias toward illness-related stimuli (symptom words) and the intent to perform safety behaviors while controlling for Trait Anxiety and Health Anxiety. Participants ( …

The Effects Of Interactive Object Provisioning On Corticosterone, Stress-Related Behaviors, And Cognition In Juvenile And Adult Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia Guttata), Lucas West

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identification and reduction of unnecessary stress in lab animals is important for welfare, and for scientific validity. Providing animals with infrastructure and objects that encourage exercise and species-typical manipulative behaviors can help reduce stress by meeting physical and psychological needs. The effects of such "environmental enrichment" (EE) have been heavily studied in both zoo animals "where it has been shown to reduce maladaptive behaviors" and in lab animals such as rodents, where it clearly reduces stress and anxiety, dampens reactions to stressful events, and increases cognition and the volume of related brain regions. While there is some evidence that EE …

No Peace In The Valley: A Documentary Film On The 1970 Protests At Mississippi Valley State College And The Largest Mass Arrest Of Students In U.S. History, Katherine Aberle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis for the MFA is a documentary film entitled No Peace in the Valley, the story of the protests at Mississippi Valley State in February 1970 and the subsequent mass arrest of almost half the student population of the historically black college in Itta Bena, Mississippi. This paper briefly discusses the approach taken in my documentary, an approach that sought to give voice in the telling of the story of the events of 1970 at the historically black college in the Delta of Mississippi to individuals who were there and played an active role as the event unfolded. The …

Experiences Of Black Professionals At Predominantly White Institutions: Toward A Shared Understanding, Nequel Renee' Burwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This Dissertation in Practice highlights a problem of practice within the field of Higher Education regarding the work place experiences of Black staff and administrators at Predominantly White Institutions. The dissertation seeks to understand more about the experiences of Black professional staff and administrators at Predominantly White Institutions as well as the personal and professional resources, support services, and networks that assist with their ability to grow and thrive in higher education work place environments that are predominantly White. The dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts. Manuscript 1 is an expanded literature review regarding the problem of practice. Manuscript 2 …

Critical Thinking Teaching Practices In Community College, Andrea Jordan Crowley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more ubiquitous, and machine learning continues to optimize systems and data, the human contribution to our working and social worlds must evolve to be more sophisticated. Labeled as the fourth industrial revolution by the World Economic Forum (2019), employment roles comprised of repetitive tasks and rote analysis will no longer be needed because machines and artificial intelligence will be able to program themselves to perform these functions. Many experts forecast that for every low-skilled occupation a new, more sophisticated role will be invented (Skilton & Hovesepian, 2018).

Sales Technology: A Three-Part Multi-Method Approach To Examining Sales-Stacks, John Galvan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salespeople depend on sales-related technologies to make themselves more efficient and effective. The extant sales-technology research tends to examine specific sales technologies in sales settings with the emphasis on the impact on salespeople. With the growth of technological capabilities, sales technology has become more integrated, thus making it harder to separate individual technologies from one another. The current research conducts a typological literature review of sales technology. Next, with an eye toward the development of indigenous theory, it introduces the term sales-stacks as capturing the aggregate of sales technologies that, when effective, provide a powerful, connected, easy-to-use experience for every …

Organizational Green Claims And Consumer Green Perceptions In The Foodservice Industry, Jangwoo Jo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to the ever-growing consumer demands and global pressures for more sustainable business operations, corporations disclose their sustainable practices, products, and services to enhance their environmental image. Consumer green perceptions resulting from those organizational green claims have not been the focus of foodservice research. The application of green performance dimensionality of the foodservice domain identified that organizational green claims regarding food, environment and administration increase consumer green confusion and green trust at the same time. Based on the results of CFA, SEM, and multigroup analyses, this study suggests implications both theoretical and practical.

Challenges Of Leading During Covid-19: A Qualitative Study Of K-12 Administrators, Jerry Bradford Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research discusses the impact of environmental and social crisis events, how

Ceo Personality & Stakeholder Engagement, Kaushik Mukherjee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation examines how the chief executive officer (CEO) personality traits have implications for the firm’s strategy. The first chapter discusses the relationship between CEO Big Five personality traits and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The next chapter is on CEO Big Five and equity analyst forecasts. The final chapter deals with how CEO personality traits relate to corporate governance aspects such as board independence and board diversity.

Investigating Sound And Gear Modification As A Means Of Reducing Shark Bycatch, Eduardo Josue Rangel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sharks are unintentionally captured during commercial fishing operations and discarded, known as bycatch. Sharks captured in this manner have high mortality rates resulting in hundreds of millions of sharks killed annually. Longline operations have the highest instances of bycatch. In this study, two methods for reducing shark bycatch were investigated. A simple gear modification on longline leaders was tested by substituting monofilament (mono) leaders with ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (spectra) leaders. A recording of thunder was tested during longline fishing for a deterrent effect. The experiments were conducted simultaneously on a 915 m longline with 50 leaders with each leader alternating between …

Latent Profiles Of Young Adults Based On E-Cigarette Outcome Expectancies, Victoria Alicia Torres

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: While cigarette smoking has steadily declined, electronic cigarette use (e.g., e-cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems [ENDS]) has led a new generation to become addicted to nicotine (Cummings & Proctor, 2014; USDHHS, 2014). Some individuals believe these products have the potential to provide benefits in helping smokers quit; however, many harmful aspects have been uniquely associated with e-cigarette use (e.g., toxicity, vape-specific injuries, gateway effects, etc.). If e-cigarettes are to be established as useful cessation tools, researchers must better understand e-cigarette use beliefs and associated clinical targets. Purpose: To better inform e-cigarette prevention and intervention, investigators developed profiles of young …

A Clear View Of The Mountain, Sarah Helen Huddleston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A collection of original short stories.

Exploratory Analysis Of Effects Of Data On Adversarial Perturbations, Hamza Ali Zafar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the amount of data being produced has increased tremendously. This data has allowed us to create and train machine learning models that are being used nowadays. Though these models have proven to be very effective in classification and regression problems, they do have a vulnerability. This vulnerability is exploited by adding adversarial perturbations to the original data or in the deployed model. These adversarial attacks are done by making minute changes to the data to confuse the machine learning model. This can lead to models’ misrepresentation and drop the accuracy. For the span of this paper, I …

Testing Emotion Regulation As A Functional Transdiagnostic Construct, Enoch Sackey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The polythetic criteria of the DSM and ICD generate high amount of symptom heterogeneity as there are clusters of symptoms within various diagnostic category that are heuristically similar, resulting in multiple, often confusing, ways of describing sequelae of symptoms presentation. This is because the DSM and ICD classification systems were developed based on the neo-Kraepelinian framework for classifying physical illnesses, which assumes that the underlying architecture of psychopathology, which manifest in disorder symptoms, are distinct and specific. Based on this, the categorical approach to describing psychopathology has been described as purely conceptual artefact with no empirical basis in research or …

Exploring The Motivations Of College Students With Adhd To Disclose Their Disability And Use Accommodations, Carol M. Haynes-Buchanan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College enrollment numbers reflect that the admission rates of students with disabilities are increasing as time progresses (Newman et al., 2020). Despite this spike in college attendance, degree completion rates of students with disabilities (SWD) are significantly lower than their nondisabled peers (DuPaul et al., 2018). This disparity was addressed via laws and regulations geared towards higher education institutions to level the playing field for SWD through providing services and support. This study aimed to explore what motivates SWD to disclose their disability and to accept or decline accommodations in the university setting. Students and faculty at a Texas private …

Leading Through Music: A Comparative Case Study On The Effects Of Military Band Performance, Jessica A. Williams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the emotional impacts of military band performance, as well as the result of military band support loss on individuals in surrounding communities. The primary objectives of this qualitative comparative case study were to discover the value of military bands perceived by audiences and musicians. A critical, qualitative examination was implemented to assess how the atmospheres created by military bands influence their audiences and how communities react to reduced opportunities to interact with military band members. Community members of the 329D and TRADOC Army Bands were surveyed and interviewed in this study to compare the morale and sense …

Mock Jurors' Recommended Sentences For Perpetrators Who Have Traumatic Experiences, Katherine West

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Experiencing trauma can result in neurological and biological changes, precipitating long-term damage to the brain and body. A considerable proportion of incarcerated persons have reported that they have experienced some type of trauma (Stensrud, Gilbride, & Bruinekool, 2018). Using scenarios of hypothetical crimes of varying degrees of seriousness, this study explores whether disclosure of the perpetrator’s traumatic childhood experiences has an influence on the severity of the sentence that mock jurors would recommend for that perpetrator. The mock jurors’ trait empathy, Belief in a Just World, and their own traumatic experiences were assessed to determine whether these characteristics could account …

Not Only Black Or Only A Woman, A Black Woman: Gendered Racial Microaggressions, Colorism And Hair On Trauma Symptoms., Maame-Safowaa Geary

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intersectionality of racism and sexism of Black women has the possibility of leading to mental health symptoms due to the consistent and persistent experience of insidious trauma, specifically gendered racial microaggressions (GRM). In this study, we examined the relations between gendered racial microaggressions (GRM) and trauma/PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms among Black women. Additionally, skin tone and hair style/texture were explored as moderating variables. We hypothesized a positive relation between GRM and symptoms of trauma/PTSD, depression, and anxiety. We also hypothesized that darker skin tones and more Afrocentric hairstyles would moderate GRM and the described mental health …

Disparate Sense Of Exclusion Between Young People Of Color Living Within Variable Social Infrastructures., James M. Joyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I analyzed transcripts of listening sessions with youth/young adults of color in 2021-2022 for the purpose of addressing local racial inequity during COVID-19. I used inductive coding methods and found three themes on sense of exclusion to be most salient. These themes related to racial exclusion, exclusion of social infrastructures in the community, exclusion of young people of color by people working in schools and other public settings, and exclusion or disconnection of young people of color from opportunities for building community. I show how these themes vary across some dimensions of the local social infrastructure, and I discuss implications …

The Person Behind The Team: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Role Of The Sport Supervisor In Ncaa Division I Intercollegiate Athletics., Ehren R. Green

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As organizational connectors, athletic administrators who serve as sport supervisors, are integral to the success of intercollegiate athletic departments. However, little is known about the role of sport supervisor or the relationship between sport supervisors and head coaches. Thus, this study seeks to define and better understand the role of the sport supervisor in intercollegiate athletics and explore the relationship between the sport supervisor and the head coach. Through a descriptive phenomenological approach, 22 participants (11 sport supervisors and 11 head coaches) from NCAA Division I institutions were interviewed. Role theory guided the defining of the role while leader-member exchange …

The Effects Of Gang Membership And Transitions In A Gang On Within-Individual Changes In Offending., Leon Sergio Garduno

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have established that joining a gang exposes individuals to factors and environments that promote and increase antisocial and illegal behaviors, which decrease after leaving the gang (Decker & Van Winkle, 1994; Melde & Esbensen, 2014; Thornberry, Krohn et al., 1993). Scholars, by analyzing qualitative data, bivariate statistics, and by comparing gang members with non-gang members, have found that as individuals join and leave a gang they experience changes in the frequency with which they carry firearms, sell drugs, and engage in property crimes (Bjerregaard & Lizotte, 1995; Hagedorn, 1994; Thornberry et al., 1993). Researchers also have established that within-individuals’ …

Search For A Dark Leptophilic Scalar Produced In Association With Taupair In Electron-Positron Annihilation At Center-Of-Mass Energies Near 10.58 Gev., Diptaparna Biswas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dark matter is believed to be a form of matter which seemingly accounts for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe and about 27% of its total mass–energy density. It doesn't participate in electromagnetic interaction, i.e. doesn't interact with light. Consequently, we cannot see it using optical or radio telescope and hence the name dark matter. However, it participates in gravitational interaction, and we hypothesize its existence based on a variety of astrophysical observations, including gravitational effects, that cannot be explained by the accepted theories of gravity unless we account for more matter than can be perceived through electromagnetic …

"I Am Who I Am": Lgbtq+ Student Experiences At A Baptist Liberal Arts University., Edwin Pavy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though studies exploring the experiences of LGBTQ+ students on Christian college and university (CCU) campuses are increasingly prevalent, research continues to demonstrate that CCU environments are often unwelcoming. Gender and sexual minority students often face additional challenges or risks in attending a faith-based institution. To drive meaningful change, recommendations need to be tailored to individual institutions. This study sought to make meaning alongside LGBTQ+ students at a single institution – Baptist Heritage University (BHU) – with a decidedly appreciative approach. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s ecology of human development, we conducted an arts- based action research study to gain a deeper understanding …