Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year

Articles 2281 - 2310 of 9660

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Solid Cargo Inside Cylindrical Containers By Using Linear And Nonlinear Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy, Kevin Yi-Wei Lin Jan 2020

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Solid Cargo Inside Cylindrical Containers By Using Linear And Nonlinear Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy, Kevin Yi-Wei Lin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) of cylindrical containers is of critical importance because of their ubiquity in industrial applications. However, there is a paucity of research in the literature on NDE studies of solid cargo inside cylindrical containers. This dissertation consists of three connected projects investigating the application of linear and nonlinear Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy (ARS) to the NDE of solid cargo inside sealed cylindrical containers. In these projects, the container of interest varied from extremely complicated to very simplified, and the studies extended from applied to basic physics problems. The first study was focused on an empty Transnuclear-32 (TN-32) nuclear …

Go to article

Nest Microclimate Manipulation Affects Growth, Development, And Heat-Shock Protein Production In The Eastern Bluebird (Sialia Sialis), Brooke E. Sykes Jan 2020

Nest Microclimate Manipulation Affects Growth, Development, And Heat-Shock Protein Production In The Eastern Bluebird (Sialia Sialis), Brooke E. Sykes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climatic conditions are particularly important to breeding birds, especially as recent global change has caused a shift in the timing and length of avian breeding seasons. Nest microclimate has been shown to influence avian development and parental care, however, little work has been done to examine whether increased heat poses a cost to altricial nestlings at different stages of their development. We manipulated the temperature of eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) nest boxes to examine whether or not nestlings exhibit a heat shock response, and a difference in growth or altered parasite loads at both their early and late developmental stages. …

Go to article

African American Gospel Piano Style In The 21st Century: A Collective Case Study, Roderick Vester Jan 2020

African American Gospel Piano Style In The 21st Century: A Collective Case Study, Roderick Vester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the African American gospel piano style in the 21st century, further examining the role of musical enculturation, transmission, and preservation through the lived experiences and perspectives as reported by five gospel pianists throughout the United States. A collective case study design (Stake, 1995) was used to explore how the gospel piano style is being learned, developed, transformed, transmitted, and preserved. Research questions focused on participants’ beliefs about the stylistic transformation of gospel piano in the 21st century and factors that influences those beliefs such as past and present stylistic developments. The data …

Go to article

Transition Stories Of Student Veterans, Kelley J. Jenkins Jan 2020

Transition Stories Of Student Veterans, Kelley J. Jenkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the transition experience for student veterans enrolled in the three largest universities in Mississippi: Mississippi State University, The University of Mississippi, and The University of Southern Mississippi. Schlossberg’s Transition Theory was used as a lens for viewing the results of this study. This phenological approach will take a social constructivist worldview in order to describe the veteran transition experience. Data was collected using semi structured interviews, transcribed, and analyzed. Each veteran’s story was written in a narrative form to provide rich detail for better understanding of their experiences. The interview transcripts …

Go to article

Admission Officers' Perceptions Of Implicit Bias In The Admission Process, Christi Denise Hardy Jan 2020

Admission Officers' Perceptions Of Implicit Bias In The Admission Process, Christi Denise Hardy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although they are not involved in the decision making process, admission officers at institutions of higher learning could have a significant effect on the admission process. For the purposes of this research, admission officers are defined as the primary personnel assisting applicants to complete their applications through the collection of applications, fees, essays, transcripts, test scores, and other supplemental documents required by the institution for admission consideration. More specifically, their implicit biases could significantly affect the admission process. Research on implicit biases is on the rise, and studies investigating this issue in health care and hiring practices are abundant. Implicit …

Go to article

Elucidating The Sloth Hair Microbiome: A Metagenomic Comparison Of Two- And Three-Fingered Sloths, Maya Kaup Jan 2020

Elucidating The Sloth Hair Microbiome: A Metagenomic Comparison Of Two- And Three-Fingered Sloths, Maya Kaup

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sloths are unusual mobile ecosystems containing a high diversity of symbionts living and growing in their fur. These symbionts include poorly studied algae, arthropods, fungi, and bacteria, making sloths likely reservoirs of unexplored biodiversity. I aim to identify gaps and eliminate misconceptions in our knowledge of sloths and their symbionts, and to identify key questions to spur future research into the functions and roles of sloths within a broader ecological and evolutionary context. I also seek to position the sloth fur ecosystem as a model for addressing fundamental questions in microbial and metacommunity ecology. I used whole-community shotgun metagenomic sequencing …

Go to article

Carceral Matrix: Black Women's Writing In Response To Mass Incarceration, 1963-2019, Allison Michelle Serraes Jan 2020

Carceral Matrix: Black Women's Writing In Response To Mass Incarceration, 1963-2019, Allison Michelle Serraes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation broadens the definition of confinement literature, a critical and developing subfield in African American literary studies. It argues that contemporary Black women writers are the early theorists of the complex and insidious reach of the U.S. prison-industrial complex. Through their probing representations of Black female characters’ interactions with state-sanctioned social control and patriarchal violence, Gayl Jones, Alice Walker, Suzan-Lori Parks, and DaMaris B. Hill expand critical understandings of confinement and imprisonment. This dissertation contends that these writers’ depictions of sexual and reproductive control as part of the developing carceral state reveal how confinement and imprisonment operate on intersecting …

Go to article

News Framing In Bangladesh, India And British Media: Bangladesh Parliamentary Election 2018, Kazi Mehedi Hasan Jan 2020

News Framing In Bangladesh, India And British Media: Bangladesh Parliamentary Election 2018, Kazi Mehedi Hasan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Bangladesh parliamentary election of 2018 was a significant political event in the South Asian region, and the news was covered across the world. After the abolition of the provision of parliamentary election under the non-partisan caretaker government from the constitution of Bangladesh, it was the first election in Bangladesh in which all opposition parties participated under a party government. This study examines how media from three different countries framed the issues of the election. These systematic and quantitative content analyses of three newspapers and online resources from the countries Bangladesh, India, and Britain examined how the media framed their …

Go to article

The Prosodic Profile Of Individuals With Prader-Willi Syndrome, Emma Kate Thome Jan 2020

The Prosodic Profile Of Individuals With Prader-Willi Syndrome, Emma Kate Thome

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prosody is an important component of effective communication, playing a major role in language comprehension and expression. Despite its importance, little research has examined prosody in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a population that struggles with communication. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to compare prosodic skills in individuals with PWS to individuals with mixed-etiology intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) as well as determine patterns of prosodic strengths and weakness among individuals with PWS. Adolescents and adults with PWS (n = 9) were matched to adults with mixed-etiology IDD (n = 9) on nonverbal ability. Participants completed standardized …

Go to article

Understanding Depression During The Covid-19 Pandemic Through Social Media Data, Nusrat Armin Jan 2020

Understanding Depression During The Covid-19 Pandemic Through Social Media Data, Nusrat Armin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected peoples’ daily lives all over theworld - physically, economically, and emotionally. Due to the virus, many people have died, and many hospitalized. A record number of people have lost their job, and many businesses have closed. The global economy is at risk. People are facing new realities of their lives. Studies have shown that the level of depression is three times higher than before this pandemic. Previous studies have shown that people use social media to express their emotions and feelings. The purpose of this study is to understand the depression during this COVID-19 …

Go to article

Effects Of A Campus Dining Tour Intervention On First Year Students Perception Of Healthfulness Of Environment, Paige Pappadackis Jan 2020

Effects Of A Campus Dining Tour Intervention On First Year Students Perception Of Healthfulness Of Environment, Paige Pappadackis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many young adults experience unwanted weight gain upon entering college. Making healthy choices in a food environment with a plethora of convenience and fast foods is important for preventing unwanted weight gain. The objective of this study was to determine if a Healthy Campus Dining Tour intervention improves perception, behavior, and priorities related to healthier choices on campus. Participants were recruited for this quasi-experimental study from freshman introductory classes at a land-grant public university and assigned to intervention or a control group. Intervention participants completed a 50-minute Healthy Campus Dining Tour that educated on how to make healthier choices at …

Go to article

Giving Voice To Adults Living With Cystic Fibrosis: A Phenomenological Study, Brandon M. Varilek Jan 2020

Giving Voice To Adults Living With Cystic Fibrosis: A Phenomenological Study, Brandon M. Varilek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cystic fibrosis is one of the most difficult chronic diseases to manage long-term because of the numerous challenges faced on a day-to-day basis. Historically, these challenges have primarily been studied using quantitative methods given the desire to prolong life. However, simply increasing the quantity of life does not mean that quality of life will improve. It is entirely possible that new treatments may worsen perceived quality of life. What is missing from the current research is the person’s voice regarding the experience of living with cystic fibrosis, especially as they continue to age. The primary purpose of this study was …

Go to article

Grain Boundary Defect Passivation Of Mixed Cation Perovskite Solar Cell To Improve Device Performance, Sheikh Ifatur Rahman Jan 2020

Grain Boundary Defect Passivation Of Mixed Cation Perovskite Solar Cell To Improve Device Performance, Sheikh Ifatur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rigorous research on perovskite solar cell for more than ten years all over the world has led the rapid development of perovskite technology giving us device efficiency of 25.2%, surpassing the performance of traditional thin-film solar technologies on small scale devices (<1cm2). Perovskite material has excellent electronic and optical properties making it greatly suitable for PV application. The device fabrication process being simple with low cost and solution processability has led the researchers to visualize high efficiency scalable devices. Due to solution process fabrication method the defects in the materials causes the devices perform less than anticipated. These …

Go to article

Examining The Influences Of University Image And Campus Visits On Students’ College Choices, Jennifer Lea Mcclure Jan 2020

Examining The Influences Of University Image And Campus Visits On Students’ College Choices, Jennifer Lea Mcclure

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study provides qualitative data in the areas of university image, campus visits, and college choice. The purpose of the study was to examine the value of university image and campus visits in students’ college choices. Twenty matriculated freshmen at the University of Mississippi who participated in campus visits as prospective students and who applied for admission in the months of October through April were selected via purposeful sampling to participate in open-ended interviews about the images that they hold of the university, their campus visit experiences, and their college choice processes. The data collected show that students place …

Go to article

The Preparedness Of First-Year Football Student-Athletes In Online Classes At The University Of Mississippi, Cliff Mccain Jan 2020

The Preparedness Of First-Year Football Student-Athletes In Online Classes At The University Of Mississippi, Cliff Mccain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Colleges and universities in the United States currently face an n issue of student-athletes enrolling in online courses and not being prepared. Research has shown that students take these classes for a variety of reasons and perceive a variety of advantages and disadvantages to these types of classes and even more specifically, the subjects taken in the online format. Their level of preparedness, the reasons for this level, and the perceived assistance needed were also issues to be examined. This study aims to determine how prepared for online courses the first-year football student - athletes were during the 2018-2019 school …

Go to article

Fabrication Of Taste Masked Tablets Via Fused Deposition Modeling 3d Printing Paired With Hot-Melt Extrusion Techniques, Honghe Wang Jan 2020

Fabrication Of Taste Masked Tablets Via Fused Deposition Modeling 3d Printing Paired With Hot-Melt Extrusion Techniques, Honghe Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this work was to develop taste-masked donut-shaped tablet formulations utilizing fused deposition modeling three-dimensional (3D) printing paired with hot-melt extrusion (HME) techniques. Caffeine citrate (CC) was used as the model drug for its bitter taste, and a three-point bend test was performed to assess the printability of filaments. The stiffness constant was calculated to represent the printability by fitting the breaking distances and stress data into Hooke's law. Formulation F6 and F7 filaments exhibited the desired hardness with a “k” value of 48.30 ± 3.52 g/mm3 and 45.47 ± 3.51 g/mm3, respectively, and were successfully printed. The …

Go to article

Aproaches To Develop Acyclovir Gastro-Retentive Formulations Using Hot Melt Extrusion Technology, Peilun Zhang Jan 2020

Aproaches To Develop Acyclovir Gastro-Retentive Formulations Using Hot Melt Extrusion Technology, Peilun Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the current study was to prepare and compare acyclovir (ACV) floating gastro-retentive formulations synthesized via hot-melt extrusion (HME) techniques using P-CO2 and sodium bicarbonate. Physical mixtures of ACV (20%, w/w) and HPC EF (70%, 60%, w/w) with HPC MF (10%, w/w) or HPMCAS-LG (10%, w/w) were prepared using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder with a screw configuration shoin Figure 2. P-CO2 was injected into zone 9 of the extruder or NaHCO3 was added (10% w/w) during the extrusion process. In vitro dissolution studies (0.1 N hydrochloric acid medium) demonstrated that the formulations floated on the medium because of …

Go to article

Application Of Cellulose Nanocrystals For Stabilizing Liquid-Liquid And Liquid-Gas Interfaces In Brines, Sanjiv Parajuli Jan 2020

Application Of Cellulose Nanocrystals For Stabilizing Liquid-Liquid And Liquid-Gas Interfaces In Brines, Sanjiv Parajuli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cellulose nanocrystals and their interactions with different surfactants in high ionic strength brine were studied to produce stable liquid-liquid interface (emulsions) and gas-liquid (foams) for potential application in underground CO2 storage, enhanced oil recovery, and biodegradation of crude oil at marine oil-spill sites. Three different but related studies were carried out to complete these objectives. Interfacial and surface properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and surfactants were studied in high ionic strength (I) brines and correlated to the stability of Pickering emulsions and foams in the presence of three different surfactants viz: Bis-(2-hydroxyethyl) cocoalkylamine (CAA), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and Octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (OGP). …

Go to article

Go To Your God Like A Soldier: A Theory For Covert Intervention In Civil Conflict, Shelby Robertson Jan 2020

Go To Your God Like A Soldier: A Theory For Covert Intervention In Civil Conflict, Shelby Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under what conditions will a third party intervene covertly in a civil conflict? Scholars have researched the motivation and strategies used by states in third party intervention in civil war. However, little research explores the type of intervention meaning covert or overt. This paper aims to fill the gap in that literature and provide a theory and preliminary evidence to explain the conditions under which a third party would choose to intervene covertly versus overtly in a civil conflict. The domestic audience of the supported actor in the civil conflict will determine the type of intervention available to the external …

Go to article

Biological Evaluation Of Maasia Glauca (Hassk.) Mols, Kessler & Rogstad, Thanh-Thanh Claire Tran Jan 2020

Biological Evaluation Of Maasia Glauca (Hassk.) Mols, Kessler & Rogstad, Thanh-Thanh Claire Tran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Natural products-based drug discovery has gained a renewal of interest due to the decline of newly approved drugs based on the screening of synthetic compound libraries. Within natural sources, plants have provided 47% of new molecular entities, and only a small percentage of plant species (6%) have been pharmacologically studied. Plant species belonging to the diverse Annonaceae family have been used traditionally for a variety of ailments, including but not limited to dysentery, fever, and cancers. Among all the cancers, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. The lack of effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs due to …

Go to article

Comparing Modern Day Acquisition Costs Of Trafficked Individuals: Implications For Anti-Trafficking Measures, Chelsea Reneé Dillane Jan 2020

Comparing Modern Day Acquisition Costs Of Trafficked Individuals: Implications For Anti-Trafficking Measures, Chelsea Reneé Dillane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The acquisition process of trafficked individuals varies case by case around the world, with human traffickers using various methods of acquisition and paying a range of costs to obtain these individuals. While research on the acquisition methods of traffickers is expansive, research on acquisition costs is relatively small and is mostly covered by Kevin Bales and Siddharth Kara. This study examined acquisition costs of trafficked individuals around the world in order to identify themes and patterns of acquisition, with the goal of informing preventative anti-trafficking efforts aimed at the acquisition process of human trafficking. The main finding of this research …

Go to article

Drawing Identities: An Ethnography Of Indigenous Comic Book Creators, Melissa Ann Kocelko Jan 2020

Drawing Identities: An Ethnography Of Indigenous Comic Book Creators, Melissa Ann Kocelko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the experiences of Indigenous comic creators when making comic books, and I aim to investigate the individual and communal motivations for creating comics. Representations of Indigenous characters and storylines have primarily been told through a white lens in mainstream comics. Within the past five years, this trend has shifted with increased academic and public attention on Indigenous comic books and the rise of comic conventions like Indigenous Pop X. I argue that these comics are acts of decolonization and self-determination where creators use comics as educational tools and as a form of cultural preservation by documenting Indigenous …

Go to article

Formulation And Optimization Of Fingolimog Hydrochloride Nanoemulsion, Rama Avinash Kashikar Jan 2020

Formulation And Optimization Of Fingolimog Hydrochloride Nanoemulsion, Rama Avinash Kashikar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of the present study was to develop a nanoemulsion (NE) system for efficient and prolonged delivery of Fingolimod Hydrochloride (FTY720; FT), to the posterior segment of the eye through the topical route. FT is a sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist, an immunosuppressive agent. FT loaded NE (FT-NE) formulations were prepared with the homogenization method, using Soybean oil as lipid, Tween® 80 and Poloxamer 188 as surfactants. FT-NE were optimized based on particle size, zeta potential (ZP), Polydispersity Index (PDI) and assay. optimized FT-NE formulation were further evaluated for in vitro release and transcorneal in comparison with FT solution (FT-S) formulation, …

Go to article

Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy Studies Of Poroelasticity In Porous Ceramics And Elasticity Of Thermoelectric Snse, Ashoka Karunarathne Jan 2020

Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy Studies Of Poroelasticity In Porous Ceramics And Elasticity Of Thermoelectric Snse, Ashoka Karunarathne

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation primarily focuses on use of resonant ultrasound spectroscopic (RUS) measurements to investigate temperature- and pressure-dependent elastic properties of select materials: porous ceramics, which are used in a wide range of material applications, and thermoelectric tin selenide (SnSe), which is widely studied as an efficient thermoelectric material. RUS experiments were conducted on: ceramics used in LG fuel cells, alumina, zircona and titania, to explore their elastic behavior under the variation of hydrostatic pressure over the low- and high-pressure regimes (0.02 – 800 psi). All the porous ceramics exhibited a reversible material softening mechanism with increasing hydrostatic pressure. The comparison …

Go to article

The Charger: A Case Study Of Leadership Decisions And The Oxford High School Student Newspaper, R. J. Morgan Jan 2020

The Charger: A Case Study Of Leadership Decisions And The Oxford High School Student Newspaper, R. J. Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This case study uses qualitative interviews with administrators, advisers, former editors, and others, along with researcher observations and more than 50 years of archival documents to construct a comprehensive portrait of the history, successes, and challenges of the student newspaper program at Oxford High School, and how administrative decision making has affected that success and vice versa. The OHS student newspaper, called the Charger since the late 1980s, has consistently ranked at or near the top of the best high school newspapers in Mississippi and has at times been named one of the top high school newspapers in the nation. …

Go to article

An Analysis Of Efl Learners’ Foreign Language Anxiety And Their Motivation To Learn English, Maide Beyza Cayli Jan 2020

An Analysis Of Efl Learners’ Foreign Language Anxiety And Their Motivation To Learn English, Maide Beyza Cayli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to investigate English-language learners’ foreign language anxiety and their motivations to learn English in an American context. The adapted versions of The Motivation/Attitude Questionnaire (Ozturk 2012), and Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al 1986) were given to 34 Intensive English Program students at a college in Southeastern United States. The participants in the Advanced and Advanced Plus Level have shown moderate level of Foreign Language Anxiety and Motivation. The results have prevailed that the students with higher proficiency levels have had slightly higher level of motivation. Yet, the participants with a higher level of English proficiency …

Go to article

Racially Diverse Adolescent Friendship Groups: A Phenomenological Research Study, Arielle Brooke Mottes Jan 2020

Racially Diverse Adolescent Friendship Groups: A Phenomenological Research Study, Arielle Brooke Mottes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School psychologists and other school personnel are trained to engage in selfreflective and culturally humble practices to better serve an increasingly racially diverse student population. While most literature on cultural humility (CH) focuses on its development in professionals, this research study looks at its development in students experiencing the phenomenon of racially diverse friendship. Previous research has found there to be a significant relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and social competence. The intended purpose of this study was to explore the possible relationship between ToM and CH amongst high school students who are part of racially diverse friendship groups. …

Go to article

Automatic Target Recognition With Deep Metric Learning., Abdelhamid Bouzid Jan 2020

Automatic Target Recognition With Deep Metric Learning., Abdelhamid Bouzid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An Automatic Target Recognizer (ATR) is a real or near-real time understanding system where its input (images, signals) are obtained from sensors and its output is the detected and recognized target. ATR is an important task in many civilian and military computer vision applications. The used sensors, such as infrared (IR) imagery, enlarge our knowledge of the surrounding environment, especially at night as they provide continuous surveillance. However, ATR based on IR faces major challenges such as meteorological conditions, scale and viewpoint invariance. In this thesis, we propose solutions that are based on Deep Metric Learning (DML). DML is a …

Go to article

More Than Music: The Lived Experiences Of Communities Developed Through Music Festivals, Madeline E. Rahme Jan 2020

More Than Music: The Lived Experiences Of Communities Developed Through Music Festivals, Madeline E. Rahme

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music festivals offer individuals an escape from their daily routines to experience a temporary sense of freedom and develop a community. Since the 1950’s, the music festival industry has become more common in American culture from inaugural festivals such as Newport Folk Festival and Woodstock to the festivals today such as Bonnaroo, Coachella, and Lollapalooza. Using Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival as a single case study, I seek to explore the lived experiences of the community developed on the festival site that has identified themselves as Bonnaroovians. I used a collection of ethnographic research methods such as participant observation, interviews, …

Go to article

U.S. Democratization In Post-Cold War Russia: A Critique, Franklin T. Hughes Jan 2020

U.S. Democratization In Post-Cold War Russia: A Critique, Franklin T. Hughes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

States are path dependent entities that deviate solely in the face of catastrophic failures in the pursuit of axiomatic ends by conventional means. The inertia of bureaucratic institutions, a foreign policy consensus within a self-reproducing elite of experts, the self-interest of political elites and a sense of “national self” or identity lead states to understand themselves in light of a history and a relative level of status on the world stage. Since the end World War II, the U.S. has a certain path that places the spread of democracy and laissez-faire capitalism extremely important if not vital foreign policy goals. …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last