Digital Commons Network^™

Perceived Value Of Higher Education Among Police Officers, Bradley D. Edwards

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether police officers perceive higher education to be important in improving their job performance and promotional opportunities, whether the perception of higher education varied by several independent variables, and the types of suggestions that officers might have for improving the college curriculum. Independent variables included gender, age, level of education, type of police agency, academic major, years of service as a police officer, and job duty. The dependent variable was scores on 3 dimensions: general attitude toward higher education, perceived utility of a criminal justice related degree, and career-related competencies.

A 34- …

Opal Clark On Directing Stop Kiss An Exploration Of The Directorial Process, Opal Clark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis and thesis project was to execute a successful run of the play, Stop Kiss by Diana Son while achieving the playwright’s intended message. Opal Clark directed this production of Stop Kiss at East Tennessee State University under special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. It was performed to sold out audiences in ETSU Theatre and Dance Studio 205 October 2-7, 2017. The play explores experiences and hostility toward same sex couples, their relationships with one another and how one individual discovers sexuality. The discovery and actualization of the characters’ struggles were communicated in the play …

Role Of Tlrs, Hippo-Yap1 Signaling, And Micrornas In Cardiac Repair And Regeneration Of Damaged Myocardium During Ischemic Injury, Xiaohui Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the United States. Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated pathways have been demonstrated to play a role in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We and others have shown that PI3K/Akt signaling is involved in regulating cellular survival and protecting the myocardium from I/R induced injury. In this dissertation, we provide compelling evidence that miR-125b serves to “fine tune” TLR mediated NF-kB responses by repressing TNF-a and TRAF6 expression. We constructed lentiviral expressing miR-125b, delivered it into the myocardium. The data showed that delivery of lentivirus expressing miR-125b significantly reduces myocardial infarct size and improves cardiac …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of The Response To Intervention Framework With English Learners, Donna Stapleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine teacher perceptions of the effectiveness of the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework with students who are acquiring English as a second language.

Students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have been disproportionately represented in special education programs for decades (Artiles & Trent, 1994; Donovan & Cross, 2002; Heller, Holtzman, & Messick, 1982). Legislators responsible for the authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act in 2004 (IDEIA 2004) allowed state education leaders the option to use RtI as an alternative identification method. RtI was believed to be a framework through …

Enemy Exacerbation: Effects Of Predator Stress On Sulfate Lethality In Freshwater Amphipods (Gammarus Minus), Trevor Chapman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Predator cues can influence how aquatic organisms respond to anthropogenic contaminants. This study examined the effects of predator cues on behavior, metabolic rate, and sulfate (as Na₂SO₄) toxicity in amphipods (Gammarus minus). Predator cues included alarm cue (macerated conspecifics) and kairomone from mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). Amphipods decreased activity and increased time in refuge when exposed to alarm cue, and increased time in refuge when exposed to kairomone. While median lethal concentrations (96-h LC₅₀) were not influenced by predator cues, analysis of dose response curves indicated that kairomone exposure increased amphipod …

The Perceptions Of Father Involvement In Elementary Schools, Myles J. Hebrard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions of father involvement in elementary schools. The focus of the study was to allow the researcher to develop a greater understanding of perceptions of father involvement, from both a father and teacher perspective. Data was collected from teachers and fathers through surveys and interviews. Specific content areas of the father survey included communication, activities fathers engaged in, training opportunities provided at the school, parent conferences, when events were offered, availability, and suggestions for school staff. Specific content areas of the teacher survey included communication, activities fathers engaged in, training …

Early Childhood Adversity And Chronic Illness: An Examination Of A High Risk- Forensic Inpatient Population, Courtney L. Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals exposed adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are at increased risk of developing chronic illnesses in adulthood including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic pain. A relationship between ACEs and health risk factors contributing to chronic disease such as smoking, obesity, and sedentary lifestyle has also been established in prior literature. There is evidence that higher that individuals in forensic inpatient mental health samples are disproportionally exposed to ACEs, which may increase odds of chronic disease development. Despite this evidence, little research has examined the prevalence of ACEs and relationships between ACEs and chronic health conditions and risky health behaviors in …

Cultivar, Season Extension, Fertilizer Trials Of Swiss Chard And Pedagogy Of Assessing Cultivars Using Technology, Chanelle Angeny

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract. Diversity of species is a cornerstone of horticulture, and the constant stream of new plant cultivars broadens the palette of options available to the industry. Fifteen Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) cultivars were evaluated during the fall/winter of 2014-2015 season (season 1) and 27 cultivars during the fall/winter of 2015-2016 season (season 2) to determine the best performing cultivars for production and landscape use for east Texas and the southeast by assessing survivability and yield. There was an increase in production of 3.0 ± 0.5 g per plant per harvest under the low tunnel. The cultivar …

A Qualitative, Exploratory Case Study Of Self-Reported Influences Affecting The Decision Of Homeless Sexual-Minority Students To Leave Home, Michael P. Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to identify commonalities regarding influences within the decision-making process that attributed to sexual-minority students voluntarily or involuntarily becoming homeless in lieu of remaining in their respective familial home. An exploratory case-study research design was utilized to determine common themes present in the self-described events that led up to the respective decisions of three volunteer participants, who identified themselves as sexual-minority youths at the time of transition, to leave home. Results of this study discerned five commonalities among the participants’ experiences, which influenced their experiencing homelessness. The detection of these commonalities may provide school administrators and other …

Algorithms For Automated Assignment Of Solution-State And Solid-State Protein Nmr Spectra., Andrey Smelter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protein nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (Protein NMR) is an invaluable analytical technique for studying protein structure, function, and dynamics. There are two major types of NMR spectroscopy that are used for investigation of protein structure – solution-state and solid-state NMR. Solution-based NMR spectroscopy is typically applied to proteins of small and medium size that are soluble in water. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy is amenable for proteins that are insoluble in water. In the vast majority NMR-based protein studies, the first step after experiment optimization is the assignment of protein resonances via the association of chemical shift values to specific atoms in …

Cationic Surfactant Modification And Its Impact On The Engineering Behaviors Of Montmorillonite., Mohammad Ghavami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the microstructure of organoclays after organic surfactant modifications and the potential use in geoenvironmental engineering applications including waste containment in earthen barrier, rheological control agents for drilling fluid and soil stabilization. Organoclays, or clays modified by organic matters, are often synthesized by exchanging the naturally occurring interlayer inorganic cations (e.g., Na+, Ca²⁺) of the clay with organic cationic surfactants. In this research, montmorillonites intercalated with two quaternary ammonium surfactants, hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA+) and bis (hydrogenated tallow alkyl) dimethyl ammonium were used as the representative organo-rich, partitioning clays. The laboratory characterization techniques including XRD, TEM and …

Dynamic Adversarial Mining - Effectively Applying Machine Learning In Adversarial Non-Stationary Environments., Tegjyot Singh Sethi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While understanding of machine learning and data mining is still in its budding stages, the engineering applications of the same has found immense acceptance and success. Cybersecurity applications such as intrusion detection systems, spam filtering, and CAPTCHA authentication, have all begun adopting machine learning as a viable technique to deal with large scale adversarial activity. However, the naive usage of machine learning in an adversarial setting is prone to reverse engineering and evasion attacks, as most of these techniques were designed primarily for a static setting. The security domain is a dynamic landscape, with an ongoing never ending arms race …

How Muslims Help : An Ethnography Of Muslim Voluntary Assistance For Syrian Refugees In Louisville, Ky., Irene Levy Yates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Islamic faith-based organizations’ involvement in Syrian refugee resettlement in Louisville, KY with special attention to the impact of an Islamic Relief USA community engagement grant awarded to Kentucky Refugee Ministries in 2014. A description of local Muslim community support for newly arrived refugees was constructed via participant observation and semi-structured interviews with former and current resettlement agency employees, a diverse set of Muslim community volunteers, and refugees who participate in and/or are supported by Islamic faith-based organizations. Muslim communities in Louisville approach refugee resettlement in ways that are significantly different from both resettlement agency staff and past …

Water-Soluble Pd And Pd-Alloy Nanoparticles As Catalysts In Biphasic Solvent., Shekhar Bhama

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation shows the chemical synthesis of Pd and Pd-alloy nanoparticles (NPs) and their hydrogen and thermal stabilities for applications in the homogeneous and pseudo-homogeneous catalysis of organic reactions. Mainly, this dissertation describes 1) the chemical synthesis of Pd, PdPt, PdAu and Cu-Pd core-shell NPs coated with various organic ligands (thiols, amines and citrate), with different metal compositions in different synthetic environment, 2) the stability of solutions containing various NPs in the presence of hydrogen or varying temperatures, 3) the evaluation of the catalytic activity of Pd, PdPt, PdAu and CuPd NPs for hydrogenation/isomerization of allylic alcohols, and 4) the …

Former Students Discuss Middle School Science Journalism : A Qualitative Study Of Personally Meaningful Disciplinary Writing., Marsha R. Buerger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study explores the experiences of six middle school students with science news writing (SciJourn) after they have transitioned to high school. The qualitative method of case study was used with the data analyzed through the method of constructivist grounded theory. SciJourn is a disciplinary approach to science literacy that allows students to choose and research their own topic, interact with experts in the field, construct their own knowledge, and have the opportunity to publish in an on-line science newspaper (Scijourner.org). Theoretically, this research draws on science as social practice where literacy learning is cognitively complex, is situated …

Mental Health And Substance Use Disorders And Treatment Receipt Among Pregnant Women In The United States, 2008-2014 : Trend Analysis, Likelihood Of Treatment Receipt, And Ethnic Disparities In Mental Health Treatment., Taghreed Nayel Salameh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this dissertation were to examine trends from 2008 to 2014 in mental health and substance use disorders and treatment receipt, and explore factors associated with treatment receipt in pregnant women aged 18-44 years in the United States. A systematic review showed that illicit drug use disorder increased in pregnant women over the past decade. Despite the increase in treatment admissions for these disorders from 1992 to 2012, the overall treatment admission rate for pregnant women remained relatively stable (4%). In a trend study, compared mental health and substance use disorders and treatment receipt across Matched groups of …

Mitochondrial Transcription Factor A'S Role In Heart Failure., George H. Kunkel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: An essential mitochondrial component, Mitochondrial Transcription Factor A (TFAM) is reduced within the failing heart. TFAM maintains regulatory functions of cardiomyocyte physiology and stability. Mitochondrial Transcription Factor A forms a mitochondrial nucleoid anti-oxidant structure and reduces pathophysiological abnormalities to structural and contractile proteins. Overall, this functions to physically stabilize mtDNA. Significant molecular changes such as a loss of TFAM drive pathophysiological concentrations of cytoplasmic Ca2+ and reactive oxygen species. Both of these factors induce proteolytic enzymes to degrade the physiological cardiomyocyte. In TFAMs absence, heart function deteriorates and hypertrophic expansion ensues: thereby changing the physiological myocardium to a pathological …

Effect Of Protease Supplementation In Broiler Feed On Growth Performance, Carcass Yield And Total Nitrogen Retention In Fecal Matter And Litter, Jawad Al-Juboori

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of protease supplementation on commercial broiler performance, carcass yield, and nitrogen retention in fecal matter and litter. Total of 4,800 female (Ross 708) birds split into 96 floor pens, and randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups. Birds were placed within 96, 5’x10’ floor pens in a randomized-block design at the SFASU Poultry Research Center. Birds were randomly divided among the pens at a stocking density of 1.00 ft2/bird (50 birds/pen*24 pens/treatment=1200 birds/treatment), and reared for 49 days on used pine shavings. The target average weight for the …

A Smart Highway Work Zone Merge System Enabled By Connected Vehicles., Abdulmaged Algomaiah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Typical traffic control and operations at work zones usually are not very effective in mitigating the work zone bottleneck. A major reason is that the common early merge behaviors limits utilizing the available capacity in the closed lane, especially under moderate to high traffic demands. Recently, using late merge strategy is encouraged to prevent early merge behavior and fully utilize the closed lane and therefore increase capacity of work zone. The development of late merge strategy was not enough to substantially improve the situation due to the lack of compliance and communication among drivers. This thesis suggests and investigates a …

Diversity For Diversity's Sake? The Relationship Between Diversity And School-Level Academic Achievement., Richard Aaron Wisman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is contention among researchers about how to best operationalize socioeconomic status (SES). This study seeks to provide an explicit definition of one metric of socioeconomic status, the diversity index (DI) of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and investigates its efficacy at predicting the aggregate academic achievement of students within a school, relative to other common metrics of SES which are analogous to components of the DI. Another purpose of this study is to investigate possible peer effects of socioeconomic diversity on low SES students. This study utilizes a correlational – multiple regression approach to explore relationships among study variables …

Some Problems Arising From Mathematical Model Of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ., Heng Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the earliest form of breast cancer. Three mathematical models in the one dimensional case arising from DCIS are proposed. The first two models are in the form of parabolic equation with initial and known moving boundaries. Direct and inverse problems are considered in model 1, existence and uniqueness are proved by using tool from heat potential theory and Volterra integral equations. Also, we discuss the direct problem and nonlocal problem of model 2, existence and uniqueness are proved. And approximation solution of these problems are implemented by Ritz-Galerkin method, which is the first attempt …

Circuits For Active Vision : Parallel Tectothalamocortical Visual Pathways In The Mouse., Na Zhou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Vision is a critical sensation for the interaction between humans and their surrounding environment. The eyes connect with the brain via retinal ganglion cell axons, which transmit visual sensory information from the periphery into the central nervous system for further processing, eventually leading to visual perception and the visual guidance of movement. Two main targets of retinal axons are the superior colliculus (SC) and the dorsal thalamus. From the SC, visual information is conveyed to the dorsal thalamus, and from the dorsal thalamus visual information is conveyed to the cortex, striatum and amygdala. This dissertation is focused on the functional …

Articulating The New Normal(S) : Mental Disability, Medical Discourse, And Rhetorical Action., Andrew Wesley Holladay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Articulating the New Normal(s): Mental Disability, Medical Discourse, and Rhetorical Action” studies the writing of people diagnosed with autism and post- traumatic stress disorder within online discussion boards related to mental health and outlines their unique rhetorical strategies for interacting with biomedical ideologies of psychiatry and activist discourses. The opening chapter situates this dissertation in relation to previous scholarship in Rhetoric, Disability Studies, and other fields. I also provide a summary of the set of mixed methods I use to gather and analyze my data, including rhetorical analysis, corpus analysis, and qualitative interviews. In Chapter 2, “Medical Terminology and Discourse …

Extending Difference Of Votes Rules On Three Voting Models., Sarah Schulz King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In a voting situation where there are only two competing alternatives, simple majority rule outputs the alternatives with the most votes or declares a tie if both alternatives receive the same number of votes. For any non-negative integer k, the difference of votes rule M_k outputs the alternative that beats the competing alternative by more than k votes. Llamazares (2006) gives a characterization of the difference of votes rules in terms of five axioms. In this thesis, we extend Llamazares' result by completely describing the class of voting rules that satisfy only two out of his five axioms. …

Stretching Adversely Modulates Locomotor Capacity Following Spinal Cord Injury Via Activation Of Nociceptive Afferents., Anastasia V. Keller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is the second leading cause of paralysis in the United States, affecting around 282,000 people with 17,000 new cases each year. Initial and secondary damage to the spinal cord disrupts multiple descending pathways that modulate the function of sympathetic preganglionic neurons and central pattern generating circuitry. Resulting loss of autonomic and locomotor functions, as well as decreased levels of physical activity, lead to a myriad of complications that affect multiple organ systems and significantly reduce both quality of life and life expectancy in individuals with SCI. Spasticity and muscle contractures are two common secondary conditions that …

Novel Processing Approaches For Thin Film Solar And Related Technologies., Brandon Lavery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A growing population along with developing nations are increasing the demand for energy. The International Energy Agency forecasts a global electricity demand increase of 70 percent by 2040. This is an increase from nearly 18 TW to over 30 TW. The sun can be a great clean source of achieving this energy demand. Despite the large solar industry development, the market is still growing as solar energy only accounted for 0.87% of the global energy production in 2013. The opportunity exists to manufacture more affordable solar energy that can penetrate more of the global energy market. In this dissertation, a …

Novel Insight Into The Liver-Lung Axis In Alcohol-Enhanced Acute Lung Injury., Lauren G. Poole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background. Individuals who chronically abuse alcohol are almost 4 times more likely to develop Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), the most severe form of Acute Lung Injury (ALI), but the mechanisms by which alcohol abuse sensitizes the lung to injury are poorly understood. However, the lung appears to share many parallel mechanisms of injury with the liver- a primary target of alcohol abuse. The overarching goal of this dissertation was therefore to expand on established mechanisms of alcohol-induced liver injury to ask innovative questions about mechanisms of alcohol-enhanced acute lung injury, as well as to develop new tools that may …

Controlled Electrochemical Synthesis Of Single One-Dimensional Metal Nanochains Across Microgap Electrodes., Amareshwari Konutham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study mainly focuses on the fabrication of single one dimensional (1D) NP chains across the 5-micron gap of Au two electrode devices (TED). This has been achieved by electrochemical deposition of Ag onto the two electrodes, soaking the TED in 0.1 M Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide for 2-3 hours, and then close monitoring of the current as a function of time while a voltage across the two Ag coated Au electrodes in air. One dimensional Ag nanoparticle chain formation occurred by oxidation of Ag to Ag⁺ at the positive electrode followed by movement of Ag⁺ ions to the …

An Interactive Interface For Nursing Robots., Ankita Sahu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Physical Human-Robot Interaction (pHRI) is inevitable for a human user while working with assistive robots. There are various aspects of pHRI, such as choosing the interface, type of control schemes implemented and the modes of interaction. The research work presented in this thesis concentrates on a health-care assistive robot called Adaptive Robot Nursing Assistant (ARNA). An assistive robot in a health-care environment has to be able to perform routine tasks and be aware of the surrounding environment at the same time. In order to operate the robot, a teleoperation based interaction would be tedious for some patients as it would …

Advances In Tumor-Targeted Therapy Using Nanomedicine., Divya Karukonda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite continuous improvement and significant progress made in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for cancer, it is still the leading cause of death worldwide. Although conventional chemotherapy has made significant advances in improving patient survival the indiscriminate destruction of normal cells leads to severe side effects and poor clinical outcomes. Thus, there is a need for effective delivery of drugs to the tumor site avoiding normal tissues to reduce toxicity in the rest of the body. For this reason, a novel multidisciplinary field called Nanotechnology has evolved in recent years and advances in this field have contributed to the development of …