Digital Commons Network^™

Emotion Regulation And Attrition In Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Corey C. Lieneman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As evidence of the importance of emotion regulation (ER) continues to mount, little is known about how families dealing with child behavior problems can better develop this important ability. This study explored the relations among a caregiver training program for children with severe problem behaviors (i.e., Parent-Child Interaction Therapy; PCIT), child ER, caregiver ER, parent-ing stress, and attrition. This study was part of a larger investigation evaluating the impact of in-centives on treatment outcomes. Measures of caregiver and child ER, child behavior problems, and parenting stress were completed by caregivers referred for PCIT from a predominantly low-income community sample of …

Jurors' Perceptions Of Child Witnesses With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Victoria A. Disciullo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of the current study is to examine the effects of child witnesses with autism spectrum disorder on jurors' perceptions. Participants were randomly assigned to one of five experimental conditions displaying scenarios varying the characteristics (autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and typically developing) of a 6-year-old female child who alleged sexual maltreatment. Participants were asked to provide a series of ratings regarding the child's credibility, "accuracy, suggestibility, and ability to testify based on facts" (Orcutt et al., 2001, p. 346; see also Thomas & Krackow, 2016), as well as defendant guilt (Tessier & Krackow, 2013). Overall, the data suggest …

Estimating Bald Eagle Occupancy And Density In The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Bethany Drahota

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are a newly recovered species, and as such, little is known about their modern population dynamics and how these dynamics interact with their ecology. With the recent expansion of eagle populations, managers have begun to question assumptions about bald eagles, including their sensitivity to disturbances. Discerning how eagles react to both outside influences and internal factors is crucial for eagle conservation, especially in focal areas of importance, such as the Chesapeake Bay. I used seven years of monitoring data from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) to determine the occupancy (chapter 1) and …

Examining The Association Amongst Expected Costs And Benefits, Peer Use, And Self-Reported Use Of Electronic Cigarettes In Adolescents, Kristine Durkin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Understanding why e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular with adolescents, despite the potential negative health consequences of these products, is critical to informing prevention and intervention efforts. Prior research has identified peer use as a salient risk factor of adolescent e-cigarette use, but has not expanded on the mechanism of this association. For this study, 569 adolescents were recruited from an adolescent medicine clinic and public schools in rural and suburban areas of the mid-Atlantic United States. Participants completed a study-specific demographic questionnaire, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to assess substance use, and the Smoking Expectancy Scale for Adolescents (SESA) …

Uav Modeling And Simulation At Normal And Abnormal Conditions, Mofetoluwa Fagbemi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The main objective of this thesis is to develop new capabilities within the West Virginia University (WVU) unmanned aerial systems (UAS) simulation environment for the design and analysis of fault tolerant control laws on small sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). An aerodynamic model for an electric powered UAV is developed using a vortex lattice method implemented within the computational design package Tornado. One-dimensional look-up tables are developed for the main stability and control derivatives, which are then used to calculate linear aerodynamic forces and moments for the nonlinear aircraft equations of motion. Flight data are used for model verification and …

How To Plan A Successful Tedx Conference At West Virginia University, Shannon Lee Cunningham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research paper and the coinciding booklet offer pertinent information to help one plan and organize a successful TEDx conference at West Virginia University. It describes all of the details and explains factors that are unique to this specific event. The information contained in these documents was gathered from planning the first ever TEDxWVU event, which took place on Friday, March 2, 2018 at the Media Innovation Center on the fourth floor of the Evansdale Crossing building. This first event was scheduled to be an all-day event with nine speakers.

Nondestructive Evaluation Of Concrete Bridge Columns Rehabilitiated With Fiber Reinforced Polymers Using Digital Tap Hammer And Infrared Thermography, Andrew Scott Wheeler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Bridge Columns Rehabilitated With Fiber Reinforced Polymers Using Digital Tap Hammer and Infrared Thermography Andrew Wheeler In 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave bridges in the U.S. a C+ rating. Almost four out of every ten bridges are 50 years or older. In 2016, there were on average 188 million trips across a structural deficient bridge each day. With such a large number of bridges needing replaced or repaired, transportation officials are utilizing various bridge rehabilitation techniques to provide a cost effective solution to such a widespread problem. One rehabilitation technique involves the …

Flexible High-Density Puzzle Storage Systems, Ehsan Shirazi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In a traditional storage system, when one of the mechanical or electrical parts or the software fails to operate correctly, it may lead to the failure of the entire system imposing huge costs to the system (Gue et al., 2014). However, in a grid storage network, if a grid fails to operate, the system continues to operate. Therefore, failure of a system component will not jeopardize the whole system functionality. As such, reliability is one of the key advantages of grid storage networks. Another benefit of grid storage systems is flexibility. Various systems such as GridFlow, GridPick, GridStore, are developed …

Energy Efficiency Effectiveness Of Smart Thermostat Based Bems, Koushik Mandlem

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Building Energy Management System (BEMS) is a computer-based system that can control, monitor and optimize energy consumption of the buildings. Though there are many advancements in this technology, many residential users who plan to install this technology are unaware of its economic feasibility. To determine the economic feasibility, the user should know the energy costs associated with the current HVAC system and the proposed HVAC system after installing BEMS and the implementation costs associated with the installation of the system. The work that is being proposed here is to develop a software that allows the user to observe the estimated …

An Exploration Of Paul Bowles' Piano-Solo Pieces, Juan Carlos Rios Betancur

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research paper provides a general overview of the piano-solo literature by the American composer Paul Frederic Bowles (1910-1999). Thanks to recent contributions, this repertoire is now available in recordings and musical scores as it has never been before.;This paper is divided into two sections. The first covers the biography of Paul Bowles and his musical achievements as a composer, along with his research into the folk music of Morocco and his literary writings as a music critic for the journal Modern Music and for The New Herald Tribune. The second part is about Bowles' piano-solo output, divided thematically into …

What The Frost Killed, Allison Semele Blair

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

What the Frost Killed is the culmination of two years spent memorializing the dead plants and animals of my immediate surroundings. Primarily focusing on birds who die as a result of human activity, I seek to pay attention to and elevate the individual victims of a systemic problem. Inspired by Ancient Greek tragedy, I engage with the ethical dilemmas inherent in our collective actions to express the strange, beauty of these unsung deaths.;My thesis body of work draws on a decade of research exploring the intersection between political history and ancient tragic literature. As I studied these stories written in …

Medicine Bag: An Autoethnographic Account Of Learning To Use Memory And Indigeneity As Resources In College Advising, R. Saya Bobick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Autoethnography was used to investigate lived experiences of self to connect the individual to the cultural (Ellis et al., 2011). My life's recollections were gathered together in a metaphorical personal medicine bag. The use of memory work and storytelling/histories helped to "reframe the old understandings of history and memory" (Clare & Johnson, 2000, p. 210). The conceptual framework was situated within an autoethnographic approach that included three components. The first component was Indigenous ideas, which included memory as a process of decolonization, telling stories past-present-future, and oral traditions/histories. The second included feminist ideas about memory with descriptions of memory work …

Evaluation Of An Event Detection System To Identify Spill Events Related To Marcellus Shale Development, Joseph C. Wickline

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

There has been an extraordinary growth in the production of natural gas within the Marcellus Shale region in the past two decades. This sharp increase in production corresponds to an increased risk to surface waters from spill events related to the industry. At present, there are some private organizations and government agencies which monitor water quality in the region using continuous monitoring. However, there are no protocols in place to use data from continuous monitoring stations to quickly detect contamination resulting from spills.;Previous research has found that standard water quality parameters, such as specific conductivity, pH, and dissolved oxygen, measured …

Application Of Artificial Intelligent Predictive Modeling For Completion Optimization And Refracture Candidacy, Daniel Yingling

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Unconventional reservoirs are full of uncertainty when dealing with conventional methods of modeling and analysis. The objective of this work is to use a trained artificial intelligent (AI) model to compare actual production data to AI predicted possible well production. Data-driven models based on AI are efficient tools for optimizing the production, stimulation, and completion design of wells and can be very beneficial when determining the success or failure of wells based on production. An AI model for production predictions require both native and design parameters, which include well characteristics, completion design, and stimulation design parameters.;Data from over 100 Marcellus …

The Influence Of Instructional Design Decisions On Student Motivation In Online Courses, Robin E. Youger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The goal of higher education is to educate, train, and motivate people (Hunt, 1998). Typically, best practices and accepted design strategies are used to develop online courses that fulfill the needs of the university, faculty, and student stakeholders. This study examines two methods of instructional design -- the Quality Matters (QM) process, and Keller's ARCS motivational design process -- to understand if instructional design decisions have influence on student motivation in online courses. Quality Matters (QM) offers a well-researched process of designing online courses based on nationally-recognized standards. The QM format provides an ideal objectives-based course design; however, it does …

Britishers In Two Worlds: Maltese Immigrants In Detroit And Toronto, 1919-1960, Marc Anthony Sanko

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation looks at the immigration of Maltese laborers and their families to North America, chiefly Detroit and Toronto, between 1919 and 1960. While the Maltese migration followed similar patterns to other Southern European Catholic or skilled laborers in general, it is different in both their timing and colonial association. Most migrants came to North America in the late 19th and early 20th century, but the Maltese migration occurs largely after World War I and extends through the 1960s---the exact time frame of immigration restrictions imposed by both the governments of the United States and Canada. How the Maltese immigrants …

Impact Of Inquiry-Based, Question-And-Answer Instruction In High-Enrollment Classes, Matthew R. Schraeder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Lecturing is a common way to teach large classes, especially in mathematics. Other styles of instruction have been proven to be more effective in small classroom settings, but those styles are not always practical (or even feasible) in classes with 200+ students. The lecturing dialogue primarily exists at the intersection of Spectrum Theory and the Socratic Method, utilizing inquiry-based learning within the realm of active learning, experiential learning, and constructivism to appeal to learners with various learning styles, which helps students to discover new information (specifically, why things occur in the way that they do) and make connections between old …

Three Essays On Tourism Demand And Economic Development In The United States, David Naab Aratuo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The global tourism industry has experienced sustained growth over the years even in the face of economic shocks. International travel for tourism purposes continues to grow albeit at different rates in developed and developing countries. The trend is suggestive of the significant impact of tourism on the global economy and social phenomena since the last century. A similar trend is observed in the United States as tourism contributes to the economy by generating revenues and creating jobs. The United States is a significant player in global tourism, being the largest exporter and the second largest importer of tourism. It is …

Best Practices For Sepsis Patients: A Quality Improvement Project, Kevin Mark Smith Jr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sepsis is a complication caused by the overwhelming and life-threatening response of the body to an infection. Sepsis can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Sepsis is the leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals. Mortality from sepsis increases 8% for every hour that treatment is delayed. Each year, 258,000 people die from sepsis in the U.S. As many as 80% of sepsis deaths could be prevented with rapid diagnosis and treatment (Sepsis Alliance, 2016). This project seeks to improve the ability of the transfer unit to screen patients, improve early …

Instrumentation And Inertial Navigation Systems Design For Tensegrity Robot Implementations, Scott Edward Harper

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

One of the major challenges faced when developing missions for the exploration of planetary bodies is the risk these terrains pose on the science platform when using a traditional lander or wheeled rover. One means of developing platforms to traverse these harsh terrains is to utilize mobility systems comprised of tensegrity structures. These structures have the capacity to distribute loads across a network of axially loaded members such that they can be constructed in a very lightweight manner and morph their geometries when required. In literature, there has been significant progress in simulated environments to utilize tensegrity structures as mobility …

Understanding The Novice Decision-Making Process In Forensic Footwear Examinations: Accuracy And Decision Rules, Madonna A. Nobel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The reproducibility of experienced-based forensic pattern interpretation is founded on the notion that domain-specific knowledge can be successfully distributed and applied among experts within a group. This assumption persists, even when the examination is complicated by variations in case circumstances, such as impression clarity and totality, as well as media, substrate, collection mechanism and enhancement. While it is further theorized that many of these factors (as well as additional confounding factors) are at play during an examination, the manner and extent to which these sources of variability affect the examination of footwear evidence remain unclear. In order to explore this …

Application Of Machine Learning On Fracture Interference, Dennis Wayne Chamberlain Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A method has been developed that locates and determines well-to-well hydraulic fracture interference (frac-hit) in shale plays using hard data. This method uses Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with designated parameters and target outputs in conjunction with graphs of gas flowrate, tubing pressure, and cumulative gas prediction. The method was created to address the significant increase in frac-hit occurrences due to the infill wells being completed in shale plays. The production data of the well is first cleaned to eliminate outliers in the initial timeframe of the well and periods of no production so that the ANN model can be accurately …

First Principle Study Of Nitrogen Fixation On Molybdenum Containing Semiconductor Surface With A Developed Machine Learning Approach, Alhassan S Yasin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

No abstract provided.

On Designing An Ecg-Based Intelligent System: Utilizing The Heart’S Electrical Activity To Recognize Humans And Detect Arrhythmia, Sara Saeed Abdeldayem

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is the bioelectrical signal that reflects the heart's activity. It has been extensively used as a diagnostic tool since it holds information about the cardiac health condition. However, recent researches have shown that it exhibits an inter-subject variability property. Therefore, it can be used as a biometric-based modality for either identification or verification purposes. Nevertheless, some of the challenges are faced while employing such a signal. For instance, ECG signal is prone to noise, accordingly, noise filters should be designed to remove the noise while keeping the signal properties. Moreover, factors such as medications, health condition, …

Automated Cleaning Of Identity Label Noise In A Large-Scale Face Dataset Using A Face Image Quality Control, Mohamad Al Jazaery

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For face recognition, some very large-scale datasets are publicly available in recent years which are usually collected from the internet using search engines, and thus have many faces with wrong identity labels (outliers). Additionally, the face images in these datasets have different qualities. Since the low quality face images are hard to identify, current automated identity label cleaning methods are not able to detect the identity label error in the low quality faces. Therefore, we propose a novel approach for cleaning the identity label error more low quality faces. Our face identity labels cleaned by our method can train better …

An Experimental Investigation Of The Cooling System For A Free Piston Stirling Engine, Akshay Milind Gupte

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Free-Piston Stirling Engine (FPSE) has been identified as a good candidate for combined heat and power application (CHP). FPSE being highly efficient and environmentally friendly promises to facilitate the increasing demand in waste heat energy recovery systems. FPSE system consists of three important components: (1) hot side heat exchanger; (2) regenerator; and (3) cold side heat exchanger. The cold side heat exchanger is a crucial part as it enables to maintain an optimal temperature of the working fluid by rejecting heat.

This research contributes to the design of heat exchanger test rig and experimental measurement of cooling heat exchanger. The …

Multi-Telescope Radio Observations For Low Frequency Gravitational Wave Astrophysics, Megan L. Jones

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has the principal goal of detecting gravitational waves (GWs) in the nanohertz part of the spectrum using pulsar timing. This thesis presents results from radio campaigns at frequencies from 322 MHz to 10 GHz aimed at both multi-messenger constraints on GW sources and improving the timing sensitivity. The primary expected source of GWs at the nanohertz frequencies to which pulsar timing is sensitive are supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries. We investigate a purported SMBH displaced from the galactic photocenter in NGC 3115. We explore the possibilities that the source is a …

The Effect Of Asymmetry On Pregnancy-Related Pain In The Postpartum Period, Krista G. Meder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nearly 50% of women experience back pain and other lower extremity pain during pregnancy, with many reporting lasting pain postpartum. Pregnant women experience changes to their pelvis and lower extremities that do not always return to pre-pregnancy baseline. Not much is known of the lingering effects of pregnancy related asymmetry and its relationship to pain. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess asymmetries of the pelvis and lower extremities to determine whether malalignment is related to areas of pain at the low back, hip, thigh, knee, leg, and foot/ankle. Methods: Seventeen postpartum women and seven nulliparous controls were …

Climate Science Literacy: A Study Of Climate Programs' Usability, Amber Rochelle Williams

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Literacy is an important facet of understanding how undergraduate college students comprehend climate science. This research, conducted at West Virginia University, examines the usability of climate data in three commonly used climate programs to reduce the prominent knowledge gap in climate science literacy about college students.

The objective of this research is to investigate the knowledge gap in climate science literacy by conducting focus group surveys to examine the usability of programs that use climate datasets. The three programs used in this research were the NOAA online tool, NASA’s Panoply data viewer, and GrADS programmable tool. The NOAA tool is …

Remotely Sensed Hydroclimatic Variability For Water Security In An Agricultural Basin, Ashish Kondal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Indus Basin has supported agricultural practices since the Harappan civilization (3000-1500 BC). Abundance of water has always supported agriculture in the region and built the Indus Basin as one of the major agriculture based economies of the world. The obvious dependency of agriculture on weather and the vagaries of climate emphasizes the necessity of a comprehensive hydro-climate study of the region. The role of climate change in the Indus Basin has always been a contentious issue. Groundwater depletion is evident in the region, and its steady and alarmingly declining rate has brought concerns for the future of agriculture in …