Digital Commons Network^™

Productivity Index For Unconventional Gas Wells, Yousef Khajah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Productivity Index reflects the ability of a well to produce hydrocarbons and is often used to analyze the well's performance. Productivity Index is the ratio of the flow rate to the drawdown pressure under pseudo-steady state flow conditions. The unconventional gas formation such as shale are the main target of the gas exploration and production. The application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies have been instrumental in development of shale gas resources. The evaluation of the productivity index for unconventional gas wells is however challenging because the production mainly occurs under the transient conditions.

This research aims to evaluate …

Experimental Investigations Of Contact Friction And Transport Properties Of Monolayer And Bilayer Graphene, Prakash Gajurel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Results obtained from experimental investigations of contact friction in monolayer and bilayers graphene and the related effects on their transport properties are presented here along with their discussion and interpretation. For this purpose, chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene samples on SiO₂/Si were prepared. The samples were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Summaries of the results are given below.

Defects-controlled friction in graphene is of technological importance but the underlying mechanism remains a subject of debate. The new results obtained from the analysis of lateral force microscopy images revealed that the contact …

Transference Of Emotional Intelligence And Self-Efficacy Observed Through Adventure West Virginia Student Trip Leaders, Ashley Irene Fox

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the creation of university sponsored outdoor recreation trips, research studies have been conducted to examine the impact of this programming on participants. These studies have typically assessed impacts through measuring common components used to quantify overall leadership abilities such as emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and transference. In this study, researchers utilized a quasi-experimental approach to attempt to measure the impact of leading outdoor orientation trips on leader ability to transfer leadership skills to other areas of life. A sample (N = 29) of undergraduate student trip leaders of West Virginia University’s Adventure West Virginia (AWV) program was surveyed and divided …

Evaluating Avian Occupancy On Sites Treated With Nrcs Conservation Practices Implemented To Benefit Cerulean (Setophaga Cerulea) And Golden-Winged Warblers (Vermivora Chrysoptera) In West Virginia, Lincoln R. Oliver

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) supports private lands conservation across the United States to benefit imperiled focal wildlife species using conservation practices to restore habitat. Through the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) Forestland Enhancement Project (CWAFEP) and the Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) initiative, the NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners to implement conservation practices that follow science-based habitat management guidelines. Few research studies have evaluated focal species-specific occupancy on CWAFEP and/or WLFW sites, and research is required to inform each conservation project’s effectiveness in an adaptive …

Unconventional Gas Pipeline Right-Of-Way Influence On Wildlife, Samuel C. Knopka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The development of horizontal drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale in 2004 resulted in rapid exploitation of the play in the Appalachian Basin. This “unconventional” gas well drilling accesses resources deeper beneath the surface and allows for multiple wells to be co-located on a single well pad. This results in fewer, but larger, well pads on the landscape than traditional vertical wells. Pipelines are required to transport the volumes of gas produced by unconventional wells to production facilities and market. The effects of gathering pipelines, which transport gas from well pads to larger transport pipelines, are poorly studied …

Behind The Lens: How Women Photojournalists’ Experiences Are Impacted By Gendered Double Standards And Emotion Management On The Sidelines Of The National Football League, Caylie M. Silveira

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Women photojournalists working on the sidelines for the National Football League (NFL) are scarce, despite many advancements made by women in sports media. In the workplace, women face double standards and are expected to manage their emotions differently than their male colleagues. This study aimed to analyze the expectations of women by looking at the different stereotypes and biases that they face as well as the gendered wage gaps. Feminist standpoint theory assisted in the qualitative research approach of this study because it states that women are the only ones that can speak about their experiences since they are the …

Perceptions And Instructional Practices Used By West Virginian Secondary Agricultural Teachers In Meat Science Education, Kindra D. Carr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A focus on classroom integration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts has resulted in secondary teachers broadening the scope and delivery of STEM principles in their classes. Because agriculture classes allow students to convert abstract ideas into concrete ideas, they provide a useful setting to teach STEM concepts. Using secondary agricultural classes to teach science is effective and has contributed to higher standardized science test scores, as opposed to a science class alone. West Virginia is known for meat processing facilities and meat technology learning activities in its public schools. However, little is known about how the content …

Sustainability Key Performance Indicators For Mass Customization, Md Fahid Hasan Pulak

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Today’s manufacturers are striving towards a more sustainable and customized product offering in their value chain to satisfy customer demand and compete on the marketplace. By adopting sustainability practices, companies are not only complying with environmental regulations but are strategically addressing the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability (environmental, social, and economic). Similarly, mass customization allows a company to better satisfy their customers by creating individualized products economically. Moving forward, it is important to better understand the relationship of these two competitive strategies. In order to assess the sustainability performance of mass customization, it is important to understand the appropriate …

Level Of Adoption Of West Virginia Agriculture Teachers' Usage Of Internet-Based Educational Technology In The Classroom, Travis Daniel Veach

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of adoption of West Virginia agricultural educators’ usage of internet-based educational technology for instruction. The population for this study included 103 educators during the 2020-2021 school year. The study yielded thirty-two responses from the population. Respondents indicated they use internet-based educational technology for their classroom instruction. Respondents indicated they use internet-based educational technology in a variety of different ways for instruction. Respondents adopted internet-based educational technology at varying degrees depending on the technology, some respondents being early adopters, and others later adopters.

Evaluating Social Media As A Medium Of Private Communication Through Steganographic Images, Kendall Weldon Coles

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Social media is a vastly used communication tool with billions of users worldwide. These social networks provide users the ability to share their ideas and thoughts through the messages, videos, and images that they post. The images that are shared can possibly be embedded with private messages through the use of a steganographic tool. The messages are embedded in a fashion that doesn’t change the visual appearance of an image. This allows for these types of images to hide in plain sight, which creates the possibility of someone communicating privately in a public social media setting. This project proved how …

Iot Malicious Traffic Classification Using Machine Learning, Michael Austin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Although desktops and laptops have historically composed the bulk of botnet nodes, Internet of Things (IoT) devices have become more recent targets. Lightbulbs, outdoor cameras, watches, and many other small items are connected to WiFi and each other; and few have well-developed security or hardening. Research on botnets typically leverages honeypots, PCAPs, and network traffic analysis tools to develop detection models. The research questions addressed in this Problem Report are: (1) What machine learning algorithm performs the best in a binary classification task for a representative dataset of malicious and benign IoT traffic; and (2) What features have the most …

Flow Field Measurement And Qualification Of The West Virginia University Environmental Wind Tunnel, Katherine Mary Reid

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In 2013 West Virginia University acquired an Environmental Wind Tunnel from Cornell University. Due to the state of the tunnel, elements of the tunnel were redesigned and rebuilt at the West Virginia University Hangar in Morgantown, West Virginia. The motivation of this research was to evaluate and qualify the flow field within the test section of this redesigned and reconstructed wind tunnel. The tunnel has many uses for the university, including outside research opportunities as well as educational purposes for students in the Aerospace Engineering Department. The methods employed for this effort included developing a grid of pitot tubes to …

Adult Delinquency And Victimization: A Test Of Differential Association Theory With New Data, Shah Alam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The theory of differential association applies not only to adolescent people but also to the adult population. A lot of studies tested this theory on delinquent behavior but tests on victimization are rare. Using West Virginia Social Survey 2020 data, this study finds that there is an association between having delinquent friends and learning of self-delinquency in the adult population. It also reports that self-victimization can be predicted with having delinquent friends. The highest probability of victimization is twice for people for having pain medication misuser friends than of people having marijuana user friends. But self-delinquent behaviors do not report …

Effect Of Diet, Age, And Genetics On Rainbow Trout Growth And Fillet Quality, Bahareh Adami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, analyses were conducted to compare fillet quality attributes of 4 rainbow trout families (40, 102, 159, and 187) fed fish meal (FM) and a fishmeal free diet (FMF), to two age endpoints, 9 and 11 months.

Previous studies with rainbow trout have evaluated the effect of age, diet, and family on growth performance and fillet quality. However, a comprehensive analysis of variables is lacking for rainbow trout, one of the main aquatic foods for domestic and international consumers.

Separable muscle as a percent whole body weight was not affected by diet, family, age, and the interaction of …

Deep Models For Improving The Performance And Reliability Of Person Recognition, Sobhan Soleymani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Deep models have provided high accuracy for different applications such as person recognition, image segmentation, image captioning, scene description, and action recognition. In this dissertation, we study the deep learning models and their application in improving the performance and reliability of person recognition. This dissertation focuses on five aspects of person recognition: (1) multimodal person recognition, (2) quality-aware multi-sample person recognition, (3) text-independent speaker verification, (4) adversarial iris examples, and (5) morphed face images. First, we discuss the application of multimodal networks consisting of face, iris, fingerprint, and speech modalities in person recognition. We propose multi-stream convolutional neural network architectures …

Foreigner, Cancan Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This written thesis serves as supporting documentation for Foreigner, my MFA Thesis Exhibition. This exhibition reflects my experience as a foreigner, a solitary Chinese man living in the United States. Through embodying my personal experience, my paintings question the relationship between individuals and society.

The exhibition is composed of a series of paintings that visualize my personal story as a foreigner living in an incompatible and unacquainted culture. By displaying imagery of myself and my family in frozen moments, the paintings draw viewers into a discussion about personal identity, life philosophy, and culture collision. The exhibition and this thesis expand …

Climatic Drivers Of Growth In Mixed Conifer Forests Of The Sierra Nevada For Different Tree Sizes And Thinning Treatments, Andrew M. Hirsch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Mediterranean region of northern California is projected to get increasingly warmer under all Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenarios, with future precipitation projections not showing much of a trend. This poses a problem to the already dry summers that are experienced in the Mediterranean region of California. If precipitation does not increase alongside temperatures, the dry seasons will likely only get drier. The use of dendroclimatology to assess how mixed conifer species in the Sierra Nevada responded to past climate is a key resource that can be used to infer how trees may respond to a future …

Adolescents' Production Of Clausal Structures In Written Narrative, Expository, And Persuasive Genres, Lauren Elizabeth Myers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The aim of this study was to analyze written language samples across different genres and age groups to provide information about the production of complex syntax emergence as time progresses across tasks. Complex syntax is both a socially and academically relevant language skill that is observed to advance well into later life. In order to analyze language samples as a way to identify language abilities, we must first understand syntactic emergence across genres with adolescents who are identified as having typical language development. In this study, written narrative, expository, and persuasive language samples were elicited from sixty typical adolescents in …

Application Of 3d Seismic Signal And Geomechanical Attributes For Subsurface Fracture Characterization: A Case Study In Clearfield County, Central Pennsylvania, Iman F. Zulkapeli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hydrocarbon exploration in unconventional reservoirs is highly risky due to the nature of the reservoirs and the variability in fractures and reservoir geomechanical properties in the subsurface. The reservoir needs to be fully characterized to avoid any complication such as frac hit, wellbore failure, blowout, or even a dry hole. The Clearfield reservoir produces an exceptionally low amount of gas, compared to the neighboring region in the proximity, which has been poorly understood. This raises the question as to what causes the reservoir to have low productivity.

This study focuses on the natural fracture characterization using high-quality 3D seismic signal …

Mau Mau’S Moral War: The Sacralization Of Kenya’S Anticolonial Struggle, 1952–1956, Henry Muoki Mbunga

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is a study of the ethical and religious history of the Mau Mau War in Kenya, 1952–1956. It breaks with a historiographical tradition that reduces Mau Mau’s ritual activities to stage props and backdrops on the historical stage. The project investigates two central questions: (1) why did Mau Mau members invent a variety of rituals during the anticolonial struggle in Kenya? and (2) how did the ethical and religious convictions of Mau Mau members shape their military campaign? Using rare archival sources and the oral histories and published memoirs of Mau Mau War veterans, this study argues that …

Standby Lovers: A Typology And Theoretical Investigation Of Back Burner Relational Maintenance, Dana Borzea

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the connections between relational maintenance behaviors, theoretical factors, and relational characteristics in back burner relationships. A back burner relationship involves at least one individual who is romantically or sexually interested in a target, but they are not currently involved with the target. Given that back burners maintain communication with each other with the possibility of becoming romantically or sexually involved in the future, Study 1 was concerned with inductively identifying the relational maintenance behaviors used in back burner relationships. Following prior typology methods, participants (N = 86) in Study 1 were …

When Face-To-Face Communication Fails: A Case Study Of Wvu Extension Agents Utilizing Innovative Social Media Practices, Madison Brooke Quinn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

An important aspect that contributes to the success of county Extension programs is relationships and collaborations with community members. This became a challenge when face-to-face communication was no longer possible as a response to the national pandemic that occurred due to COVID-19. In recent years, society has been increasing their reliability on social networking for communication (Diem et al., 2011). Social media played a central role in the diffusion of information in a variety of organizations and businesses during COVID-19 (Geol et al., 2020). The purpose of this study was to describe how WVU Extension Service is utilizing innovative social …

The Well-Made Man: An Exploration Of George Tesman In Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, Ryan Ernst

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Hedda Gabler is one of the best-known works of Realism theatre, and the character, Hedda, is a showcase of dynamic and challenging work; but her husband, George Tesman, rarely, if ever, is showcased. Here I explain why George’s character deserves more attention and actually makes for a better protagonist than Hedda. Textual analysis shows the absence of the play’s parental figures and a rubber band metaphor illustrates how all the characters are con-nected to each other. The misconceptions and subtext concerning George: a social filtering mechanism, perception of character, George’s selflessness, how he is made fun of, the heart compared …

An Exploration Of How University Development Officers Can Cultivate Year 0 Alums, Lily Mcknight

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As higher education in West Virginia continues to lose state funding, students’ tuition is increasing to fill the gap. These tuition increases have led to an increased reliance on private funding and a need to creatively approach engaging new potential donors. Year 0 Alumni are an ignored group of stakeholders when it comes to university fundraising, likely due to their limited potential to make large gifts. However, cultivating these relationships demonstrates the long view necessary for future planning, while providing a novel approach for smaller gifts that can accumulate to meaningful support to address the current emerging need.

To this …

Neutral Isn’T Neutral: An Analysis Of Misinformation And Sentiment In The Wake Of The Capitol Riots, Daniel Robert Walsh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

January 6th, 2021 was a significant moment in the history of the United States of America. Protestors stormed the Capitol building over the results of the 2020 presidential election in which Joseph R. Biden defeated incumbent president Donald J. Trump. The Capitol riots were partially incited by the presence of misinformation on social media and was an example of the power misinformation has. This study presented two questions. Question one pertains to the sentiment analysis of verified Twitter users and their sentiment towards Trump. Question two pertains to analyzing tweets from verified accounts for misinformation between the dates of January …

“‘The Negro Had Been Run Over Long Enough By White Men, And It Was Time They Defend Themselves’: African-American Mutinies And The Long Emancipation, 1861-1974”, Scott F. Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation analyzes racially motivated mutinies by black military servicemen from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. Resistance against white supremacy in the armed forces illustrates the commitment of generations of African Americans to a vision of freedom centered on bodily, familial, and socioeconomic autonomy. These mutinies thereby warrant the reframing of emancipation as a centuries’-long process rather than a single event confined to the 1860s. Subscribing to martial masculinity, black servicemen believed acting forcefully, and risking their lives or well-being as a result, offered the best path to earning their human rights. African-American sailors enjoyed the opportunities offered …

Selected Principles Of Practicing For Security In Performance, Hsing-Yi Tsai

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research focuses on extending the imagination for the purposes of activating our brain to strengthen memorization of music for a stronger and more secure performance. This research explores the concept of self-awareness in the sense of having a conversation with ourselves in order to understand the primary reasons we pianists spend hours in the practice room. I introduce selected strategies for learning pieces through a meticulous process of memorization which impacts not only new pieces, but also the resurrecting of old repertoire. Along with including the concept of the Memory Palace, I explore different methods of memorizing music to …

Real Vs Fake Faces: Deepfakes And Face Morphing, Jacob L. Dameron

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The ability to determine the legitimacy of a person’s face in images and video can be important for many applications ranging from social media to border security. From a biometrics perspective, altering one’s appearance to look like a target identity is a direct method of attack against the security of facial recognition systems. Defending against such attacks requires the ability to recognize them as a separate identity from their target. Alternatively, a forensics perspective may view this as a forgery of digital media. Detecting such forgeries requires the ability to detect artifacts not commonly seen in genuine media. This work …

In/Visible, Raymond Thompson Jr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

My MFA thesis and supporting exhibition focus on challenging the United States’ photographic archive that often left out African-American people. The work, through the use of appropriation and alternative photographic processes, disrupts America’s historical visual archive and notions that surround the white gaze. Through the unsettling of this visual space, new speculative narratives can be created to help imagine new futures. This work is the beginning of a process of mourning histories I have never known and reclaiming a place for myself and my family in the American landscape that is free of racial trauma.

Increasing The Reliability Of Software Systems On Small Satellites Using Software-Based Simulation Of The Embedded System, Matthew D. Grubb

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The utility of Small Satellites (SmallSats) for technology demonstrations and scientific research has been proven over the past few decades by governments, universities, and private companies. While the research and technology demonstration objectives that can be provided by these SmallSats are becoming similar to larger spacecraft, their reliability still falls behind. This is in part due to the reduced cost of SmallSat missions in comparison to large spacecraft, which requires cheaper components, rapid development schedules, and accepted risk. In these missions, the importance of the flight software is often overlooked, and the software is rushed through development and not fully …