Digital Commons Network^™

Respectable Women, Ambitious Men: Gender And Family Networks In Victorian Sheffield, Autumn Mayle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

“Respectable Women, Ambitious Men: Gender and Family Networks in Victorian Sheffield” offers a family study of Nonconformist manufacturers in nineteenth-century Sheffield through several thematic case studies on such subjects as gender, family networks and businesses, bankruptcy, piety, and charitable work. This project focuses on the Reads, a family of middle-class Congregationalist smelters who owned a smelting works, named Read & Co., in nineteenth-century Sheffield. The Reads’ experiences contribute to recent scholarship on gender and kinship studies by addressing the role of nineteenth-century conceptions of masculinity and femininity on family, charity, and business and the enduring influence of nuclear families and …

Measured And Modeled Performance Of A Spring Dominant Free Piston Engine Generator, Ramanjaneya Mehar Baba Bade

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Free Piston Engine Generators (FPEG) directly convert the reciprocating piston motion into electricity by using a linear alternator. Unlike conventional engines with piston motion restricted by a crankshaft mechanism, the FPEG piston motion is constrained by the energy available in the system. When stiff springs are considered in the design, the FPEG system attains high frequency with high power and efficiency. The main objective of this research was to model stiff spring-assisted FPEG system dynamics and performance accurately, and to apply the modeling results to the development of a 1kW, spark ignited, natural gas fueled, FPEG experimental prototype. The experimental …

Evaluating The Polishing Of Skid Aggregates In Asphalt Using The British Pendulum Tester, Allison Nicole Givens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

To ensure the pavements in West Virginia have adequate skid resistance the Division of Highways evaluates and approves skid resistant aggregate sources for all wearing courses on roads with an ADT of 3,000 or greater. Unfortunately, the supply of skid aggregates in West Virginia is depleting quickly. To find a potential alternative to using skid resistant aggregates, laboratory polishing of asphalt samples was performed using a Circular Track Polishing Machine, and friction was tested using a British Pendulum Tester. The experiment was designed to investigate how a specific aggregate type provides skid resistance to a hot asphalt mixture.

The objective …

Estimating Evolutionary Volatility In A Maximum-Likelihood Framework, Samuel Warren Tybout

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Evolutionary volatility is a trait that encompasses a clade’s combined capacity for origination and extinction. High volatility increases extinction risk, and declining global extinction rates are thought to be linked to declining volatility. Despite volatility’s scientific importance, there is no standardized way of measuring it. This study provides a new method, derived from a stochastic birth-death model, of estimating evolutionary volatility from fossil data. Simulations indicate that the method produces accurate and precise estimates for large fossil datasets. Analysis of fossil data for five bivalve families (Lucinidae, Mytilidae, Pectinidae, Pholadomyidae, and Veneridae) indicates that diversity projections made from the estimates …

Becoming The Lion's Historian, Khadija-Awa Diop

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This professional project examines the ways in which French colonial documentaries were used in conjunction with governmental legislation to enforce dominant narratives and repress marginalized perspectives about the nature of colonialism and the roles of the French and West Africans in its execution. Through the limitations and powers of documentary filmmaking, this project explores the ways in which counter narratives can allow media professionals today to remedy the one sided dominant narratives about marginalized communities that have existed for decades. The culmination of this project is in the creation of a documentary treatment and sizzle reel that will be the …

The Energy Efficiency And Living Comfort Of A Stabilized Rammed Earth Dwelling In Comparison With A Traditional Stud Frame Building, David C. Johnson Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

During the last several decades, rammed earth construction has received renewed attention due to its many desirable characteristics. For construction, use, and end of life treatment, rammed earth construction has shown in research to reduce the embodied energy of residential building construction by 66-85% compared to building methods that use fired brick and concrete members. Research thus far also indicates that rammed earth construction may indeed be more energy efficient since the building material has a very high thermal inertia, henceforth, the rammed earth walls absorb thermal energy from the sun and release it into the building to reduce the …

Nutrient Cycling-Tree Species Relationships In Appalachian Forests, Philip Michael Crim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the colonization of North America by Europeans, ecosystems in Appalachia and across the continent have been in a prolonged state of flux. Areas particularly rich in natural resources, such as Appalachia, have historically borne the brunt of these swift changes, often with devastating consequences. Downwind of much of the power generation facilities of the Ohio Valley, Appalachian forests have been geographically predisposed to high rates of acidic deposition, a circumstance mitigated by the passage of Clean Air Legislation beginning in the 1970s. Nevertheless, decades of elevated nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) inputs had a profound impact on the ecology …

Managing Paradoxes Of Ambidexterity: The Impact Of Exploration And Exploitation On Firm Performance, Lixun Su

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines the impacts of exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity on firm performance in three essays. Since exploration and exploitation have their own advantages and disadvantages, there are many debates over their impacts on firm performance. To synthesize the conflicting empirical results, the first essay conducted a meta-analytic study and demonstrates that ambidexterity in the product domain increases firm performance while ambidexterity in the market domain does not significantly influence firm performance. In addition, the results show that it is not necessary for all firms (e.g., resource-constrained firms) to pursue ambidexterity. Thus, the second and third essays examine how to …

Collaborative Entrepreneurship And Building Small Business Communities In The Nigerian Fashion Design Industry, Damilola T. Fasinu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A critical part of being an entrepreneur is the ability to work with others. Researchers who explore entrepreneurship acknowledge collaboration and information sharing as key as more obvious skills such as opportunity recognition and determination. Collaboration allows a firm to be entrepreneurial and constantly innovative by exploring new markets. Continuous innovation and market exploration are the foundation of collaboration. Entrepreneurship is a critical factor in the growth of developing countries, as it enables a country to grow economically and encourages sustainable business activity. Therefore, this study explores the collaborative entrepreneurship of communities of some small businesses in Nigeria for their …

Seasons Past: Wildcat Strikes And The Smith-Connally Act During World War Ii, Andrew Robert Mccloskey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis explores the phenomenon of wildcat strikes during World War II in the United States, the raging public opinion about these wartime strikes, and the passage of the War Labor Disputes Act (popularly known as the Smith-Connally Act) of 1943. Broadly, this thesis examines the wellsprings of working-class anger and frustration which underscored the spontaneous wildcat strikes, the No-Strike Pledge, and the various factions within the public’s perception of these strikes. This thesis furthermore analyzes the congressional debate surrounding the SmithConnally Act and the American public’s reaction to the passage of this restrictive legislation. Finally, this thesis posits that …

The Costume Design Process For The Phantom Tollbooth, Chloe Elizabeth Cappuccilli

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis will give an account of the costume design process for The Phantom Tollbooth at West Virginia University. Specifically, the responsibilities of the role of Costume Designer, from initial meetings to final production. This document will include research about child psychology that inspired the primary design process, specifically the influence of children’s dreams, and their relationship to toys. This information was utilized to create designs explicitly for children’s theatre audiences. I will present and evaluate the costume designs, including the design evolution until the final production. Detailing the process of costume construction while working with a costume shop. Visual …

Accuracy Of Blx And Blt Guided Implants In The Edentulous Maxilla: An In Vivo Study, Benjamin Andrew Kordusky

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Objectives: To determine the accuracy of dental implants placed using a dual scan CBCT protocol with a SLA 3D printed mucosa supported surgical guide using a flapless surgical approach with regard to sleeve position, type of implant, and regional location in the maxillary arch.

Methods: Nine patients received 4 dental implants utilizing a fully guided, flapless approach with a mucosa supported SLA surgical guide with 3 fixation pins. Implants were immediately loaded using an attachment placed in an existing Maxillary complete denture. Accuracy of implant positions were evaluated by the Treatment Evaluation module of coDiagnostiX (DentalWings, Montreal, Canada). Statistical analysis …

The Morphological, Physiological, And Genetic Underpinnings Of Intraspecific Salinity Tolerance In Sorghum Bicolor, Ashley N. Henderson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Decreases in land quality and quantity threaten the efficient production of agriculturally and economically pivotal crops. Such reductions in arable lands are a consequence of population growth and urbanization, and often result in the introduction of various abiotic stresses. The most common abiotic stressors include water limitation (drought), water logging (over watering), poor water quality (salinity), and extreme temperatures (cold, frost, heat). Each of these stressors negatively impact plant growth, development, and yield. Soil salinity, specifically, is a considerable constraint affecting lands used in agriculture. Salts in the soil rise both naturally and through anthropogenic factors making the abundance a …

Aeroelasticity Of Composite Plate Wings Using Hsdt And Higher-Order Fem, Justin A. Haught

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The aeroelasticity of composite wings is becoming an increasingly researched topic in aircraft design, as designers continue to replace aluminum alloy components with those made of composite materials because of their favorable strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue characteristics, and corrosion resistance. Additionally, the bending-torsion coupling exhibited by composite laminates readily allow for the aeroelastic optimization of an aerodynamic structure through the process of aeroelastic tailoring. Wings made of composites materials, however, are more vulnerable to shear deformation.

The objective of the present research is to study the divergence and flutter characteristics of composite plate wings using a higher-order shear deformation theory (HSDT) …

Disturbance Related To Unconventional Oil And Gas Development In The Appalachian Basin, Kevin Jordan Harris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Little research has been done on the land cover change of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) wells across the Appalachian basin. In the last decade, UOG development has increased drastically across the region. Permitted well data from 2007 to 2017 were assembled into a geospatial database and analyzed with current aerial imagery to determine the activity of permitted wells in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. To capture all disturbance related to UOG development, a 25-hectare buffer was placed around each active well as the study extent. A supervised classification approach was used to determine the pre-development and post-development landcover across …

Injury-Related Infant Mortality In West Virginia, 2010-2014, Wilson A. Koech

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background and objective

Infant mortality in United States is high relative to other more developed nations. Therefore, there is a need to curb this trend, especially in states with high infant mortality rates. Hence, this research investigated and examined characteristics associated with injury-related infant death in West Virginia. The objective of this retrospective study was to 1) investigate maternal and infant characteristics associated with injury-related infant deaths in West Virginia, 2) examine the relationship between unintentional-injury-related infant death and rurality in West Virginia, holding other variables in the model constant, and 3) compare differences in the unintentional-injury related infant mortality …

Developmental Mechanisms For The Diversification Of Polyphenic Morphs In The Head Horn Of Onthophagine Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae Onthophagus Taurus): Plasticity Through Nutrition, Logan Paul Zeigler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Developmental plasticity is the phenotypic variation between organisms that is caused by environmental interactions affecting the developmental systems of organisms. The research focused primarily on nutrition-responsive developmental plasticity. In this research we used the nutritionally determined head horn development of Onthophagus taurus to better understand the developmental mechanisms and genetic underpinnings of nutrition-responsive trait development. We focused specifically on altering the availability of specific nutrition-related primary metabolites, cholesterol and palmitic acid, identified in the activity of The Hedgehog pathway, a critical pathway in head horn development. By altering diet composition using cholesterol, reducing transcript expression of an acyltransferase gene, rasp …

Addiction Or Disorder? Using The Bias Map Model To Explain The Stigmatizing Effects Of News Media Labels For Opioid Use Disorder, Kylie J. Wilson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The stigma surrounding opioid use disorder is often reinforced by the language that the general public and institutions use to talk about people with the disorder. Consistent with labeling theory, contending that labels are vehicles for social categorization and stereotypes, triggering bias, (e.g., Ashford, Brown, Ashford, & Curtis, 2019; Corrigan, Kuwabara, & O’Shaughnessy, 2009; Goodyear, Haass-Koffler, & Chavanne, 2018; Link & Phelan, 1999) but the ingroup based cognitive and emotional process through which these affect public stigma has not been explored in detail. This dissertation employs the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and the Behaviors from Intergroup Affect Stereotypes (BIAS) Map …

Dreams Of Industrial Utopias: Leading Manufacturers Of The Deep South And Their Mill Towns During The Civil War Era, Francis Michael Curran

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Broadly speaking, this dissertation explores the intersection of industrialization and social reform in the nineteenth-century American South. It focuses on leading manufacturers of the Deep South and their mill towns during the Civil War era. More precisely, it investigates the relationship between these industrialists, their mill towns, and social reform efforts of the period. In the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s, William Gregg, Daniel Pratt, and Barrington King created and managed some of the largest and most financially successful manufacturing establishments in the entire South. These men, however, were more than simply industrialists. They were also idealistic and steadfast social reformers …

Searches For Fast Radio Bursts, Golnoosh Golpayegani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Following the discovery of fast radio bursts (FRBs) in 2007, astronomers have entered a new era in astronomy in which understanding the nature of these type of radio transients is one of the most important modern astronomy questions. In this thesis I detail our current state of knowledge in this rapidly evolving field and describe real-time search systems designed to find FRBs using the 20-meter radio telescope at the Green Bank Observatory and the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) receiver of the Arecibo 300-meter telescope in Puerto Rico. These experiments are called GBTrans and ALFABURST, respectively.

I give details of …

The Effect Of Newspaper Closure On Local Media Ecology, Cody David Nespor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

On August 31, 2019, the local newspaper of Youngstown, Ohio, The Vindicator, ceased publication after 150 years. The Vindicator’s closure left Youngstown as the largest city in the United State without a major newspaper. As local newspaper closures become more and more common across communities, there are questions on how, and if, the coverage and content those newspaper provide to their communities can be replaced or will simply be lost forever. This study has three research questions. Question one pertains to the amount of original reporting that will exist without The Vindicator. Questions two asks about the amount of locally …

Leaf Angle And Leaf Stomata Responses To Experimental Drought In Quercus Velutina And Acer Saccharum, Brittany Nichole Casey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The possibility of increased severity and frequency of drought conditions, as a result of global climate variability, greatly complicates our ability to forecast future forest functions such as productivity and carbon sequestration. Assessing how tree species vary in their response to drought can aid in predicting the impact on forest ecosystems as a whole. Throughfall exclusion (TfE) experiments are potentially useful tools to simulate realistic drought conditions within intact forest ecosystems. We employed a TfE experiment during the 2018 growing season within the WV Land Trust’s Elizabeth’s Woods Nature Preserve, near Morgantown, WV, to assess the leaf angle and leaf …

Breaking The Chain: Evaluating The Links Between Opioid Use Disorder, Overdose, And Suicide, Amanda Nicole Stover Mph

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Previous research has estimated that 20–30% of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) have a history of both suicide attempt and unintentional opioid overdose. In 2018, more than 1.9 million adults 18 years and older had an OUD; while 1.4 million adults attempted suicide that same year (SAMHSA, 2019). The key to understanding this relationship is examining behaviors that precede these potentially fatal behaviors. One such precursory behavior is self-injury. Self-injurious behaviors (SIB) are one of the most important risk factors for future suicide (Cavanagh et al.,2003). This study has three primary objectives. The first is to conduct a systematic …

On-Site Measurement Of The Water-Cementitious Ratio And Heat Of Hydration Of Delivered Concrete, Seyednavid Mardmomen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, AASHTO T318-15 was adopted to estimate the water content of fresh concrete mixes and then revised to have better precision. The additional step required sieving out the coarse aggregate after drying the sample in a microwave oven, and it was then used in the calculation of the absorbed water and cementitious material content. Several laboratory batches, as well as on-site water-cementitious (w/cm) ratio tests, were performed on concrete mixes containing ordinary Portland cement, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and Class F fly ash. The results of the experiments indicated that the accuracy of the revised method was …

Essays On Employment Growth, Wage Discrimination, And Marijuana Legalization, Candon Johnson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The opening chapter covers the impact of the Olympic Games on employment growth. The Olympics Games stand as the largest sporting event in the world. The Games include approximately 200 countries during the Summer Olympic Games and 90 countries competing in the Winter Games, each occurring once every four years. Potential host cities fiercely compete to host the games under the guise of economic prosperity. Event promoters claim substantial economic benefits, such as employment growth, to be had from hosting these costly games. This paper examines the impacts of the Olympic Games on employment growth rates using a synthetic control …

Galvanizing Germantown: The Politicization Of Louisville's German Community, 1848-1855, Ann Kathryn Fleming

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project interprets the Revolutions of 1848 and their ideological legacy through a transnational and transcultural context, highlighting the role of radical forty-eighters who imparted their republican messages to “Little Germanies” within the United States. Karl Heinzen serves as the primary example of the transient group that shared their radical visions with local German communities populated with political and cultural organizations, an active press and a commitment to civic engagement demonstrated through their involvement anti-slavery groups, labor reform, and improved rights for the immigrant population.

The thesis traces the politicization of Karl Heinzen in the German Confederation and his involvement …

Three Essays In Applied Econometrics: Understanding Population Changes, Samuel P. Taylor

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This body of work consists of three research projects developed around a central theme – what might cause a person to leave the place where they live? As a native and resident of West Virginia, this question is not a purely academic one. My region has long struggled with how to retain our “best and brightest” in the face of challenging socio-economic conditions. Looking at the question differently, understanding what negative influences may exist to cause a person that might otherwise have remained in a place to leave, could provide large influences on policy and strategy for retention of residents …

Toward An Understanding Of The Professional Work Of Ncaa Division I Soccer Coaches, Lynda Ellen Bowers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Very little is known about the professional work of NCAA Division I (DI) coaches, which poses challenges for coach educators to create relevant professional development opportunities for coaches in this context. The present study looked at the full scope of work of NCAA DI FBS head women’s soccer coaches. The aim of this project was to explore the coaches’ perspectives of their jobs to improve our understanding of the contextual nuances of working in a DI environment. In this qualitative study, four participants were interviewed in-person utilizing a vignette-style, semi-structured interview guide. Data were analyzed using an interpretivist- constructivist approach …

Predictors Of Self-Control During Emerging Adulthood: The Roles Of Implicit Beliefs And Early Risk, Katy L. Delong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study explored how early adverse experiences (i.e., low socioeconomic status, household chaos, attachment insecurity) and implicit beliefs about self-control (i.e., whether self-control is a limited or nonlimited resource) were associated with trait and momentary self-control in a sample of college students. As the first study to explore these factors together, individuals’ implicit beliefs were tested as a moderator and meditator of the association between early risk and self-control. Participants (N = 214) first completed a baseline survey with the main predictors and trait self-control, followed by one week of experience sampling to assess momentary self-control, or success resisting …

Confirmation Of Tdm Capabilities In Modeling Compartmentalized Wag Eor, Anthony William Morrow

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Data-Driven Reservoir Modeling (DDRM), commonly referred to as Top-Down Modeling (TDM), is a relatively new and cutting-edge approach to the traditional numerical reservoir modeling and simulation techniques. DDRM uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in tandem to construct full-field models using measured data instead of calculations that refer to equations derived from averaged values and type curves. TDM allows all of the measured data from a field to be combined and used towards generating predictions of the production on a well by well basis for a specific field. Due to TDM not using the traditional physics-based approach, it is subjected …