Digital Commons Network^™

Employee Development And Employee Resilience In The Post-Covid-19 Workplace: A Quantitative Study Of High School Educators, Amy Keiser Maffei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The problem addressed by this research is the need for protective factors to support teacher resilience. Organizations that fail to develop employee resilience risk failing to enjoy the positive outcomes associated with it. Research-based methods to improve resilience may benefit organizations, including school districts. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between employee development provided by a school district and the resilience of its high school teachers in the post-Covid-19, in-person workplace. Conservation of Resources theory served as the framework to guide the research. Study participants completed a questionnaire with Likert-style response options, with items to assess …

The Inclusion Of Soybean Co-Products In Ruminant Supplements On Health And Reproductive Efficiency, Kirsten Midkiff

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soybeans are a vital commodity for Arkansas and the United States, with co-products such as soybean meal having wide popularity in animal feeds due to high protein content and palatability. Soybean meal primarily is utilized in diets for swine and poultry operations with a small market in the beef cattle industry, likely due to the increased costs that are associated with the product. On the other hand, soybean oil is a product from the production of soybean meal that is not as widely used in the livestock industry as most of the oil produced is used for industrial purposes. Additionally, …

Carbon Dioxide Dynamics In The Carbonate Critical Zone, Savoy Experimental Watershed, Arkansas, Usa, Michael Darvin Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The dynamics of carbon dioxide (CO₂) within the Earth’s critical zone (CZ) are essential for driving spatial and temporal variations of carbonate dissolution and precipitation, which are fundamental to subsurface porosity and permeability development. However, there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding the patterns of CO₂ transport and production within the carbonate critical zone (CCZ). In this study, we investigated these dynamics within a mantled karst terrain at the Savoy Experimental Watershed (SEW) in Northwest Arkansas.

Previous monitoring of partial pressure of CO₂ (PCO₂) and dissolution rates at karst springs in …

Wind Tunnel Investigation Of The Along-Wind Dispersion In Finite-Duration Neutrally Buoyant Gas Releases, Daniel Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the along-wind dispersion of hazardous gas releases within a turbulent boundary layer using controlled experiments in an ultra-low-speed wind tunnel, recognizing the limitations of numerical modeling and field tests. This study utilizes a neutrally buoyant gas mixture and dual Flame Ionization Detectors (FIDs) to capture representative, repeatable data on gas cloud behavior over finite durations. Ensemble averaging of 65 trials across varying release durations and downwind distances provided detailed insights into gas dispersion and the distinct time phases within finite-duration releases. Analysis revealed that along-wind dispersion coefficients depend on turbulence and vertical wind shear, with normalized coefficients …

Cognitive Bias, Memory, And Fearfulness Of Red Jungle Fowl And Athens Canadian Random Bred Chickens, Victor Juwon Oyeniran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Our understanding of how poultry perceive and interpret their environment is essential to enhancing their welfare; over the years, animal welfare science has relied on measures of the behavioral and physiological components of affective states (positive and negative) as welfare indicators. There is an increasing interest in the study of chicken’s affective states using the Judgment bias test (JBT) as a tool for assessing welfare through their responses to ambiguous cues. This study investigates the cognitive performance of two chicken breeds with different evolutionary histories: Red Junglefowl (RJF), the primary ancestor of modern chickens, and Athens Canadian Random Bred (ACRB), …

Exploring The Interplay Between Testosterone Levels And Gender Role Attitudes, Arial Bloshinsky

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Traditional gender role attitudes align men with resource management and women with nurturing. The Challenge Hypothesis proposes that resource management is associated with higher testosterone levels, whereas nurturing is associated with lower testosterone levels. Therefore, traditional gender role attitudes may be associated with people’s testosterone levels. Furthermore, during the transition to parenthood, traditional gender role attitudes may become particularly salient, as shifting biological, social, and cultural roles during this transition make these attitudes an integral part of daily life. In this longitudinal study of expectant couples, participants completed a baseline survey and baseline session, during which they completed measures and …

Neural Network Architecture Search Enabled Wide-Deep Learning (Nas-Wd) Integrated Hyperspectral Imaging Understanding For Woody Breast In Poultry Processing, Chaitanya Kumar Reddy Pallerla

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The development and implementation of a Wide & Deep (WD) learning model tailored for classification and regression tasks utilizing spectral data provides a robust solution to evaluate woody breast (WB) conditions in poultry fillets. This process begins with thorough data preprocessing, which includes loading spectral and classification datasets, imputing missing values with medians, and splitting the data into training and testing sets to ensure rigorous model evaluation. The WD model architecture integrates wide linear models and deep neural networks to harness the strengths of both approaches. The wide component excels at memorizing sparse feature interactions, while the deep component captures …

The Impact Of Wild Pigs (Sus Scrofa) On Avian Occupancy And Vegetation Structure, Kenneth Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species, particularly wild pigs (Sus scrofa), pose a significant threat to native ecosystems through both direct and indirect impacts. Wild pigs are large-bodied omnivorous species that can consume a wide variety of plants and animals and are known for destructive foraging behaviors, which likely threatens avian communities through habitat alteration and can impact the long term structure of ecosystems where they are present.

In chapter 1, we used a combination of avian point count surveys, vegetation assessments, and camera trap surveillance to quantify how the occupancy of breeding birds in bottomland hardwood forests changed in relation to …

Influence Of Hydrologic And Anthropogenic Disturbance On Stream Populations And Communities, Sarah Frances Sorensen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disturbances occur when an external force modifies a habitat, destroying living space, removing food resources, or altering or destroying habitat structure. In lotic systems, a primary source of disturbance is hydrologic disturbance, including drought and flood. Hydrologic disturbances lead to increased mortality rates and dispersal out of disturbed habitats, causing population sizes to decrease and changes to community structures. More research is needed on how disturbances impact stream species and communities, as disturbances are predicted to become more intense with climate change. This dissertation aims to understand how disturbance influences streams at both the population and community level, through a …

Integrating Sustainability And Food Safety Through Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment And Life Cycle Assessment Of Low-Moisture Foods, Jessica Bain

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food safety and sustainability are critical concerns in the food industry. However, these areas are often evaluated separately, leading to an incomplete understanding of the overall impact of food production on human health. This dissertation aims to integrate food safety with sustainability to provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of low-moisture foods on human health, using the almond processing supply chain as a case study.

In addition to conducting life cycle assessments (LCA) of almond processing, wheat flour production, and dried apple processing, this dissertation aims to create a framework to bridge the gap between sustainability and food safety. …

Frogs On A Plain: Spatial Ecology Of Crawfish Frogs In Arkansas’ Remnant Prairies, Elliot T. Lassiter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The prairie peninsula was an expansive and important habitat that covered much of midwestern North America, from Canada to Arkansas, USA. But the prairie peninsula has shrunk by as much as 99% since 1830, and therefore, land acquisition and public/private partnerships are critical for the preservation of prairies and their associated species. In Arkansas, one species that benefits from protected prairies is the Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus), which is currently declining precipitously throughout its range. Adult Crawfish Frogs spend most of their lives in terrestrial refugia (crayfish burrows), making them highly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation, thereby …

Comparison Of Statistical And Machine Learning Genomic Prediction Methods In Plant Breeding: Case Studies In Maize And Soybean, Igor Kuivjogi Fernandes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Plant breeding is essential to increase genetic gain and food production worldwide. This study was conducted to evaluate new ways to use machine learning (ML) to tackle plant breeding challenges, where two ideas were tested — the first chapter focuses on how to combine genetic and environmental data using ML to improve the prediction of maize grain yield in multi-environment trials, while the second chapter centers on how to couple feature selection of molecular markers with ML to enhance prediction of yield in soybean, and, in both cases, ML approaches were compared to well-established statistical methods greatly adopted by the …

Bactericidal Mechanism Of Peracetic Acid Against Salmonella Mediated By Reactive Oxygen Species, Mohammed Khalid Wheib Al-Doury

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peracetic acid (PAA) is extensively used as a bactericidal agent in poultry processing to reduce foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). Despite its widespread application, the exact mechanisms underlying its bactericidal effects, particularly the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS), remain incompletely understood. This dissertation examines the role of ROS in PAA-mediated bacterial killing and explores both genetic and metabolic factors that influence bacterial susceptibility to PAA. Findings from these studies have implications for enhancing the efficacy of PAA, thereby improving food safety practices in the industry.

The first study investigates ROS as a central component …

Multimodal Spectroscopy To Study Tumor Microenvironmental Changes In Vivo, April Mordi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Every year there are millions of new cancer diagnoses and deaths worldwide. While great strides have been made in technologies and drugs for cancer treatment, there is still a need to understand tumor response to therapy as many patients still endure treatment failure after completing their treatment regimen. Current clinical imaging techniques for detecting response to therapy are utilized weeks to months after the course of treatment, and present limitations to measuring response during treatment. Optical spectroscopy techniques can help meet this need to determine the response of tumors to treatment as it allows for near real-time in vivo characterization …

Enhancing Selection Intensity With High-Throughput Phenotyping Data In Plant Breeding, Ashmita Upadhyay

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Genomic prediction (GP) has proven to be an essential tool to accelerate the cultivar development pipeline by predicting the performance of un-phenotyped lines in the field of plant breeding. However, the prediction accuracy is bounded by the heritability of the target trait, limiting the efficiency of the single-trait GP model. To overcome the limitation, a multi-trait genomic prediction model using high-throughput phenotyping (HTP) data can be used to leverage secondary traits to boost the predictive ability of the target trait. This study aimed to assess the efficiency of the multi-trait (MT)- GP model powered by HTP derived secondary traits in …

Utilization Of Prosur Phr As A Novel Phosphate Alternative In Tumble, Inject, And Tumble Injection Marinated Chicken Breast, Sarah E. Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poultry is the most widely consumed meat protein worldwide for its health consideration, affordability, and versatility. Historically, the poultry industry has utilized numerous methods to improve meat quality most significantly, marination. Marination is practice commonly used in the industry by imparting various chemical functional ingredients that are known to enhance sensory characteristics such as tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Various marination methods used in the industry including tumble, injection, and soaking. Ingredients, such as sodium chloride and phosphates are commonly used in the marination process. In recent years the industry has witnessed a shift in consumer preferences to “clean-label”. This trend …

Synthesis And Process Optimization Of Cellulose Nanocrystals From Miscanthus X. Giganteus For Commercial Viability, Jaspreet Kaur

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), derivatives of an abundant biopolymer, i.e., cellulose, are emerging as promising alternatives to petrochemical-based products due to their unique properties, including biodegradability, low toxicity, high strength, low density, large surface area and low coefficient of expansion. CNCs have diverse applications ranging from food packaging and textiles to drug delivery and medical implants, etc. Despite their potential, the widespread commercialization of CNCs faces significant hurdles owing to the high environmental burden and production costs. They are mainly driven by the commonly used source utilized for CNC synthesis i.e., wood and the intensive synthesis process i.e., requirement of …

Self-Reflections: A Journey Of Practice In Art Education, Lucienne R. Cape

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract This self-study explores the convergence of Culturally Sustaining Teaching within the realm of art education, focusing on the author’s journey as a white, middle-aged, cisgender, southern American woman teaching art in a parochial school environment. The study investigates the dynamics between cultural responsiveness and the acknowledgement of material agency in art classrooms. By integrating principles of culturally sustaining teaching into the art curriculum, the author aims to honor students’ cultural backgrounds while fostering critical consciousness and earthly sustainability awareness. The research questions delve into the connections between culturally sustaining teaching and how the author’s personal identity impacts choice in …

Diseases Of Cannabis Sativa And The Epidemiology And Molecular Diversity Of Neofusicoccum Parvum, Hannah V. Zima

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis sativa has been an underutilized agricultural resource in the United States, largely due to federal regulations distinguishing marijuana from hemp. In 2018, Congress passed a Farm Bill, which defined hemp as C. sativa containing a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level of no more than 0.3%. As a result, commercial hemp production began in most states in 2019, including Arkansas, and was accompanied by numerous challenges like diseases and pests. The research on the epidemiology of diseases affecting C. sativa is limited, and understanding the pathogens is in its early stages in the U.S. For this study, an initial disease survey was …

Ecopedagogy In Action: The Landfill Project, Marriah Geels

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This is an art education action research project that analyzes how an interdisciplinary ecopedagogical curriculum experience may impact student perspectives on waste (specifically trash) and the human impact on the environment. The four-week curriculum incorporated choice-based art education, place-based education, and slow pedagogy to better understand how students’ perspectives changed or remained constant throughout. This curriculum was taught to four class periods in a high school setting with about 34 students in 9-12th grade. Qualitative data collection included a pre and post-survey, visual journals, classroom observations, artist statements, and artwork. Through the analysis of Pre/Post Surveys by utilizing hybrid coding …

Interactive Effects Between Bluetongue Virus Infection And Insecticide Exposures In Culicoides Sonorensis, Parker Mullins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Culicoides biting midges are common pests around the world of humans, livestock, and wildlife. In addition to nuisance blood feeding, they are also able to transmit pathogens to their hosts like bluetongue virus (BTV) and African horse sickness virus, which can be damaging in terms of both production economics and animal welfare. In order to protect humans and livestock from biting pests like Culicoides, a wide array of interventions is recommended, but chemical insecticides and repellent use are ubiquitous. For a multitude of reasons ranging from natural weathering of applied insecticides to the increase in resistance-associated mutations and behaviors in …

Fungal Pathogen Control And Microbial Ecology: Insights From Soybean Seed Production, Samantha Rigo Segalin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the effects of planting date (PD), seed vigor, and chemical seed treatments on the plant stand and yield of two soybean cultivars with different maturity groups (MGs) across four locations in Arkansas from 2018 to 2021. Early planting in early May (early PD) led to higher plant stands and yields compared to late planting in early June (late PD). The interaction between planting date and cultivar was significant, with both cultivars showing higher plant stands on early planting dates. Seed vigor and seed treatment also significantly impacted plant populations; high-vigor seeds planted early resulted in better stands …

Letters To Whiteness: Reflections On A White Artist-Educator Identity Through Dialectical Materialism, Richard Peterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I reflect on my identity and experience as a white male and an artisteducator through a lens of critical whiteness and dialectical materialism. I utilize creative writing, and storytelling to speak more metaphorically about my own experiences and feelings in relation to whiteness to understand how I now operate as an artist-educator. Through dialectical materialism, I break down the social change described within the stories of growing up in the United States and intergenerational relationships with other white male figures, displaying more intricate ways I understand how similarities and differences change over time within the white identity …

Reflecting On Being Good Enough: Tracing A Journey Of Identifications And Unraveling Denial Of The Queer Self, Lucero Aguirre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Good Enough” is a thesis written to unpack reflection on assimilatory forces during early life experiences in education. By documenting self-reflections, utilizing arts-based research methods, and examining theory relative to theories of identity formation, I use a screenplay in the format of a fictional talk show where three golden retrievers are interviewed from notable Disney films Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (Dunham, 1993), Air Bud (Smith, 1997), and UP (Docter, 2009). I connect the golden retriever as a symbol representing aspects of the American dream, an influence shaping my identity and merit-focused alliance with dominant identities. The fictional plot of …

Effects Of Land Cover And Land Change On Monarch Butterfly Presence Across The Conus, Chris R. Burkhart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The decline of monarch butterfly populations (Danaus plexippus L.) over the past four decades, particularly in their overwintering habitats, has raised concerns about the species' conservation. Habitat loss and modification, particularly within the contiguous United States, are attributed as one of the key drivers of this decline. However, the specific impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on monarch distributions remains inadequately documented. This study integrates monarch observations from multiple sources spanning 2008 to 2019 with LULC data to analyze the relationship between habitat configuration and monarch presence. Using a randomized grid sampling approach, habitat configuration metrics were …

Cancer Heterogeneity And Mitochondrial-Targeted Therapies In Cancer Cachexia, Francielly Morena Clark

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer Cachexia (CC) is a multifactorial and complex syndrome affecting up to 80% of cancer patients and contributing to approximately 40% of cancer-related deaths. Given its relationship with patients' quality of life and prognosis, there has been increasing emphasis on understanding the underlying mechanisms of CC using pre-clinical models. However, the mechanisms of cachexia vary depending on several factors, including tumor type, model, and biological variables such as sex. RNA-sequencing technology is a crucial tool for investigating CC heterogeneity, enabling the analysis of the transcriptome across different models, conditions, and sexes using publicly available data. Aim 1 of this dissertation …

Cover-Crop Effects On Near-Surface Soil Properties Over Time In The Lower Mississippi River Valley, Cooper Fanning

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Human population growth and climate change are present stressors that continue to put pressure on current agricultural production systems, where typical row-crop agricultural practices can negatively impact soil health. Extensive use of cover crops (CC) to increase soil health remains widely unrealized. Soil health in Arkansas is a major concern for sustaining agricultural output, therefore research into CC implementation across Arkansas to maintain or improve soil health is needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of CC (i.e., with and without CC) across various physical, hydraulic, biological, and chemical soil indicators in the Lower Mississippi River …

Alternative Methods For Finishing Beef Cattle: Effects On Performance, Carcass Quality, And Meat Characteristics, Michelle Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effects of alternative finishing methods on the live performance, carcass quality, and meat characteristics of beef steers. In study 1, treatments consisted of a conventional feedlot finishing diet with roughage included in the ration (FDLT); a high starch diet fed at 2-2.25% of BW with ad libitum access to bermudagrass pastures (STCH); or a high by-product diet fed at 2-2.25% of BW with ad libitum access to bermudagrass pastures (BYPD). Steers were fed their respective diets once daily and weighed every 28 days until deemed finished. Cattle were then transported and …

Struvite Effects On Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Flood- And Furrow-Irrigated Rice In The Greenhouse, Chandler Arel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over time, as the influences of climate-change and declining, mineable, global phosphorus (P) reserves begin to impact agricultural production systems, alternative fertilizer sources and management practices, such as struvite (MgNH₄PO₄ · 6H₂O) and furrow-irrigation, will be necessary to accommodate nutrient and water demands. The precipitation and use of struvite as a fertilizer-P source could reduce environmental damages caused by nutrient-rich wastewater streams, supplement domestic P supply, and improve the sustainability of flood-, and furrow-irrigated rice production by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study of struvite from both chemical and electrochemical precipitation processes is well documented, …

Understanding The Livelihood Diversification Of Arkansas Women Involved In Agricultural Production, Oluwatoyin Elizabeth Abati

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Agriculture as a livelihood activity entails significant risks and uncertainties, which expose agricultural households to a low standard of living, poverty, and a lowering of their food security status. Women's responsibilities in agriculture are expanding and becoming more critical, and farm women are now broadening their duties to include roles off-farm. More research is needed in Arkansas about agricultural women's roles, challenges, and essential job characteristics. Using a quantitative survey, this research aimed to provide a resource on how women involved in agricultural production diversify their livelihoods. Participants were asked to describe their livelihood diversification by identifying their activities on …