Digital Commons Network^™

Implementing Change: A Case Study Of Adaptive Leadership, Tina Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persistent low levels of student achievement is a concern that has been the focus of many school improvement initiatives. Research has demonstrated that Professional Learning Communities are an initiative that leads to improved academic outcomes. Additionally, research has demonstrated the importance of effective leadership for a change initiative to be successful.

Using the conceptual framework of adaptive leadership as applied to implement a school improvement initiative, this study was conducted to understand how instructional leaders perceive their leadership changed as a result of implementing professional learning communities in their school. The participants were instructional leaders who led schools participating in …

Design Of A 350 Kw Silicon Carbide Based 3-Phase Inverter With Ultra-Low Parasitic Inductance, Matthew Feurtado

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis is to present a design for a low parasitic inductance, high power density 3-phase inverter using silicon-carbide power modules for traction application in the electric vehicles with a power rating of 350 kW. With the market share of electric vehicles continuing to grow, there is a great opportunity for wide bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) to improve the efficiency and size of the motor drives in these applications. In order to accomplish this goal, careful design and selection of each component in the system for optimum performance from an electrical, mechanical, and thermal …

Antioxidant Properties And Anti-Cancer Effects Of Polyphenols In Sweetpotato Leaves, Josue Bolanos

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the root is widely consumed, sweetpotato leaves (SPL) are often discarded and are only consumed in a few countries. In the United States, SPL consumption is limited to private gardens, particularly in the Southeastern United States. Not only are SPL a good source of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, but they also contain polyphenol compounds including the caffeoylquinic acid derivatives and carotenoids such as lutein. Several studies have shown the polyphenol contents and antioxidant capacities of SPL, which vary based on year and variety, while few studies have shown anti-colon cancer effects of SPL. Therefore, this study investigated …

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy And Writing Achievement For Native High School Students, Angelia Christine Greiner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the effects of culturally responsive pedagogy as it is implemented in a high school classroom with Native American students. This mixed methods case study collects, analyzes and synthesizes both quantitative and qualitative data within an overall formative and experimental design approach to measure the effects of culturally responsive pedagogy on students’ writing and their attitudes about writing. The study identified specific approaches to literacy instruction that hold promise for engaging Native students. Furthermore, findings from the study reveal the use of visual art as a particularly powerful tool that extends students’ meaning-making skills, leading to more …

Gut Feeling, Shelby Fleming

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through curated space and abstracted sculptures that reference the viewer’s body, Gut Feeling, acknowledges the viewer’s experience as the focal point of the exhibition. I designed the whole gallery as an art object using both positive and negative space. The sculptures act as one unified system that guides the viewer through the exhibition in a counterclockwise rotation inward. The viewer follows the forms as they puncture through the walls of the gallery, while considering their own body’s relationship to the forms being seen. The viewer directly engages with the scale of the forms, sculptural placement, and sensory experience; these elements …

Dissecting The Cellular Control Of Septin Organization In A Global Cereal Killer, Nawaraj Dulal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice blast disease, caused by the filamentous fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, destroys sufficient rice each year to feed 60 million people, and is a serious threat to global food security. A wheat-adapted lineage of M. oryzae now poses threat to global wheat production. Rice blast disease is currently controlled using limited fungicides, and the emergence of fungicide resistance within M. oryzae populations is a growing concern. There is a pressing need to identify new classes of fungicides to control the disease, which requires better understanding of the basic biology of the pathogen. To establish disease, M. oryzae forms a specialized dome …

Glut And Guzzle, Ashley Kay Gardner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In Glut and Guzzle I explore my relationship with my partner, our sexualities and how to navigate these outside of the LDS faith of my childhood, and their struggles with gender, sexual expression and mental illness. This exploration landed on seductive and repulsive imagery of food and body. I use color, texture and size as a tool similar to visual tools of advertising to seduce my viewer. This is an exploration of how gender norms and the visual language of advertising that infiltrates daily lives and through media and religion can shape identity and gender roles. I utilize advanced 3D …

The Role Of Designers In Promoting Healthy Masculinity With An Approach To Stopping Violence Against Women And Girls, Fatemeh Abolbashari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

While awareness about violence against women and girls is growing, there is still a lack of evidence about what changes behavior to prevent it from happening. As a graphic designer, I wanted to find the root problem of this issue and work towards a solution. Through my research and questioning, I concluded that this problem begins with men’s thoughts on hierarchy, language, and behavior, and supported by a prevalence of toxic masculinity in men’s culture.

Where does this violence come from? What has society done to raise this kind of man? Violence against women and girls is being couched in …

The Branch On Which The Blossom Hangs, Thomas Sterling Coffey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Branch on Which the Blossom Hangs is a body of paintings which address the relationship between landscape or physical presence and the primary experiences of emotion and perception. Through this examination of phenomenology and the malleability of the perceptual apparatus, the paintings express my feeling of dislocation caused by a cycle between depression, dissociation, and mental well-being. They question how an individual relates to their environment. The paintings seek to elicit the allusive and embodied qualities of poetry, framing and evoking a broader experience without defining it. By using the recognizable visual language of landscape, abstracted to the point …

Scenic Design For “Topdog Underdog”, Austin Aschbrenner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The 2019 production of Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks at the University of Arkansas was produced with a guest director who, throughout the process of the production, experimented with the typical perception of the Pulitzer Prize winning play and added conceptual spins to help open the eyes of the mostly small town and rural based audience. This thesis will explore the various elements of this particular production and which of these elements contributed to exploring the depths of Topdog/Underdog.

This document will analyze the design process of the University of Arkansas’s production of Topdog/Underdog, and will analyze specific design choices which …

Structural Analysis Of The Multifunctional Spoiie Regulatory Protein Of Clostridioides Difficile., Blythe Emily Bunkers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Clostridioides (formally Clostridium) difficile is a medically relevant pathogen pertinent to infectious disease research. C. difficile is distinctly known for its ability to produce two toxins, enterotoxin A and cytotoxin B, and the propensity to colonize the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. It is known that metabolism is tightly correlated with sporulation in endospore producers such as C. difficile, but an interesting and novel regulatory relationship found by the Ivey lab has yet to be understood. The relationship explored in this study is observed between the sporulation factor, SpoIIE, which represses expression of an ABC peptide transporter, app. In this study, two …

Genetic Architecture Of Salt And Drought Tolerance In Cowpea, Waltram Second Ravelombola

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is a diploid and nutrient-dense legume species. It provides affordable source of protein to human. Cowpea cultivation is prevalent in Africa, Asia, the western and southern U.S., and Central and South America. However, earlier reports have shown that drought and salt stress can be devastating to cowpea production. The objectives of this study were to screen for salt and drought tolerance in cowpea and to identify molecular markers associated with these traits. Simple methodologies to screen for drought (Chapter 2) and salt tolerance were developed (Chapter 3). Results suggested that: 1) a total of 14, …

The Scenic Design Of "A Little Night Music", Kathleen Holmes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A Little Night Music by Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim was produced by the University of Arkansas Department of Theatre in 2018-2019 academic school year. The scenic design process entailed a series of private meetings, design meetings, independent research, and analysis that all culminated into a full scenic design package. The show itself has many locations that quickly transition into one another. It was my challenge as the designer to cohesively design the scenery so that it could be transitioned easily and in time with the music. The major themes of the show that I based the design around were …

Taxonomic And Genetic Diversity, And Pathogenicity Of Diaporthe Species Associated With Soybean, Fakhir Eraheem Hameed Al Shuwaili

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diaporthe species (anamorph: Phomopsis) are associated with a wide range of plant hosts as plant pathogens, asymptomatic endophytes, and saprobes. One of these hosts is soybean, which is one of the most important crops in U.S. agriculture. Several Diaporthe species cause important diseases on soybean in the U.S., and specifically in Arkansas. The taxonomy, genetic diversity, and pathogenicity of Diaporthe species associated with asymptomatic infection of soybean are rarely studied with accurate molecular tools. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to assess the diversity and boundaries of Diaporthe associated with soybean in Arkansas. Furthermore, pathogenicity and alternative lifestyles were assessed among Diaporthe …

Election Day — Documentary, John Thomas Tarpley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Election Day is a three-channel documentary chronicling the places, personalities, and tone of Little Rock, Arkansas, during its titular midterm Election Day in November 2018. Throughout the course of the day, the film branches across the city, capturing mini-narratives, bits of conversation, and tableau of civic activity in the public sphere. It is less concerned with the quantitative facts of the day as it is with conveying the transitory social expressions and moods of a modern, southern city on a uniquely American day. This project represents my continued documentary interest in creating inclusive, contemporary local portraits and counter-historical chronicles of …

The Adult Public’S Perception Of The Utility Of Play Therapy, Margaret L. Hindman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children communicate through symbolism and play as toys are children's words and play is their language (Landreth, 2012; Oaklander, 1988; Piaget, 1951; Ray, 2016). Play therapists facilitate developmentally appropriate support for children (Landreth, 2012). Often parents are unaware of the importance of play in children’s counseling (Brumfield & Christensen, 2011; Landreth, Bratton, Kellam, & Blackard, 2006).

Since adults often make decisions for children, it is important to know adults’ perceptions of play therapy utility. There is little research on parents’ knowledge of mental health services especially research specific to play therapy (Gallo, Comer, & Barlow, 2013; O’Connor & Langer, 2018). …

Student-Run Agencies: A Guideline For Agency Survival, Brooke Borgognoni

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to study 110 student-run agencies (including advertising, public relations, integrated/digital marketing, communications, and graphics and/or design) in the U.S. by analyzing how they currently operate, what practices exist in the agencies for learning, growth, and continuation and how leadership roles of students and advisors influence the agency. This project built upon past studies of student-run agencies and expanded on the topic using the evolutionary theory of a firm by analyzing factors that determine whether it appears that a student-run agency might dissolve or last. This was determined by measuring the faculty advisor involvement level, …

Relationship Marketing And Intercollegiate Sport Promotion, Alison Fridley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first article, a case study on a NCAA Division I Power Five university in the southeastern United States, employed a case study framework, explored target markets and exposure techniques through both the planned behavior theory and social identity theory theoretical lenses. This study aimed to better understand how university students and booster club members identify as a social group. The data emerged into four distinct themes, including communication, social interaction, connection, and hospitality. The findings suggested booster club members are primary fans and help the team generate fan interest. The importance of sociability was clear and the implications for …

Mitochondrial Contributions To Disuse Atrophy: Let’S Talk About Sex, Megan Rosa-Caldwell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Skeletal muscle atrophy is a hallmark of many pathologies and is associated with disease prognosis, quality of life, and mortality. Specifically, lack of contractile activity of the muscle can result in disuse-associated atrophy. Disuse-induced atrophy is a common phenomenon in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and significantly impacts patient prognosis and ability to transition of out of intensive care. However, effective therapeutics to mitigate disuse-associated atrophy do not exist, clearly demonstrating the scientific and clinical need to further understand mechanisms contributing to disuse atrophy. In particular, a significant portion of the scientific literature has utilized male models, yet there is …

Web Annotation In English Language Arts: Online Dialogue As A Platform To Support Student Comprehension Of Texts, Jonathan B. Allred

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how web annotation—through a process of online reading, writing in the margins, and replying to others’ comments—influences student dialogue in ways that research suggests are associated with improved comprehension. Viewing data through a dialogic lens, and using a qualitative, multiple case study design to observe two high school English Language Arts teachers and their students, this inquiry was guided by the following research questions: (a) How do English Language Arts teachers use web annotation to support student comprehension of texts? (b) To what extent, if any, does web annotation appear to support student comprehension of texts? and …

The Attracting Intelligent Minds Conference: An Assessment Of Graduate Diversity Recruitment, Alfred T. Dowe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Graduate student recruitment is one of the most important factors in growing university enrollment. Unlike undergraduate recruitment, graduate recruitment is a coordinated effort facilitated between graduate faculty and program coordinators and graduate recruiters who often work outside of the department. An essential element in graduate recruitment is the effectiveness with which underrepresented minorities are identified and recruited. Graduate schools are commonly using initiatives known as intervention strategies to help enhance their traditional recruitment strategies and campus visitation programs have become a popular recruitment tool within those strategies.

Since the 1990’s, the University of Arkansas (UA) has employed various intervention strategies …

Beauty Is Not Black And White: A Content Analysis Of Black Women’S Body Image In Television Media, Alexis Hubbard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are few bodies of literature that look at Black women’s body image in television media. When Black women were studied most research (Falconer & Neville, 2000; Jhally & Kilbourne, 2010; Smith, 2014; Shearon-Richardson, 2011;) compared them to White ideals. However, this study did a content analysis of Black women in predominantly Black or ethnically diverse television shows using qualitative studies that suggest a Black ideal. The researcher examined lead character(s) body shapes, comments about their body, hair texture and comments about their hair. This research looked at protective factors (aspects Black life that allow for more body satisfaction) like …

Towards A Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Cloud Through Operable Digital Twins And Virtual Production Lines, Md Rakib Shahriar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In last decade, the paradigm of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) has integrated industrial manufacturing systems with Cloud Computing technologies for Cloud Manufacturing. Up to 2015, there were many CPS-based manufacturing systems that collected real-time machining data to perform remote monitoring, prognostics and health management, and predictive maintenance. However, these CPS-integrated and network ready machines were not directly connected to the elements of Cloud Manufacturing and required human-in-the-loop. Addressing this gap, we introduced a new paradigm of Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Cloud (CPMC) that bridges a gap between physical machines and virtual space in 2017. CPMC virtualizes machine tools in cloud through web services …

Critical Approaches To Digital Video Composition And Media Literacy In Preservice Teacher And High School Contexts: Understanding Students’ Perspectives, Seth D. French

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first of the following manuscripts explores graduate-level preservice teachers’ responses to a critical digital video project in the context of a Disciplinary Literacies course. This study was particularly interested in the preservice teachers’ obstacles and collaborations they experienced while completing the project, as well as future applications they envisioned for the project in their own classrooms. Findings reveal common obstacles that many preservice teachers experienced throughout the composition process as well as key differences that contributed to some having a more favorable experience with the project than others. The study also identifies insights preservice teachers gained from the critical …

Synthesis And Application Of Ceramic Paste For High-Temperature Electronic Packaging, Ardalan Nasiri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research focused on the synthesis and application of ceramic paste for high-temperature applications. An alumina paste material comprising aluminum dihydric phosphate and alumina powder was developed for high-temperature electronic packaging. Nano aluminum nitride and nano-silica powders were embedded to promote the paste curing process, limit the grain growth, and increase its bond shear strength. The chip-to-substrate bond strength was enhanced and met the MIL-STD requirements for die-attach assembly. Its encapsulation property was improved with fewer cracks compared to similar commercial ceramic encapsulants. The die-attach material and encapsulation properties tested at 500°C showed no defect or additional cracks. Thermal …

Within-Person Variability Of Internal And External Sexual Consent, Malachi Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sexual consent is often conceptualized as an internal willingness to engage in sexual activity, which can be communicated externally to a sexual partner. Preliminary evidence indicates that people’s sexual consent varies from day to day. Study designs that assess sexual consent at multiple time points (e.g., experience sampling methodology [ESM]) are needed to better understand the within-person variability of sexual consent; however, extant validated measures of sexual consent are not appropriate for ESM studies, which require shorter assessments due to the increased burden this methodology has on participants. As such, the goal of this dissertation was to develop valid …

Consumer Food Socialization In The School And Home, Ashley Deutsch Cermin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Consumer socialization literature has focused on individual socialization agents and their isolated effects. However, as John (1999) pointed out, children do not grow up in a social vacuum. Instead, the multitude of agents socializing children find their narratives interacting and their effects continually shaped and co-created. To understand how school-age children learn about food, I interrogate the complexity of socialization in three essays.

In the first essay, I take an ethnographic approach to investigate the interactive effect peers and adults, namely service workers, have on children’s food socialization in a public-school lunchroom. By combining a Loseke’s (2007) layered narrative model …

Design Of Control System With Feedback Loop For A Pulsatile Pump, Ian Scott Sanders

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper describes the design and implementation of a closed-loop proportional, integral, differential (PID) control system for a custom in-house pulsatile pump apparatus for the University of Arkansas Biomedical Department. The control system is designed to control a MOONS’ PL34HD0L8500 hybrid stepper motor using a dual H-bridge motor driver network with four pulse-width modulated (PWM) inputs to drive a pulsatile pump apparatus at motor stepping frequencies up to 2kHz. The speed of the motor is controlled from a pressure profile transmitted from an external source over RS-232 communication that specifies the motor speed, number of datapoints, and an array of …

Increasing Female Enrollment In High School Computer Science Education, Zenovia Brown Frazier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Women have played a vital role in the field of computer science and information technology (IT), developing some of the most essential components of modern IT” (Purdue University Global, 2018). Despite their prominence and achievements in these career fields, computer science has experienced a noticeable decline in the representation of females in industry and in programs of study. This is not a phenomenon reserved for the college classroom and/or the world of work, but is a situation present across schools in the P-12 arena, to include ZBF High School. As such, the purpose of this work was to examine the …

A Suspected Democratic Regiment: The Fourth New Hampshire Volunteers In The American Civil War, Eric Paul Totten

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Fourth New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry was suspected of being a Democratic regiment due to the intense partisanship of the antebellum and Civil War era. The political socialization of New Hampshire’s citizens divided communities and fostered animosity towards political opponents. The unit’s recruits came from regions that were political battlegrounds and contained a large number of Irish immigrants. The intemperate and disorderly conduct of the officers and men of the Fourth during the Port Royal expedition seemingly confirmed the suspicions of civilians on the home front. The arrest of Colonel Louis Bell by Major General David Hunter led to further …