Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Leadership Practices And Organizational Commitment Of Telecommunicators, André Lanier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The performance of 9-1-1 telecommunicators can mean the difference between life and death for the person on the other end of a phone. Effective leadership is critical to the success of the public safety answer point (PSAP) and the organizational commitment of the 9-1-1 telecommunicator. Bass and Riggio’s (2006) Full Range of Leadership Theory (FLRT) is the basis for the current study. The FRLT covers leadership styles from laissez-faire to transformational (Matikainen, 2019).

The purpose of conducting the study was to identify and describe the 9-1-1 telecommunicator’s organizational commitment based on the PSAP leadership categories. The study made use of …

The Emotional Toil Of Paying For College: Lower Socioeconomic Status White Women’S College Experiences, 1880-1920, Heidi A. Jaeckle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Typically historical inquiries in higher education have been centered on privileged individuals from wealthier backgrounds who had the opportunity of attending primarily prestigious institutions. The experiences of college women from lower to middle class socioeconomic backgrounds have been for the most part ignored. This dissertation explores how socioeconomic backgrounds shaped the experiences of college women from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, focusing on lower class students. With no universal financial aid program, the majority of these women were from families who could afford to pay tuition. Women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds did attend college, but their …

Flourishing Through Communicative Language Learning: An Exploration Of University Learners’ Basic Needs, Well-Doing, And Well-Being, William S. Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last 25 years, world language education (i.e., “foreign” or “second” language education) in the United States has seen a meaningful turn toward pedagogical approaches emphasizing communication, contextualization, and culture. This has coincided with the blossoming of recent theoretical perspectives and empirical research centered on language learners’ emotions, beliefs, and well-being. Two frameworks, self-determination theory (SDT) and positive psychology, are leading this exploration. Although these two perspectives have enhanced the discussion around language learning, each has its gaps; positive psychology research and its recommendations for practice do not often agree on what constitutes well-being and flourishing, while SDT, which …

Heat And Mass Transfer In Parboiled Rice During Heating With 915 Mhz Microwave Energy And Impacts On Milled Rice Properties, Deandrae L.W. Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microwave (MW) heating offers an energy-efficient, fast method to dry high moisture content (MC) parboiled rice to safe storage MC. However, there is limited research that describes the fundamentals of heat and mass transport in rice kernels exposed to MW energy at 915 MHz, the most promising heating frequency for industrialized processing. This information is vital to explain the implications of MW technology on dried rice quality. The overall objective of this study was to develop a microwave heating technology that can sufficiently dry high MC parboiled rough rice kernels in one pass using a 915-MHz industrial microwave system. An …

Development Of A Reference Design For A Cyber-Physical System, Nicholas Paul Blair

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a reference design to assist in the selection of security practices in power electronics design. A prototype will be developed from this reference design for evaluation. This evaluation will include a brief cost/benefit analysis to gauge the efficacy of implementing each layer of security throughout the power electronics design process. This thesis will also describe the obstacles and effectiveness of integrating a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) into a cyber-hardened grid-connected device. The TPM device is a secured crypto processor that assists in generating, storing, and restricting the use of cryptographic keys. The …

An Interpersonal Account Of Heideggerian Ethics: An Analysis Of Being And Time, William Braxton Bragg

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In what follows, I will present an interpersonal account of Being and Time that runs counter to most of the standard literature. There are a few moving parts to this paper that must be addressed before moving forward. Section II addresses both Heidegger’s political affiliations as well as the connection to ethics. By presenting some of the more prominent interpretations in the literature, a picture of how one can read a political ideology into Being and Time becomes possible. This is followed by Section III, where I immediately address and eschew those concerns by presenting an account that does in …

Phenotypic And Genotypic Studies In The Peach [Prunus Persica (L.) Batsch] And Muscadine Grape (Vitis Rotundifolia Michx.), Jennifer Anne Lewter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Peach: Peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] are routinely chilled to increase shelf-life. Exposure to temperatures of 5° C for two weeks can induce chilling injury (CI) symptoms, including flesh mealiness (or wooliness) and a lack of juiciness. Phenotypic data were collected on seven biparental F1 peach populations maintained at the University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station. A genome wide association study (GWAS) was performed using TASSEL 5 which identified four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with expressible juice, four QTLs for mealiness, five QTLs for soluble solids, and three QTLs for fruit weight. Exploiting these genetic markers could help breeders …

Relationship Between University Student Characteristics And Water Conservation Behaviors, Matthew A. Wise

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water over-consumption is a critical issue due to it being a mismanaged, and virtually finite, natural resource. In order to convey this information to the public and promote change, it is important to understand the public’s current attitude towards the topic in order to develop more targeted teaching approaches. The purpose of this study was to determine college-age students’ perceptions about water resource usage, their personal levels of active engagement in water conservation, and if any differences existed between agriculture students and non-agriculture students. This study utilized an online quantitative survey, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior, which was …

New Flesh Cinema: Japanese Cyberpunk-Body Horror And Cinema As Catharsis In The Age Of Technology, Sarah Henry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a critical analysis of a specific group of films that combine the subgenres of cyberpunk and body horror which I call New Flesh Cinema. Films of this subgenre counter fears and anxieties of technological advancements by re-imagining the rise of technology and its societal effects as a transitional process through the illustration of literal and visceral depictions of the necessary alterations people will have to undergo in order to transition successfully into the new world. To contradict apocalyptic fears of advancing technology, these films offer a vision of a “New Flesh.” I argue the films share three …

Drivers Of Rural Development Strategies At The Farm Level: A Case Study On Circular Agriculture In The Netherlands, Anna Berger Mulder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The sustainability of the agricultural sector worldwide is increasingly being pressurized by ecological, economic, and social developments. The Dutch government is promoting enhancing circular agriculture as an important rural development strategy in response to the challenges the sector is facing. All farmers in the country will have to be involved in closed cycles by 2030, but many farmers do not want to or cannot make this transition. This study aims to identify the different factors that influence a farmer’s decision to transition towards circular agriculture. Based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with already transitioned farmers, a policy officer, a consultant, and …

Immigration And Crime In The News, 2014-2018: Do Focusing Events And Policy Windows Affect Framing?, Abigale Rongey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although an abundance of literature demonstrates that immigrant populations are less crime-prone than the native-born population, the majority of Americans believe that immigration inherently threatens the security of the United States. Because Americans are not well versed in the complex issues of immigration and crime, public opinion is undoubtedly influenced by media outlets’ crafted narratives that simplify circumstances and events into easily digestible material. The current study examines how media behavior changes and responds to social and political events by examining “frames” utilized in articles that produce narratives about immigration and crime. Using content analysis of over 1,700 articles published …

Machine Tool Communication (Mtcomm) Method And Its Applications In A Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Cloud, S M Nahian Al Sunny

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The integration of cyber-physical systems and cloud manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize existing manufacturing systems by enabling better accessibility, agility, and efficiency. To achieve this, it is necessary to establish a communication method of manufacturing services over the Internet to access and manage physical machines from cloud applications. Most of the existing industrial automation protocols utilize Ethernet based Local Area Network (LAN) and are not designed specifically for Internet enabled data transmission. Recently MTConnect has been gaining popularity as a standard for monitoring status of machine tools through RESTful web services and an XML based messaging structure, but it …

Evaluating The Impacts Of A Multi-Year Arts Integration Program On Student Outcomes, Molly I. Beck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation evaluates the first year of a three-year intervention, the Windgate School Partnership Program (WSPP), where participating schools participate in three week-long arts integration units taught by resident artists and two educational tours at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art led by museum educators. The WSPP looks to affect students’ academic and non-academic outcomes through an arts-integration program that includes two key features, artist residencies and field trips. A recent meta-analysis of arts integration studies suggests a moderately positive effect on many student outcomes (Ludwig et al., 2017). I use a mixed-methods research design to measure and describe the …

Measuring Sexual Excitation And Sexual Inhibition In A Dutch-Speaking Sample, Malachi Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background: Individual differences in sexual excitation and sexual inhibition are important predictors of sexual functioning. Psychometric instruments for these aspects of sexual response were originally developed separately for men (Sexual Inhibition /Sexual Excitation Scales [SIS/SES]) and women (Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women [SESII-W]). These measures were then adapted to function similarly in samples comprising both men and women (Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation Scales-Short Form [SIS/SES-SF] and Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women and Men [SESII-W/M], respectively). No published study to our knowledge has administered the SIS/SES and SESII-W/M questionnaires to a sample of both women and men. In the present …

Auditor Information Spillovers And Company Operating Performance: Evidence From Targeted Auditor Switches, Tyler Kleppe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examine whether companies realize operational benefits from making “targeted auditor switches” (i.e., engaging a new auditor recently dismissed by a competitor company). While prior work provides evidence consistent with companies perceiving that auditor information spillovers are costly, there is sparse extant evidence as to whether auditors actually do transfer operational information across companies. I find that companies that switch to a competitor’s former auditor realize significant subsequent improvements in operating performance, and I provide evidence that the association between targeted auditor switches and improvements in operating performance varies predictably with several across- and within-market factors. In …

Sensitivity Of Enlisttm And Roundup Ready Xtend® Technologies To Auxin Herbicides And Comparison Of Resistance To Susceptible Cotton And Soybean Cultivars, James Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increases in weed resistance have led to the development of new herbicide-resistant crop technologies, namely the Roundup Ready Xtend® and EnlistTM weed control systems. These new technologies provide resistance to applications of the synthetic auxins dicamba or 2,4-D, respectively, in traited cotton or soybean. It is unknown if there is any resistance to other herbicides within the synthetic auxin group (WSSA Group 4) in these traited crops. Experiments were conducted with auxin herbicides representing all five families within WSSA Group 4. Herbicides were applied either preemergence (PRE) or postemergence (POST) relative to the crop in a single application. Applications were …

Visualizing Interdisciplinary Collaborations Within Exercise Science: A Pilot Study, Elizabeth Bjornsen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exercise science is a growing field with sub-disciplines exploring various aspects of physical activity. Diverse perspectives allow the field to answer complex research questions, but little is known about the collaborative nature of exercise science today. Research practices have implications on undergraduate curriculum, likely incorporating experiential knowledge into course subject matter and providing diverse experiences for students entering the workforce. Therefore, the purpose of the pilot study is to visualize and quantify interdisciplinary collaborations within exercise science. Journal citation analysis and an adaptation of social networking theory were utilized to examine collaborative practices of exercise science faculty at the University …

Hpv Vaccination In Females: The Role Of Primary Health Care And Primary Health Care Providers, Brooke Bouza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two reasons for subpar coverage of the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine are missed clinical opportunities and nonacceptance of the vaccine upon recommendation from a medical provider. The purpose of study one was to examine factors associated with access and adherence to physician’s recommendations in association with HPV vaccine uptake. Data were obtained from National Health Interview Survey (2017). Variables theoretically related to clinical opportunities and adherence to physician’s recommendations were examined in association with HPV vaccine uptake. Univariate logistic regressions were run to determine the associations between the aforementioned variables and uptake of the HPV vaccine. Multinomial logistic regressions were …

The Impact Of Graduate Assistantships On The Preparation Of Early Career Student Affairs Professionals, Mary L. Skinner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the graduate assistantship experiences of early career master’s prepared student affairs professionals and examined the role these assistantships played in the preparation for their current position. The study included 10 participants who had all graduated with a master’s in higher education within the past 5 years, had participated in a graduate assistantship within student affairs, and worked full-time within a student affairs department at the time of the study. Each participant took part in a one-on-one interview that was recorded, transcribed, and reviewed for themes. I followed Braun and Clarke’s (2012) six-phase approach to thematic …

Factors Influencing The Adoption Of Immersive Virtual Reality For Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parents Perceptions, Fahad Abdeen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify factors that affect the adoption of a spherical video virtual reality (SVVR) mobile application among parents of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study used the diffusion of innovation theory by Rogers (2003) as a framework to explore parents’ perceptions of an SVVR transportation model designed to improve the quality of life of adults with ASD. In addition, the study sought to learn what might increase adoption of VR technology among other parents of individuals with ASD and what life skills that might be addressed using VR technology in the …

The Use Of Speech-Generating Devices For Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Jessica Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The first of the following articles provides a review of the literature related to vocalizations among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, with special attention paid to speech-generating devices (SGD). After providing an overview of ASD, evidence-based practices (EBP), and AAC types and a brief history, this review evaluates studies that collected data on vocalizations in SGD-users, including both those that targeted vocalizations as a dependent variable and those that measured vocalizations as a collateral effect without directly targeting it. The goal of this review is to evaluate whether SGD use may …

Long-Term Impact Of Child-Centered Play Therapy On Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Examination Of Academic Success In At-Risk Elementary School Students, Brittany D. Massengale

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the long-term impact of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) implemented through Primary Project on at-risk second-grade elementary school students. The qualifying group received ten 30-minute play therapy sessions during one academic semester during their second-grade year. In a longitudinal analysis for academic growth, MAP testing was used to determine if there was a long-term impact on both the third grade and fourth-grade years for the original qualifying students. The findings reveal implications for identification of and interventions for at-risk elementary students and CCPT as an intervention for academic achievement; specifically, reading and mathematics scores. Recommendations for future research …

Far-Right Extremism In America: A Geospatial Analysis Of Incident Distribution, Meredith Leann Lerma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There has been little empirical research on the spatial relationship of violent far-right extremism. Previous studies have only focused on portions of far-right violent incidents, such as homicides, or amalgamated all far-right extremist activity, including legal incidents. This study uses data from the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in a temporal frame of 2000 to 2018 to test the relationship of violent incidents against geographic and social factors. The goal is to explore the relationships between macro-level factors and violent far-right extremist incident. The research determines that the presence of hate groups, higher immigrant populations, …

Critical Peace Pedagogy In The Social Studies: A Peace-Oriented Approach To Critical Citizen Education, Matt Dingler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This two-article dissertation begins by providing a conceptual argument for the inclusion of Critical Peace Pedagogy (CPP) in social studies education. CPP represents the convergence of the peace education tradition and Paulo Freire’s critical praxis. I begin by aligning CPP to the philosophy, goals, and methods of instruction espoused by critical citizen educators seeking to further democracy and human rights. To demonstrate the feasibility of CPP integration within the social studies, I provide a model classroom approach framed according to a nationally recognized instructional design model. I close with a brief exposition on the importance of peace within education’s emerging …

The Shallow End Of The Deep South: Civil Rights Activism In Arkansas, 1865-1970, Sarah Riva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

On April 7, 1968, Governor Winthrop Rockefeller claimed that “Arkansas today stands at the threshold of leading the nation...for a better America,” The Republican Arkansas Governor spoke on the steps of the state capitol at a memorial for the beloved civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. who had been assassinated three days earlier. Rockefeller’s claim that Arkansas could lead the nation came just two years after the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formally ended its work in the state to improve racial equality. Their efforts had seen widespread acceptance of integrated public facilities, increased voter registration and more meaningful …

The Impacts Of Incarceration On The Wellbeing Of Family Members Of African American Males Who Experience The U.S Prison System: A Phenomenological Study, Tremaine N. Leslie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African Americans encounter a high rate of imprisonment, and the social, economic, mental and other effects of imprisonment are extended to their families and communities (Roberts, 2004). In addition to separating individuals from their families and communities, incarceration maximizes the probability for fractured relationships, fragmented communities, and encumbers the public service systems (DeHart, Shapiro & Clone, 2018).Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the mental health effects of incarceration on the family members of African American males who experience the U.S prison system.

The theoretical framework utilized for this study was the critical race theory (CRT) immersed …

Development Of High-Density Propulsion System Technologies For Interplanetary Small Satellites And Cubesats, Morgan Andrew Roddy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to support the development of a novel propulsion system for small satellites (<180 kg) and CubeSats. This was pursued by conducting a collection of studies that were designed to provide engineering data that would be critical in designing a functional prototype. The novel propulsion system was conceived by the author to provide best-in-class performance for the small satellite and CubeSat families of spacecraft. This context presents specific design requirements that the presented technology attempts to satisfy. The most critical among these is high density; the propellant was designed to be stored with high density and the thruster was designed to be as compact as possible. The propulsion system is composed of two primary elements, a propellant generator and a thruster. The propellant generator works by sublimating a solid crystal into vapor and then using this vapor to etch a dense metal. The resulting gaseous byproducts of this reaction are the propellant. This dissertation used xenon difluoride (XeF2) vapor to etch tungsten (W) which react to form xenon gas (Xe) and tungsten hexafluoride (WF6). This approach gave a theoretical propellant storage density 5.40 g/cm3; and 5.17 g/cm3 was demonstrated. The sublimation dynamics of the XeF2 were studied as a function of surface area and temperature and it was found to be suitable for the intended application due to its high effluence rate; that is, it sublimates fast enough to be useful. The sublimation rates are on the order of 10’s of µg/s. The etch rate of XeF2 on W was also studied and found to be suitably fast to provide useful amounts of reactants for use as a propellant, again on the order of 1’s of µg/s. The thruster is an electrostatic radio frequency (RF) ion thruster design and is manufactured with Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic (LTCC) materials system and manufacturing technology. Manufacturing samples of the thruster were built at the University of Arkansas in July 2015 and tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in May 2018. Testing validated the viability of the LTCC thruster and provided valuable information on how to improve the thruster’s design.

Buffer Zones And The Recreational Golf Sector: A Negligence Case Content Analysis, Natalie Bird

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Buffer zones are a risk management method used within sport and recreation to protect participants and spectators from avoidable injury. Within the recreational golf sector, buffer zone standards do not exist. This poses a problem as golf courses in the recreational sector serve a wide range of customers in terms of age, skill level, and experience. A legal case content analysis of 1,561 golf negligence lawsuits aimed to answer research questions related to locations of incidents, circumstances that led to injury, and injuries or damages that were the result of errant golf shots. A Westlaw search provided the data for …

The Discovery Of Metarhizium Anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin Isolates From Arkansas And Their Pathogenicity To Amblyomma Americanum L., Austin Goldsmith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lone star tick Amblyomma americanum L. is the most abundant tick in Arkansas and has been implicated as a vector of many important disease-causing pathogens. Many species of entomopathogenic fungi have been isolated from several species of ticks, with some of these fungi being utilized for tick biocontrol. However, few studies have assessed the pathogenicity of entomopathogenic fungi to A. americanum. The objectives of this study were to: isolate and identify native Arkansas isolates of entomopathogenic fungi from wild A. americanum ticks exposed to soil and to compare the pathogenicity of one isolate (Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin isolate Savoy …

Do You Wanna Go Dancing?, Anthony Kascak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The transdisciplinary art work within Do you wanna go dancing? unpacks the experience and perception of my interpersonal relationships, as well as the role that touch and introspection has in my visual arts practice and everyday life. I am interested in pairing the act of looking with the sensation of touching through specific installation and arrangement of intimate imagery, ceramic fragments and frames, and manual or digitally fabricated surfaces. The negotiation of these installations orient the viewer to consider their positionality within space, as well as the extent in which distance, intimacy, and vulnerability fluctuate inside these psychological spaces.

The …