Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Family Cohesion And Relationship Maintenance Strategies On Stress During Students’ Adjustment To College, Claire C. Strutzenberg

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effects of family cohesion and relationship maintenance behaviors on students’ experience of stress during the adjustment to college. One hundred and ninety-eight first-year college students completed measures assessing family cohesion; relationship maintenance behaviors expressed within their family systems; and academic, social, and personal-emotional stress. Results indicated that family cohesion is significantly and negatively related to students’ experiences of academic, social, and personal-emotional stress. Further, hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling provided insight to the additive influence of relationship maintenance behaviors on student stress. Analyses provided limited support for a mediation model, however, results demonstrated the importance …

The Effects Of Consuming Eggs On The Physical And Cognitive Development Of Food-Insecure Haitian Children, Monica Elaine Stewart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within Latin America and the Caribbean, severe food insecurity is highest in Haiti. Fifty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty line with approximately 50% of the population undernourished. Given the typical diet in the developing world is primarily plant-based, the two studies presented in this thesis examine how eggs, a locally available animal protein, impact physical growth, cognitive development, and motor skills of food-insecure children from a single orphanage in Leogane, Haiti when added to the diet.

In the first study, growth parameters in children ages 3-8 years old were measured at baseline, six months, and one year. …

Modeling And Solution Approaches For Non-Traditional Network Flow Problems With Complicating Constraints, Negin Enayaty Ahangar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we model three network-based optimization problems. Chapter 2 addresses the question of what the operation plan should be for interdependent infrastructure systems in resource-constrained environments so that they collectively operate at the highest level. We develop a network-based operation model of these systems that accounts for interdependencies among them. To solve this large-scale model, a solution approach is proposed that relatively quickly generates high-quality solutions to the problem.

Chapter 3 presents a routing model for a single train within a railyard with the objective of minimizing the total length traveled by train. The difference between this problem …

The Fault In Our Stars: A Director's Process On Life Is A Dream, Jeremiah Dean Albers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The following is a journal and reflection on my process as adaptor and director of the play Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. It is equal parts self-evaluation and creative travelogue. The chapters include an Introduction, and The Production Process, and related appendices.

Communicating For Equality: How Inclusive Communication Affects Political Participation Within Local Communities, Kyle Chandler Worley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study will examine the relationship among inclusive communication, sense of community belonging, and political participation within local communities. Communication from organizations such as local advocacy and local, mainstream media that contains content acknowledging relevant topics for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community members. I explore ways that Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT) can be applied to organizational inclusive communication’s influence on community marginalized members’ sense of community belonging and political participation. CIT has been applied to the study of racial and economic minority communities in past research in the past, but this study applies CIT to the study of …

Determining The Effect Of Locally Delivered Bioactive Modulators On Macrophage Activation At The Implantation Site Of Different Biomaterials In Rats, Kamel Alkhatib

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Altering the foreign body reaction by targeting macrophages has been of interest in the biomaterials field to improve the integration of longevity of implanted biomedical devices. The objective of this dissertation was to study the effect of locally delivered bioactive modulators on macrophage activation at the implantation site of different biomaterials in rats. Iloprost, a prostacyclin analog, was tested for its ability to direct macrophages to their pro-wound healing phenotype after the implantation of microdialysis probe in the subcutaneous space of male Sprague Dawley rats. This study showed that iloprost can shift macrophage activation states in vivo to the pro-wound …

Social Interactions Occurring During An Introductory College Of Agriculture Course, Brittany Renea Leek

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the development of the internet, today’s students no longer are confined to the resources only found in their classrooms or public libraries and have been given the ability to gain access to virtually unlimited quantities of information on the topics or events they are discussing in their class rooms and with their peers. The use of technology for communication and education is rapidly changing, but the challenges of technology-driven learning opportunities rest on questions of access and use. There is a need to determine whether students use these methods (i.e., technology based) to more prevalently communicate today. The primary …

In The Groove: A Documentary About Vinyl, Jared Endsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis project, ‘In the Groove’ is to tell the story of why vinyl records, a music format written off as a casualty to the digital age is experiencing a cultural resurgence. In the last several years vinyl records have been the only musical format to record positive sales growth.

For many musicians today, pressing their music to vinyl records yields the greatest return on investment. However, vinyl remains a niche market, supported by a devoted fan base.

This film focuses on a group of artists and vinyl enthusiasts as they navigate this new marketplace.

An Evaluation Of The Criteria Used To Assess Title Ix Responsible Employee Training Programs At Large, Four Year Primarily Residential Institutions, Catherine Hopkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) discover the intended objectives that selected institutions of higher education had for their “responsible employee” training programs and (b) identify what data were collected to determine if the “responsible employee” training programs were meeting those objectives. I surveyed the Title IX Coordinators at 144 primarily residential and highly residential institutions using a 20 question electronic survey. The top four reported training objectives were that the responsible employee learn how to: appropriately respond to a student; understand their legal duty to report; cite the information that students must be informed about; and know …

Effect Of Yeast Supplementation During Various Stages Of Beef Production, Elizabeth Palmer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Supplemental dietary yeast products are beneficial during times of stress. Calves experience increased levels of stress during birth, weaning, and the post-weaning receiving period. Therefore, 3 experiments were conducted to determine how yeast supplementation affects growth performance and health during this time. In experiment 1, 2 truckloads of highly stressed calves (n = 175; initial body weight [BW] = 226 ± 24.5 kg) were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 treatments; unsupplemented control, or supplementation with 2 commercial yeast products (Y1 and Y2). Average daily gain (ADG) was not different (P = 0.99) during the 28 d receiving period; nor …

Theatrical Genre Prediction Using Social Network Metrics, Manisha Shukla

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence of digitization, large text corpora are now available online that provide humanities scholars an opportunity to perform literary analysis leveraging the use of computational techniques. This work is focused on applying network theory concepts in the field of literature to explore correlations between the mathematical properties of the social networks of plays and the plays’ dramatic genre, specifically how well social network metrics can identify genre without taking vocabulary into consideration. Almost no work has been done to study the ability of mathematical properties of network graphs to predict literary features. We generated character interaction networks of …

Privacy-Preserving Photo Taking And Accessing For Mobile Phones, Ang Li

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today, we are living in environments that are full of cameras embedded in devices such as smart phones and wearables. These mobile devices and as well as apps installed on them are designed to be extremely convenient for users to take, store and share photos. In spite of the convenience brought by ubiquitous cameras, users' privacy may be breached through photos that are taken and stored with mobile devices. For example, when users take a photo of a scenery, a building or a target person, a stranger may also be unintentionally captured in the photo. Such photos expose the location …

Impact Of The Implementation Of Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams On Adolescent Student Behavior, Dana Renee Speight

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disproportionality in discipline has been well-documented in the research literature (Achilles, McLaughlin, & Croninger, 2007; Losen & Gillespie, 2012; Gregory, Skiba, & Mediratta, 2017; Skiba, Peterson, & Williams, 1997). Students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities are removed from their classrooms more frequently than their Caucasian peers without disabilities (Losen & Gillespie, 2012). This disparate removal of students from diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities has spurned education stakeholders to call for removal of punitive policies and replacement with positive behavior interventions and supports. This study sought to evaluate the impact of Class-Wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) …

Secondary Biology Instruction In The General Senior Secondary Schools Of Aceh Province Indonesia: An Analysis Of Teachers’ Opinions And Teaching Practices Related To The Indonesia Biology Curriculum 2013, Wiwit Artika

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My study was to discover the perceptions of general secondary senior high school biology teachers about the application of curriculum 2013. Their further opinions of biology topics and the instructional practices in the class have supported the findings of this study. In addressing this study, general senior secondary school (GSSS) biology teachers (n=286) from 22 districts in Aceh province randomly participated in my study. Thus, six (n=6) teachers were selected as convenience sampling to have a one-on-one phone interview. The data collected were analyzed descriptively (frequency and percentage) and thematically to answer the research questions.

The documents comparison between the …

Association Mapping And Genomic Selection For Yield And Agronomic Traits In Soft Winter Wheat, Dennis Bulusan Lozada

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tools such as genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic selection (GS) have expedited the development of crops with improved genetic potential. While GWAS aims to identify significant markers associated with a trait of interest, the goal of GS is to utilize all marker effects to predict the performance of new breeding lines prior to testing. A GWAS for grain yield (GY), yield components, and agronomic traits was conducted using a diverse panel of 239 soft winter wheat (SWW) lines evaluated in eight site-years in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Broad sense heritability of GY (H2=0.48) was moderate compared to other traits including …

Effect Of Sensory Stimulation In Physical Activity On Academic Achievement And Classroom Behavior In Elementary Students, Maryann Mitts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Technological advancements and increased screen time has increased sedentary activity and altered the brain development of children. With the reduction of PE and recess in schools, increasing sensory stimulating physical activity can be pivotal in cognitive and behavioral development. Activities such as rolling and spinning enhance the sensory system in organizing and filtering information efficiently for quicker and more appropriate responses to stimuli. This study investigated the effect sensory stimulation had on auditory memory, reading levels and behaviors of elementary students.

During a 6-week period, 176 students, grades 1-5, participated in the sensory maze Minds in Motion, 15 sensory activities …

Palimpsest, Erin Ellis Gardner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Palimpsest explores the various ways in which the models, individuals who have gained and/or lost a large amount of weight, feel empowered and vulnerable. The skin is marked and each discoloration or indentation telling a story of loss, gain, and removal. The photographs mark these changes.

Liquefaction-Induced Dragload And/Or Downdrag On Deep Foundations Within The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Ishimwe Elvis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deep foundation elements are typically used to transfer structural loads for multi-story buildings and large-span bridges to a competent soil layer when 1) the soil close to the ground surface has no sufficient bearing capacity, and when 2) liquefiable soils are encountered. The majority of the bridges constructed within seismic zones rely upon the stability of earthen embankments and deep foundation that are installed above or within liquefiable soil deposits. Despite large factor of safety values or different load and resistance factors being used to adequately design deep foundations within seismic areas, soil liquefaction may cause extensive damage to the …

Subject To Change, Alexis Kurtzman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Subject to Change is comprised of a series of self-devised, ritually practiced free-associative action-mark-making strategies. Each procedure explores various degrees of chance operations and seeks to question and explore the roles of intuition, intention, interpretation and human participation. A hybrid of fixed method with variables of the unknown explores and investigates performative mark-making methodologies, in-person and internet collaboration, control and working under pre-fixed intervals. Alongside chance, time-based procedures are concurrently determined to achieve work on paper whose marks are not initially foreseen. This practice of working addresses the disconnect between the maker engaged in active activity of doing versus the …

Fluid Phase Separation Via Nanochannel Array, John Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) generate ideas and techniques for creating new devices at the micro/nano scale. This dissertation study designed a gas generator system utilizing nanochannels for phase separation that is useful for micro-pneumatic actuators, micro-valves, and micro-pumps. The new gas generator has the potential to be an integral part of a propulsion system for small-scale satellites. Nano/picosatellites have limited orientation capability partly due to the current limitations of microthruster devices. Development of a self-contained micro propulsion system enables dynamic orbital maneuvering of pico- and nano-class satellites.

Additionally, the new gas generator utilizes a high efficiency, green …

Ice Cream, Richard Frank Peterson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ice Cream is a series of 2D and 3D depictions of lawn ornaments, Charlie Brown, and novelty ice cream bars, which question how White America is indoctrinated through seemingly innocuous images and objects. The exhibition unveils the white supremacy fostered within the American way of life and articulates an environment where Americans act in racist ways when they believe they are acting morally. The research found within Ice Cream attempts to dismantle the foundation these justifications are built upon. This honesty, coupled with acknowledging that these historic traditions are rooted in racial constructs, will result in a double consciousness and …

Real Goner, Nicholas Cox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis paper is to tell the story behind, and outline the theoretical and conceptual framework underlying the exhibition, Real Goner. The exhibition combines a number of elements drawn from music and art history, as well as the theoretical writings of Albert Camus, Guy Debord, and Joseph Kosuth. Together, these elements produce a cryptic exhibition that attempts to address the inherent chaos, and apparent meaninglessness of existence; and to see art as a proposition, a performance, and a practice. The exhibition addresses issues of celebrity, the production and consumption of culture, and where that cycle leaves us …

For Wintonbury: An Expansion Of Narrative And Painting, Cassaundra Kayla Sanderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In March 2017, I began planning the narratives of what would become my Thesis Exhibition. One year later marked my installation of the exhibit: For Wintonbury, located at the Fine Art Center Gallery at the University of Arkansas.

A merging of the visual arts and literary fiction, For Wintonbury offers a more immersive experience in storytelling. The painted scenes, drawings, three-dimensional compositions, and short stories each serve their own purposes in presenting partial glimpses into the longer narratives of Wintonbury. Through multiple media and entry points, the viewer is given the choice in which sequence and manner to take in …

Convergent Set-Based Design In Integrated Analysis Of Alternatives: Designing Engineered Resilient Systems, Zephan Wright Wade

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a comprehensive package for understanding and expanding set-based design quantification through the definition and demonstration of Convergent set-based design (SBD). Convergent SBD is a technique developed for the Engineered Resilient Systems program sponsored by the Department of Defense. Convergent SBD contributes a repeatable methodology with the goal of mathematically eliminating inefficient sets. The study of Convergent SBD led to the development of dominance identification criteria equations using comparison of statistical means. The demonstration of Convergent SBD also illustrates the effect of mission resilience in the tradespace and the impact mission resilience has on preference. Finally, Convergent SBD …

Queer Arab Writing Across Borders: Sexual Citizenship And Acts Of Belonging, Nicole Fares

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study provides a comparative analysis of various representations of sexuality in seven transnational Arab cultural productions: Salim Haddad's Guapa (2016), Rabih Alameddine's The Angel of History (2016), Ahmed Dany Ramadan's The Clothesline Swing (2017), Hasan Namir's God in Pink (2015), Fadia Abboud's I Luv U But (2016), Alissar Gazal's Lesbanese (2008), and Ayse Toprak's Mr. Gay Syria (2017). These productions demonstrate a range of experiences of discrimination and trauma experienced by queer Arab immigrants and refugees in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, as their national identities continue to be regarded as obstacles preventing them from fully integrating into the …

Interpersonal And Ideological Kindness: A Biocultural Approach, Sally Averitt-Hubbard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In accordance with Richard Dawkins’ materialist “selfish gene” theory of human behavior, altruism is a subject matter that is treated conservatively by biologists, whose understanding of the human version of altruism tends toward mutualistic and sometimes reputation-based explanations of charity, kindness, and helping. Trivers (1971) first stated that non-kin altruism could evolve if altruistic behavior is balanced between partners over time, implicating a strictly mutualistic domain for kindness. But kindness herein is defined, beyond mere mutualism or reciprocity, as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.” Further, kindness tends to have an action-oriented dimension, as in Goetz et al.’s …

The Creation And Development Of Rise, Paul Randall Mcinnis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In “The Creation and Development of Rise”, I will explain how my play evolved from the initial writing process until the actual production of the show. The Department of Theatre allows students to experience the development of new work through the functions of the classroom. The goal is to simulate how a process would occur in the professional world. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the journey of creation within Rise. Rise tells the story of the community of St. Marie, Louisiana during Mardi Gras, 1972. The play highlights the city’s triumphs and downfalls, and it is set …

A Focus On The Us Narrative: Does The New York Times Portrayal Of Women Living With Hiv And Aids In Southern Africa Perpetuate Hiv/Aids Stigma?, Boitshepo Monte Balozwi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the study was to determine the dominant and recurring frames influencing the narrative and media portrayal of women living with HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa, a region characterized by a low socio-economic status and the highest HIV and AIDS infection rates globally. The study analyzed 238 stories published in The New York Times from 1985 to 2017. Findings of the study show that news reports frequently associate sex workers and pregnant women to coverage on HIV and AIDS therefore stigmatizing them as vectors of the disease. The newspaper stories provided adequate socioeconomic context resulting in African …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Shared Lived Experience Of Married Male Doctoral Students In Counselor Education And Their Non-Student Spouses, Anthony Suarez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research involving married doctoral students has suggested that they face a unique set of circumstances that include benefits, challenges, and changes. Additional research has highlighted the culture within Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) programs. While there are some studies that explore the experiences of married graduate students in counseling-related fields, very little literature exists that explores married students in CES programs. No such studies focus on the experiences of married male students in CES.

The purpose of this study was to explore the shared lived experiences of married male doctoral students in Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) programs and their …

A Laboratory-Based Experimental Test Of Reasons For Living: Effects On Behavioral Approach Toward A Suicide-Related Stimulus, Sasha Micaella Rojas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are few laboratory-based experiments that examine the effects of suicide-related risk or protective factors on suicide-related outcomes. Consistent with extant evidence-based theoretical models and treatments for suicidal behavior, it appears that increasing awareness of reasons for living may reduce risk for suicidal behavior. Thus, the current study represents an initial effort to experimentally examine the impact of bringing awareness to one’s most important reason for living on behavioral approach towards a suicide-related stimulus. Random assignment was used to assign an unselected undergraduate sample of 78 participants to complete either a script-driven imagery procedure specific to the most important reason …