Digital Commons Network^™

Gender, Relationship Type, And Perceptions Of Interpersonal Violence, Eric Allen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence continues to be a controversial issue for the legal and criminal justice system. Difference in how people interpret violence in the domestic context can have substantial consequences for victim and bystander reporting and responses. Yet few studies have explored the possible influence of gender-based normative expectations for understanding instances of violence between men and women. How do perceptions of violence vary between relationship type and sex of the perpetrator? I test whether reports of criminality, recommendations to contact police, and perceived level of injury vary across relationship intimacy (i.e., acquaintance, dating, spouses) and perpetrator sex. I analyzed …

Violations Of Protection Orders: Characteristics Of Offenders And Criminal Justice Responses, Kelly Eileen Henderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Criminal justice research often finds gender-based differences with regard to both perpetration and responses to offending. These data indicate that, overall, women's crime rates are far below those of their male counterparts and that women commit less serious offenses. That is there are distinct patterns of offending across sex. In addition, justice responses tend to favor women, in that female offenders fare better than men particular in areas of arrest, prosecution, and sentencing. While previous research explores patterns of crime between male and female offenders, focusing primarily on drug or violent crimes such as homicide, there has been very little …

The Design And Implementation Of A Multi-Chip Power Module Layout Synthesis Tool, Brett W. Shook

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the design and implementation of a software tool, referred to as PowerSynth, which is used to synthesize multi-chip power module (MCPM) layouts and also aids in the overall design process. MCPMs allow power electronics systems to achieve higher efficiencies and reduced size, weight, and cost through the compact integration of devices into a single package. MCPM design is highly multidisciplinary which involves electrical, thermal, and mechanical performance considerations. Conventionally, the design process may require several iterations and multiple software modeling tools to create high performance MCPMs. The layout of an MCPM consists of a pattern of metal …

Understanding The Influence Of Interfacial Chemistry In Core, Core/Shell And Core/Shell/Shell Quantum Dots On Their Fluorescence Properties, Omondi Bernard Omogo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) have received a great deal of attention due to their superior size tunable properties and promising applications in many areas. Some of the most practical areas of their applications include light emitting diodes (LED), photovoltaic and biological studies. Synthetic methods of these crystals is becoming more established with new strategies being reported every now and then. However, quantitative studies connecting the processes at the interface, namely core-ligand, core-shell and shell-shells, to the overall quantum dots fluorescence properties are not well understood. Specifically for cores, relating surface-atoms interactions, solvents, ligands nature, density and functional groups on …

Empowering Positive Youth Development In Saudi Arabia: Youth Civic Engagement, Agenda Setting And Policy Formulation, Abdullah M. Alshanbri

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate what issues youth are facing in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to examine how these issues can be brought to the forefront for decision-makers' agendas. Additionally, the study determines whether the concept of youth civic engagement "youth councils" could help to address youth issues and identify the constraints to implementing such a policy proposal. This study utilizes Kingdon's Agenda Setting Theory as a theoretical framework. Additionally, this study used a qualitative methods approach. High school students and public officials from the government were participants in the study. The literature review …

The Interethnic Communication Apprehension Of Students Of Color At The University Of Arkansas, Angela Courage-Mellott

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interethnic Communication Apprehension of students of color with white faculty members was studied at the University of Arkansas, a predominantly white university with predominantly white faculty. Interethnic Communication Apprehension is defined as a psychological response of fear or anxiety which causes avoidance of interaction with people from ethnic groups that are different from one's own (Neuliep & McCroskey, 1997). This study was conducted using the PRECA (Personal Report of Interethnic Communication Apprehension) measure created and validated by Neuliep and McCroskey (1997). Students of color who frequent the Center of Multicultural and Diversity Education were polled using the PRECA. Students of …

Power To The People? An Evaluation Of State-Level Environmental Justice Policies, Angela Michelle Hines

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Communities of color in America lacking economical, educational, and political power have been largely invisible in the process of making major policy decisions. This is lack of access to decision-making venues has been viewed by many as the reason behind marginalized populations bearing the brunt of many societal burdens. The Environmental Justice Movement legitimized the claims of inadequate access to the decision-making process concerning environmental conditions in which African-Americans lived and worked. Through the use of disruptive actions reminiscent of those used throughout the Civil Rights Movement, the plight of communities plagued by the daily presence of hazardous waste gained …

The Effects Of Maternal Information Transmission On Daughters' Responding To A Voluntary Hyperventilation Challenge, Ashley Arehart Knapp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Contemporary models of panic etiology would benefit from additional tests of how fear of internal cues is acquired. Drawing from literature suggesting parent-to-child verbal information transmission is one pathway by which fear of external stimuli is learned, the current study is designed to address the effects of this pathway on fearful responding to internal cues (i.e., somatic perturbation produced by a voluntary hyperventilation challenge). Specifically, 53 mothers of adolescent females between the ages of 10 and 14 years were randomly assigned to either share negative or positive information regarding their experience with a voluntary hyperventilation challenge prior to their daughters …

Career Self-Management And Career Capital Of Mid-Level Administrators In Higher Education Who Previously Served As Professional Academic Advisors, Elecia Cole Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the prerequisites for career advancement helps to keep employees motivated and engaged. However, in the higher education (H.E.) workplace, where formalized career ladders are sparse and ambiguous for staff personnel - especially those in professional academic advising - employees who are interested in career advancement into mid-level administration (MLA) are often left to maneuver the professional, political, and social landscape unescorted. Some manage to find their way just fine, while others become frustrated or stagnant or decide to leave academia entirely. For those who create their own path and find their way to mid-level administration, what is their secret? …

Lobbying On Behalf Of The Faithful: Three Mainline Protestant Denominations And Their Advocacy Efforts On Capitol Hill During The 110th Congress, Julia Ann Summers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A number of mainline Protestant denominations engage in direct lobbying and grassroots advocacy efforts with Congress on behalf of the poor and other marginalized groups. This study explores the work of three specific denominations the Presbyterian Church [PC(USA)], the United Church of Christ (UCC), and the United Methodist Church (UMC), as religious special interests. Specifically, the study explores how they facilitated their policy agendas on Capitol Hill during the 110th Congress (2007-2008). This question is answered primarily through interviews with and surveys of the professional staff engaged in this work during that session. Results indicate that each denomination works extensively …

Analysis Of Environmental Influences On Dressed Stone Decay: A Case Study Of Tafoni Development On A Hewn Djinn Block In Petra, Jordan, Kaelin M. Groom

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Petra, Jordan captivates tourists and researchers with its dramatic sandstone cliffs, Nabatean, Roman, Byzantine and Roman architecture, and rich cultural heritage. However, increasing tourism in the valley is exacerbating stone degradation and complicating heritage management. This research analyzed environmental influences on dressed stone decay via tafoni development and evaluating cell evolution on an isolated hewn feature, known as Djinn Block X. Resembling other sandstone blocks found in the area, this irregular sandstone monument exhibits faces ranging in size from 2.5m by 3.5m to 3.9m to 4.2m (29m perimeter). Protruding features, incisions along the top, and a large platform attached to …

Effect Of An After-School Garden Club Program On Elementary Students, Maggie Caroline Mcgriff

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if three elementary school garden club programs influenced students' attitudes and behaviors regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis took place, in the form of pretest and posttest questionnaires as well as participant interviews. Overall, non-significant results were found in the quantitative portion of the study, which led the researcher to determine that the garden club program had no significant effect on the participants regarding perceptions of fruit and vegetable consumption. The overall non-significant differences found before and after the garden club intervention programs could lead …

Mobile Banking Security Using Gps And Ldpc Codes, Matthew Francis Moccaro

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mobile Banking is becoming a major part of our world's financial system. Being able to manage one's finances on a mobile device can provide services that can make users more productive. It can also serve as a means of financial freedom to those who are unable to access physical banking facilities due to distance, or other problems. However, with such freedom also comes the need for security. A person's financial information is one of the most targeted groups of information by attackers. To secure these mobile freedoms, this paper presents a system to secure mobile banking procedures using global positioning …

Rape Myths And Consent In College-Aged Southern Students, Amy Leanne Cofer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rape and sexual assault are problematic issues for women on college campuses. Internal and external consent play a role in understanding sexual assault because sexual assault is defined as "nonconsensual sexual activity obtained through force, threats, intoxication, or intimidation." Factors related to understanding consent may include attitudes regarding sexual assault and rape, known as rape myths, which are defined as attitudes and false statements concerning rape that are widely known and accepted, mainly served to justify male sexual aggression towards women. The southeastern United States is known for being religiously and politically conservative, where gender roles are intertwined with a …

Value Of Coaching In Building Leadership Capacity Of Principals In Urban Schools: A Case Study, Anita Renee Farver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how coaching support structures enabled and sustained leadership practices of urban principals. The study investigated how the intervention of coaching for academic leaders can serve as evidence based professional development for building leadership capacity. The central focus was on principals' perceptions of coaching engagements over time to identify recurring themes and essential elements of the coach-to-client relationship. With a goal of meeting 21st century school accountability requirements of standards and assessments, the urban district in this study implemented coaching for academic leaders who were selected to participate in the coaching …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Nanocrystals And Their Application For Photodetectors, Ahmad Nusir

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Room temperature operation is considered one of the essential restrictions in the design of electronic devices. Photodetectors are unable to detect light efficiently at room temperature due to high dark currents. Semiconductor nanocrystals possess unique optical and electrical properties which make them ideal for fabricating uncooled photodetectors. In this project, nanocrystals were synthesized and implemented in devices that detect light at room temperature.

Nanocrystalline I-III-VI2 and II-VI semiconductors (CuInS2 and CdSe) were grown by a wet chemical method, and characterized using: optical absorption, photoluminescence, Raman scattering, and x-ray diffraction. The optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra of the nanocrystals were recorded …

Hope, Faith And Trust: Conversations With Tibetans In Exile, William Lukas Gramlich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of Hope, Faith and Trust: Conversations with Tibetans in Exile was to create a documentary to serve as a platform for Tibetan refugees living in India to tell, in their own words, the story of the Tibetan peoples' political struggles since the Chinese government occupied Tibet in the 1950s. To achieve this goal, this project utilized oral-history interviews with Tibetan exiles, gathered as part of the University of Arkansas TEXT Program. The TEXT Program, short for Tibetans in Exile Today, is a study abroad oral-history project in which undergraduate students conduct interviews with Tibetans living in India. The …

Broadband Nanostructured Antireflection Coating For Enhancing Inas/Gaas Quantum Dots Solar Cells Performance, Jony C. Sarker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The broadband suppression in reflection is one of the primary focuses in high efficiency solar cell research. In this thesis, a moth-eye inspired nanostructure antireflection coating is fabricated on InAs/GaAs quantum dots solar cell in order to enhance the power conversion efficiency. The abrupt refractive index transition between air and GaAs surface is replaced by a tapering zinc oxide nanoneedle on planar tantalum pentoxide coating. The antireflection structure provides gradual reduction of refractive index away from the solar cell top surface.

The nanostructured antireflection coating is fabricated by utilizing chemical bath deposition of tapered zinc oxide nanoneedles on planar tantalum …

The Mediating Effect Of Team Identification On The Relationship Between Social Media Consumption And Intentions, Jaeahm Park

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to (a) identify the motivational factor for subscribing to collegiate athletics' social media (b) analyze the effect of subscribing to collegiate athletics' online social media on team identification (c) analyze the effect of subscribing to collegiate athletics' online social media on behavior intentions mediated by team identification. The study also examined the difference across demographic information which can be used for fan segmentation. By analyzing a total of 146 undergraduate students from University of Arkansas Recreation and Sport Management classes, this dissertation found the following.

This study verified seven motives for subscribing to school …

You Can't Get There From Here: Movement Sf And The Picaresque, Robert Glen Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the crisis of authenticity in postmodern culture and argues that contemporary science fiction, specifically the subgenre of Movement SF, has evolved a unique answer to this crisis by adopting, perhaps spontaneously, the picaresque narrative structure. Postmodern fiction has a tenuous relationship with the issue of authenticity, such that the average postmodern subject is utterly without true authenticity at all, alternately victim to the socioeconomic conditions of his or her culture and to the elision of the self as a result of the homogenizing effects of advertising, television, etc. Postmodern SF also carries this bleak perception of the …

Coaching Style Preferences Of Division I College And Professional Softball Players, Megan Diane Langenfeld

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the coaching style and leader behavior preferences of softball players. The Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS; Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980) was administered to Division I college softball players and professional softball players from the National Professional Fastpitch league (NPF). Sixty-four softball players completed the Leadership Scale for Sport questionnaire (preference version), 52 Division I college softball players and 12 professional softball players from the NPF. Descriptive statistics revealed that softball players prefer Training and Instruction, Democratic Behavior, and Positive Feedback; players did not prefer Autocratic Behavior or Social Support. Follow-up univariate ANOVAs …

Small Mammal Community Associations And Habitat Use At Pea Ridge National Military Park, Benton County, Arkansas, Christopher Reddin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Juniperus virginiana L. (Eastern Red Cedar) is a fire-intolerant tree species that has been invading and altering grassland ecosystems throughout the American Great Plains and Midwest. To see how Eastern Red Cedar encroachment affects small mammal communities, we surveyed small mammals using mark-recapture methods in Eastern Red Cedar forest and 5 other habitats common to the Ozark region. Additionally, we compared the microhabitat use of presumed juniper obligate Peromyscus attwateri J.A. Allen (Texas Mouse) and its conspecific P. leucopus Rafinesque (White-Footed Mouse). We ran over 7000 trap-nights and found that the small mammal species composition in Eastern Red Cedar was …

Long-Term Effects Of Broiler Litter Application Rate On Runoff, Leaching, And Soil Respiration From A Captina Silt Loam, Richard Mcmullen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Producers in regions with intense broiler (Gallus gallus) production take advantage of the plant nutrients contained in broiler litter (BL) to enhance yields of forage grasses. However, application of BL to pasture lands in karst regions, like the Ozark Highlands, can potentially reduce water quality if BL-derived contaminants enter surface or groundwater via runoff or drainage. Additionally, BL applications stimulate carbon dioxide (CO2) release from the soil to the atmosphere and may contribute to global warming. The objectives of this study were to determine long-term trends in runoff and soil leachate water quality and to evaluate soil respiration …

An Innovative Approach Towards Applying Chaum Mixing To Sms, Matthew Patrick Rothmeyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Currently there are few user-friendly applications for anonymous communication across multiple platforms, leaving data that is often both personal and private vulnerable to malicious activity. Mobile devices such as smartphones are prime candidates for such an application as they are pervasive and have standardized communication protocols. Through the application of mixing techniques, these devices can provide anonymity for groups of individuals numbering 30 to 40 members. In this work, a Chaum mix inspired, smartphone based network that uses the Short Message Service (SMS) is described first in theory and then in implementation. This system leverages both techniques used by current …

High Temperature Ltcc Based Sic Double-Sided Cooling Power Electronic Module, Hao Zhang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This objective of this dissertation research is to investigate a module packaging technology for high temperature double-sided cooling power electronic module application. A high-temperature wire-bondless low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) based double-sided cooling power electronic module was designed, simulated and fabricated. In this module, the conventional copper base plate is removed to reduce the thermal resistance between the device junctions to the heat sink and to improve the reliability of the module by eliminating the large area solder joint between the power substrate and the copper base plate. A low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrate with cavities and vias is used as …

The Perceived Impact Of The National Board Certification Process On Arkansas Teachers, Darlynn Cast

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study assessed the perceived impact of the National Board Certification program on Arkansas teachers, relative to their professional practice, leadership practice, and students' achievement. An electronic survey was sent out to 2144 Arkansas National Board Certified Teacher (AR NBCTs) and received a 53% response rate. The survey asked AR NBCTs demographic information and questions to determine the factors that influenced them to pursue NB certification. They responded to Likert scale questions about their professional practice, leadership practice, and student achievement, ranking how they perceived each was affected by their participation in National Board Certification. The study found that AR …

Knitting As A Therapeutic Group Technique With 4th Grade Elementary School Students, Cassandra Marie Dominick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of the current study was to explore the use of knitting as an expressive arts technique. Knitting groups were conducted with 4th grade elementary school students. Each group met for 8 sessions on a weekly basis. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or control group. The experimental group received knitting instructions in the group format first. Prior to beginning the group, all participants, their teachers, and their parents completed the Social Skills Improvement System assessment (Gresham & Elliot, 2008). This measure was repeated following the end of the experimental group and again approximately 8 …

Effect Of Prescribed Burning In The Forests Of Buffalo National River, Arkansas, Francis Ndar Onduso

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prescribed burning (also referred to as controlled or hazard reduction burning) refers to the use of fire under controlled conditions to achieve a desired end product or goal. However, the nature and magnitude of the changes that result from prescribed burning are still incompletely known, and this is especially true for the forests of the Ozarks of northern Arkansas. The overall objective of the research project described herein was to obtain the data necessary to develop a better understanding of these changes, particularly as they relate to the use of prescribed burning as a management technique in the Buffalo National …

From Temporary Incentive To Perpetual Entitlement: Historical Perspective On The Evolving Nature Of Copyright In America, Evan Boyd Billingsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The original purpose of copyright legislation was to grant a temporary economic monopoly to an author of a creative work. This monopoly is meant to incentivize authors to contribute to the public good with works that promote progress in science and art. However, increases in the scope and duration of copyright terms grant overly broad protections and controls for copyright owners, while advances in technology have provided the public with the potential for near-limitless access to information. This creates a conflict between proprietary interest in creative works versus the public's right and ability to access same. Efforts to balance these …

The Birth Of A Playwright Through The Evolution Of The One-Act Play Stripped, Bear; The Film Stripped, Bear; And The Full-Length Play American Bear, Larry Michael Mitchell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Birth of a Playwright through the Evolution of the One-act Play Stripped, Bear; the film Stripped, Bear; and the Full-Length Play American Bear follows the inception, birth, and evolution of a ten-minute, one-act, film, and full-length play: three major iterations of the same source material. Through this exploration, the reader will not only see how the work was changed through outside forces such as form and function but internal struggles within a young playwright as he struggles to find a final form for his first major work while attempting to establish himself as a playwright both within the field …