Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication Year
File Type

Articles 331 - 360 of 5433

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Establishing A Robust Decision Framework To Support Transportation Planning Decisions And Accommodate Connected And Autonomous Transportation Alternatives, Bobby Cottam Dec 2024

Establishing A Robust Decision Framework To Support Transportation Planning Decisions And Accommodate Connected And Autonomous Transportation Alternatives, Bobby Cottam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation planning involves complex decisions to provide high-quality transportation systems involving multiple stakeholders with numerous competing interests, on top of that they are trying to improve the quality and reliability of those systems on shrinking budgets. This decision is further complicated by the advent of new transportation methods e.g., ride-hailing and the promise of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). While the actual short-term impact of these technologies is uncertain, they will most certainly have a significant impact within the 20-year planning horizon that transportation planners typically consider. These technologies are also blurring the lines between traditionally separate modes of transportation; …


Ohmic Contacts For Fabrication Of Sic Cmos Devices, Anthony Di Mauro Dec 2024

Ohmic Contacts For Fabrication Of Sic Cmos Devices, Anthony Di Mauro

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today’s world of electronics is dominated by semiconductor devices which utilize silicon as their substrate material. Though, silicon is not ideal for semiconductor devices in high-voltage or high-temperature applications. Additionally, the efficiency of silicon devices becomes drastically reduced in nonideal operating conditions. Therefore, finding alternatives to silicon?based devices has been a topic for decades now. A few great candidates to replace silicon devices for said applications include Silicon Carbide (SiC), Gallium Nitride (GaN), and Aluminum Arsenide (AlAs). SiC has grown its reputation as the best candidate, when compared to other potential alternatives, due to its wide bandgap, high operating frequency, …


Lilac Divinity: The Socio-Religious Transformation Of The Capetian Monarchy, Michael Earth Anderson Dec 2024

Lilac Divinity: The Socio-Religious Transformation Of The Capetian Monarchy, Michael Earth Anderson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study considers an alternative explanation for the ascendancy of the Capetian monarchy during the High Middle Ages. Through a broad consideration of notable kings across a large time period, I argue that the kings of France knowingly participated in a process of spiritual and cultural embellishment that traditional, comparative models have failed to properly assess. The paper begins with a short introduction and is followed by a consideration of how the Middle Ages have been framed historiographically. The next section offers a historiographical overview of feudalism to contextualize persistent issues in the field. The remaining sections consist largely of …


Investigating The Perceived Invisibility Of The Black Woman Leader In Fortune 500 Companies: Understanding Career Pathways Based On Insight And Intersectionality, Shana Jones Yarberry Dec 2024

Investigating The Perceived Invisibility Of The Black Woman Leader In Fortune 500 Companies: Understanding Career Pathways Based On Insight And Intersectionality, Shana Jones Yarberry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a gap in the literature when examining the intersectionality of race, gender, and class. There is additional distance when evaluating the impact each intersection has on the career development of Black Women (BW) in Fortune 500 companies. The purpose of this study was to use a qualitative approach to investigate how the intersectionality of race, gender, and class impact the career advancement of BW while also identifying perceived barriers, historical patterns of career movement, and organizational efforts to support the ascension of BW in senior leadership. The Systems Theory Framework of Career Development and Intersectionality Theory were examined …


A Volumetric Model Of Ree And Other Critical Element-Bearing Underclay Deposits In The Eckley Mine Area, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Harrison Spiller Dec 2024

A Volumetric Model Of Ree And Other Critical Element-Bearing Underclay Deposits In The Eckley Mine Area, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Harrison Spiller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Middle Anthracite Field in southern Luzerne County, Pennsylvania was investigated for potential quantities of critical minerals, including rare earth-bearing minerals (REE) present in underclay deposits associated with coal measures of an existing anthracite coal mine. This work is built on Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/ NETL) 2016 work on samples from the Eckley Mine near Hazelton, Pa. which discovered elevated contents of some critical minerals in core from a single wellbore. This thesis reports on new and additional information collected from that area through geological field work, detailed conventional core descriptions, stratigraphic cross sections, and spectral …


Emotional Intelligence And Self-Direction Orientation: An Examination Of Non-Academic Factors In Post-Pandemic Community College Students In Kansas And Missouri, Ashley Rader Dec 2024

Emotional Intelligence And Self-Direction Orientation: An Examination Of Non-Academic Factors In Post-Pandemic Community College Students In Kansas And Missouri, Ashley Rader

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Post-pandemic learners face academic and non-academic challenges due the educational disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus. ACT college admissions test scores dropped to a 30-year low in 2023, falling the most significantly and rapidly during and after the pandemic (ACT, 2023) and recovery from these childhood and adolescent learning deficits has not been seen to date (Betthäuser et al., 2023). Research on non-academic factors, not as widely studied as academic factors, is crucial to understand where these learners’ deficits further lie. Two of those factors – emotional intelligence and self-direction orientation – were the key concepts of interest in this …


Addressing Cybersecurity Data & Workforce Scarcity With Troy: Testbed For Resilient Operational Systems, Henry Oliver Schmidt Dec 2024

Addressing Cybersecurity Data & Workforce Scarcity With Troy: Testbed For Resilient Operational Systems, Henry Oliver Schmidt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning has seen an explosive rise in the past decade. Companies, organizations, and governments are racing to pursue the advancements and insight provided by machine learning powered tools. However, to get effective and meaningful insights from machine learning models a significant amount of detailed data is required to train them. This poses a problem in fields where data is not openly available, such as cybersecurity. Entities are often unwilling to give out network or system data to the public for machine learning and cybersecurity research since that data can contain sensitive or proprietary information. The risk simply outweighs the …


Neural Network Architecture Search Enabled Wide-Deep Learning (Nas-Wd) Integrated Hyperspectral Imaging Understanding For Woody Breast In Poultry Processing, Chaitanya Kumar Reddy Pallerla Dec 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


I'M Just Me: The Rhetorical Study Of Veterans’ Experiences Of Academic Labels In College Classrooms, Taylor Weeks Dec 2024

I'M Just Me: The Rhetorical Study Of Veterans’ Experiences Of Academic Labels In College Classrooms, Taylor Weeks

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project seeks to provide a glimpse into the impact of academic labels on student veterans via the student veterans' own voices. This project reflects on and builds from previous research projects that involve transition theories and pedagogical theories in the field of writing studies as well as veteran studies that involve student veterans. Through a locally situated multi-case study qualitative approach using questionnaires and interviews, I examine to what extent do academic labels have on student veterans from the student veterans’ own voices. Finally, I offer implications of this project for writing instructors, administrators, and future researchers involving student …


The Inclusion Of Soybean Co-Products In Ruminant Supplements On Health And Reproductive Efficiency, Kirsten Midkiff Dec 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


Locating Health Inequities: Understanding The Dynamic Role Of ‘Place’ In The Social Determinants Of Health And Healthcare Accessibility, Abbie Sudduth Page Dec 2024

Locating Health Inequities: Understanding The Dynamic Role Of ‘Place’ In The Social Determinants Of Health And Healthcare Accessibility, Abbie Sudduth Page

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Objective. The social determinants of health (SDH) are various non-medical factors that influence health behaviors and health outcomes, and they are measured in variety of different ways. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationship SDH items that may group to form a new domain and may be associated with outcomes of health care accessibility. This dissertation seeks to explain a novel understanding of social determinants of health and healthcare accessibility through the lens of the socioecological model and place-based SDH items.
Methodology. This retrospective study design utilized data from the baseline survey and year-22 wave of the …


School Personnel Perceptions Of Working In A Public School District Under State Authority, Dennis Ray Felton Jr. Dec 2024

School Personnel Perceptions Of Working In A Public School District Under State Authority, Dennis Ray Felton Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the perceptions of teachers and principals within a K-12 public school district in the state of Arkansas currently operating under state authority. The Bolman and Deal's Four Frame Model is used in this study as a guiding framework. The insights of this study not only contribute to the academic discourse on state intervention in education but also offer practical implications for policymakers and school stakeholders. The research seeks to answer two primary questions: 1) How do teachers and principals perceive the working conditions in a school district under state authority? 2) What are the teachers and …


Filipino American Cultural Beliefs And Perceptions Of Autism, Emily-Anne Sevilla Del Rosario Dec 2024

Filipino American Cultural Beliefs And Perceptions Of Autism, Emily-Anne Sevilla Del Rosario

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Not much is known about Filipino American beliefs of autism due to the novelty of the research area. Most research has been conducted in Asian American populations disregarding the uniqueness of each cultural subgroup. The purpose of the present study was to reach out to Filipino Americans and understand their perceptive of autism along with the potential barriers to seeking out help for concerns of autism traits through a mixed-method study. Results indicated the important roles that acculturation and religion play on the likelihood of seeking medical professional help. Qualitative interviews suggest three major themes that characterize Filipino American support …


Understanding Support For Former Foster Youth: Independent Living Coordinators Perspectives On Resiliency For Foster Youth In Higher Education, Aaron Abbott Dec 2024

Understanding Support For Former Foster Youth: Independent Living Coordinators Perspectives On Resiliency For Foster Youth In Higher Education, Aaron Abbott

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the resilience of former foster youth in higher education, focusing on the perspectives of Independent Living Coordinators (ILCs) in Arkansas. The study explores the support systems and challenges that foster youth encounter, assessing factors that contribute to or hinder their educational success. Using a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, it identifies key protective factors such as emotional support, stable mentorship, and institutional programs that promote resilience among foster youth. The findings suggest that tailored interventions and a strengths-based approach can significantly improve outcomes for this vulnerable student population. This research contributes to existing literature by offering insights …


Learning To Accelerate Globally Optimal Solutions: Applications In The Ac Optimal Power Flow Problem, Muhammet Fatih Cengil Dec 2024

Learning To Accelerate Globally Optimal Solutions: Applications In The Ac Optimal Power Flow Problem, Muhammet Fatih Cengil

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Alternating Current Optimal Power Flow (AC-OPF) problem is a fundamental optimization challenge critical to ensuring the economical and reliable operation of power grids. While fast heuristic methods provide upper-bound solutions, assessing their quality requires lower bounds obtained from relaxations of the AC-OPF problem. This dissertation focuses on finding globally optimal solutions to the AC-OPF problem by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of Quadratic Convex (QC) relaxations. Leveraging machine learning techniques, we aim to achieve tighter relaxations faster and improve computational performance, enabling practical scalability for real-time applications.

In Chapter 2, we propose a machine learning-based method to accelerate the …


The Footnotes: A Love Practice, Larissa Cheryl Ramey Aug 2024

The Footnotes: A Love Practice, Larissa Cheryl Ramey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

the footnotes: a love practice delves into the intersection of archival methods, fashion, black style and aesthetic, communal thinking, and transformative experiences to unveil a unique narrative of historical significance and contemporary relevance. Through an interdisciplinary approach, my research explores how Black culture, fashion, and style are deeply intertwined and influence our communities' cultural and social evolution, specifically examining the role of transportation and clothing, as systems or conduits for style diffusion and expression becoming their own unique modes of transporting. I investigate a wide array of archival resources, including vintage fashion magazines, photographs, books and both individual and communal …


Development Of An Innovative Rapidly Constructible Bridge, Swikar N. Pyakurel Aug 2024

Development Of An Innovative Rapidly Constructible Bridge, Swikar N. Pyakurel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rapidly deployable temporary bridges are critical for military operations in hostile environments. The research focuses on conceptualizing bridge solutions for MLC 40 loading and 30 feet span that can be operational within hours, require minimal personnel and equipment, and are compact for logistics. An extensive literature review covered historic deployable structures, retractable stadium roofs, structures in aerospace, permanent deployable bridges, current military bridges, innovative deck solutions, lightweight structural materials, and compliant mechanisms. The study then investigated bridge superstructures made of lightweight Aluminum 6061-T6 alloy utilizing tensegrity and prefabricated aluminum extruded decks to meet the criteria. Two concepts, expandable scissor truss …


Self-Reflections: A Journey Of Practice In Art Education, Lucienne R. Cape Aug 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


The Potential Of Trash: Re-Claiming Creative Authority, Jana Whatley Aug 2024

The Potential Of Trash: Re-Claiming Creative Authority, Jana Whatley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project-based thesis catalogs the planning, building, and engagement with community resource libraries that made second-hand art materials available to the community for free. The micro-libraries hold materials that individuals, organizations, and companies have donated. Materials include single-use plastics, off-cast materials from commercial production, and second-hand or leftover art materials. Four material libraries for creative reuse are in four art education institutions in the greater Northwest Arkansas region. The project sews seeds of mutually supportive systems within regional public art institutions and promotes the creative reuse of materials often tossed into local landfills. As a teaching artist, I have long …


Interactive Effects Between Bluetongue Virus Infection And Insecticide Exposures In Culicoides Sonorensis, Parker Mullins Aug 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


Identifying Waterway Traffic Flow Patterns Using Modified Clustering, Shihao Pang Aug 2024

Identifying Waterway Traffic Flow Patterns Using Modified Clustering, Shihao Pang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Efficient management of inland waterways is essential for the economic and operational efficiency of transportation networks. Characterization and prediction of waterway vessel traffic flow patterns by time of day are critical for optimizing planned disruptive events like maintenance activities. This study identifies and predicts inland waterway traffic flow patterns along the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) using a modified clustering approach. A five-year period of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, which tracks vessel movements in real-time, is used for model development and evaluation. The model first segments the river into approximately one-mile-long traffic message channels (TMCs) to estimate vessel counts and …


Letters To Whiteness: Reflections On A White Artist-Educator Identity Through Dialectical Materialism, Richard Peterson Aug 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


Reflecting On Being Good Enough: Tracing A Journey Of Identifications And Unraveling Denial Of The Queer Self, Lucero Aguirre Aug 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


Real-Time Barge Detection Using Traffic Cameras And Deep Learning On Inland Waterways, Geoffery Eyram Agorku Aug 2024

Real-Time Barge Detection Using Traffic Cameras And Deep Learning On Inland Waterways, Geoffery Eyram Agorku

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Inland waterways are critical for freight movement, but limited means exist for monitoring their performance and usage by freight-carrying vessels, e.g., barges. While methods to track vessels, e.g., tug and tow boats, are publicly available through Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), ways to track freight tonnages and commodity flows carried on barges along these critical marine highways are non-existent, especially in real-time settings. This paper develops a method to detect barge traffic on inland waterways using existing traffic cameras with opportune viewing angles. Deep learning models, specifically, You Only Look Once (YOLO), Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD), and EfficientDet are employed. …


Friendship Intimacy: A New Approach To Valuing Friendship, Benjamin Lugo Aug 2024

Friendship Intimacy: A New Approach To Valuing Friendship, Benjamin Lugo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a tradition in moral theory that holds that friendship is necessary for living well. That is, if our aim is to live a good life or a flourishing life, then that life will include building and maintaining friendships. Aristotle and Plato both share this view and express similar claims about the necessity of friendship for the pursuer of a good life. Contemporaries of both have spent time interpreting their claims and have long commented on the intrinsic value of friendship. I pick up on a strand of the debate by exploring the purported value of friendship. While considerable …


Motives For And Consequences Of Deception In Romantic Relationships, Breanna De Leeuw Aug 2024

Motives For And Consequences Of Deception In Romantic Relationships, Breanna De Leeuw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goals of this study are twofold. First, I examined the influence of sex, relational intimacy, and face concerns on deploying deceptive communication within romantic relationships. Second, I investigated the impact of deceptive communication on relational commitment and relationship satisfaction. Two hundred twenty-two college-aged students completed self-report measures assessing the variables of interest. Results demonstrated that men and women deceive their romantic relationship partners at similar rates; however, deception is differentially motivated across the sexes. In addition, results indicated that relational intimacy was negatively associated with the frequency of deceit, although relational intimacy was not significantly associated with specific motives …


What Is A Person? How Does One Become A Morally Good Person? The Intuitive View!, Tancredo Tivane Aug 2024

What Is A Person? How Does One Become A Morally Good Person? The Intuitive View!, Tancredo Tivane

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis centers around two philosophical problems: the concept of a person and the process by which one becomes a morally good person. Drawing on the works of philosophers such as Harry Frankfurt, Strawson, and A.J. Ayer, it begins with an inquiry into what it means to be a person. It argues that while humanhood, with its rational capacities, is a contingent rather than a necessary condition, it can serve as an accurate predictor of personhood. The thesis posits that personhood is an achievement rather than an inherent state, facilitated by interactions within a social framework that refine these rational …


Understanding The Livelihood Diversification Of Arkansas Women Involved In Agricultural Production, Oluwatoyin Elizabeth Abati Aug 2024

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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


The School Lunchroom As An Important Context In Children’S Social Development: The Link Between Lunchtime Peer Acceptance And Peer Victimization, Jake Callaway Steggerda Aug 2024

The School Lunchroom As An Important Context In Children’S Social Development: The Link Between Lunchtime Peer Acceptance And Peer Victimization, Jake Callaway Steggerda

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Steggerda et al. (2022a) found that children’s self-reported lunchtime peer acceptance was predictive of later experiences of peer victimization. These authors speculated that the link between lunchtime peer acceptance and peer victimization is mediated by children’s internalizing or externalizing problems. The current study adds to the field’s understanding of the link between children’s lunchtime peer acceptance and peer victimization by considering whether internalizing symptoms and externalizing problems are potential mediating variables. Participants were 659 children from 34 classrooms (M age 9.31 years, SD = 0.50; 50.7% female; 42.7% Hispanic/Latinx, 30.3% White, 10% Pacific Islander, 7.8% bi/multiracial, 2.2% American Indian, 2.2% …


Three Essays Examining Technology Adoption And The Role Of Physicians In Improving Efficiency, Quality And Reducing Risk In Healthcare Supply Chains, Rajib Dutta Aug 2024

Three Essays Examining Technology Adoption And The Role Of Physicians In Improving Efficiency, Quality And Reducing Risk In Healthcare Supply Chains, Rajib Dutta

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hospitals across the USA are operating under extreme financial stress and looking for opportunities to improve financial stability and maximize bottom-line savings. As supply chain function accounts for up to 40 percent of total hospital operating cost, hospital leaders are increasingly viewing the healthcare supply chain as a potential area for efficiency gain and cost reduction. The recipe for effective and efficient care delivery is to synchronize the flow of supplies with patient needs by integrating products, processes, and information while complying with government regulations. Therefore, proper management of inventory, role of government policies in shaping hospital strategies, adoption of …