Digital Commons Network^™

Predicting The Likelihood And Scale Of Wildfires In California Using Meteorological And Vegetation Data, Matthew Walters

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wildfires have devastating ecological, environmental, economical, and public health impacts through the deterioration of water and air quality, CO2 emissions, property damage, and lung illnesses. The early detection and prevention of wildfires allow for the minimization of these risks. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in wildfire detection and prediction has been highly researched as a tool to assist firefighters in stopping wildfires in its early stages. The three common wildfire prediction categories include image and video detection, behavior prediction, and susceptibility prediction. Data such as climate, weather, vegetation, satellite images, and historical wildfire data is most commonly used. Many …

“Young Adult Books Don’T Realize They Have That Power”: Reader Response To Ideology In Young Adult Dystopian Fiction, Zane Emīlija Sarma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to find out how readers interact with novels in the Young Adult dystopian genre. I will examine the ways in which readers resist the dominant patriarchal ideological discourses in the YA dystopian novel and how readers submit to this ideology. Through an interaction with the text, the reader produces oppositional, negotiated, or preferred meanings. I will argue that readers’ response to ideology in the YA dystopian novel is affected by their active participation in reader communities such as the Bookish community online.

YA dystopian fiction was highly popular in the early 2010s, but the …

Upward Cross-Class Interactions At Work: An Investigation Of Emotional And Behavioral Outcomes, Emily Sue Corwin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cross-class interactions—when an individual from a lower (higher) social class background interacts with an individual from a higher (lower) social class background (Truong et al., 2021)—are ubiquitous in the workplace and serve as a vehicle for the reproduction of inequality (Gray & Kish-Gephart, 2013). Substantial research has demonstrated that social class background matters, as individuals from working-class backgrounds face challenges in the job search process and may be less likely to be hired (DeOrtentiis et al., 2021; Fang & Saks, 2020), earn less money (Fang & Tilcsik, 2022), and are less likely to emerge as leaders compared to those from …

Six Feet Apart: Relational Turbulence Theory And Coping With Covid-19 Within Long-Distance Relationships, Mia Waymack

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Among research that currently exists, no studies thus far combine elements of COVID-19, long-distance relationships, and Relational Turbulence Theory to explain how each of these elements impacts the others, if at all. Previous research does exist on each of these elements individually, although research regarding the long-term effects of COVID-19 on relationships is minimal considering the pandemic is ongoing. Long-distance relationships have been studied using Relational Turbulence Theory in previous studies within military relationships but have not been studied in connection with either COVID-19 or among college students. This study was conducted by way of qualitative, one-on-one interviews to determine …

Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences Professional Development Opportunities And Their Impact On Perceptions Of Career Preparedness, Jessica L. Wesson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A student’s undergraduate education is an imperative part of developing career skills that will prepare them to transition from academia to the professional world. Experience outside of the classroom and course material taught in a formal class experience are both important. Their experiences and classes, in college, allow them to develop skills and increase their chances of being successful in the workplace (Suvedi et al., 2016).

Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Student Development were used to help explain the process of student development. A quantitative survey was sent to DBCALFS faculty, staff, and administrators, and a different quantitative survey was sent …

Multi-Trophic Biodiversity Increases With Increasing Structural Complexity Of Forest Canopy, Ayanna St. Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the effects of forest canopy structural complexity on multi-trophic diversity is critical for conserving biodiversity and managing land sustainably. But multi-trophic diversity is often ignored when making decisions about land management due to lack of cost- and time-effective methods to evaluate it. Here, we explored a new method based on widely available remote sensing data to quantify canopy structural complexity and its relationships with multi-trophic biodiversity at landscape scale using 32 forested sites of the National Ecological Observatory Network. We investigated the influence of vertical and horizontal structural complexity of forest canopy on multi-trophic (primary producers, herbivores (beetles), omnivores …

Framework Of Hardware Trojan Detection Leveraging Structural Checking Tool, Rafael Dacanay Del Carmen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since there is a significant demand for obtaining third-party soft Intellectual Property (IP) by first-party integrated circuit (IC) vendors, it is becoming easier for adversaries to insert malicious logic known as hardware Trojans into designs. Due to this, vendors need to find ways to screen the third-party IPs for possible security threats and then mitigate them. The development of the Structural Checking (SC) tool provides a solution to this issue. This tool analyzes the structure of an unknown soft IP design and creates a network of all the signals within the design and how they are connected to each other. …

Making Connections: Understanding How Social Interaction Patterns Influence Work-Related Outcomes For Individuals With Disabilities, Christine Marie Manno

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, approximately eight million individuals with disabilities are active in the workforce (Erickson et al., 2008). These individuals seek employment that allows for full use of their education, experience, and abilities, and provides growth and development opportunities (Ali et al., 2011). Despite protective legislation and inclusive organizational policies, individuals with disabilities are at least twice as likely as individuals without disabilities to experience underemployment and reduced access to advancement opportunities (Schur et al., 2009). Evidence suggests that some of these issues may be related to social interaction patterns. It appears that individuals with disabilities have a strong …

Economic Disadvantage, Nativity, And Academic Performance And School Punishment Among Latino/A Children, Yolanda Chavez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cultural explanations of how familial resource inequality negatively impacts the academic well-being of a Latino/a child saturate the literature. This study examines the relationship between economic disadvantage and academic performance and school punishment through Family Stress Process Theory, providing a contextual analysis of resource instability. The additional myriad of legal and social constraints that parental nativity provides for family members can moderate this relationship. Data was drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal measure of U.S. couples and their children in 20 large U.S. cities. Regression models indicate the relationship between economic disadvantage and academic performance …

Voluntary Contacts With Police: Do Differences In Perceptions Of Police Still Exist?, Regan Harper

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Publicized police misconduct and brutality over the past decade have contributed to increased tensions between the police and community. Exposure to these encounters can result in negative perceptions of police and have serious policy implications for funding of police departments. Although prior research has focused on previous contacts with police, little is known about how voluntary contacts with police can shape an individual’s perceptions. Given the recent death of George Floyd and movement to “defund the police,” the current study aims to determine whether there are demographic differences in perceptions of police among those who have experienced prior voluntary contacts …

Social Work Allyship: Exploring White And Bipoc Perspectives At Predominately White Institutions Within The Southeastern Conference, Aubrey Franke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the experiences of allyship through the perspectives of White and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) social work students at primarily White universities within the Southeastern Conference. The study includes 10 semi-structured interviews with Bachelor and Master’s level social work students. The findings from this study present necessary characteristics and qualities for effective social work allyship. Interestingly, BIPOC students emphasize the importance of informed action, while White students share relational qualities such as empathy and willingness to learn. The findings also show that some BIPOC students experience performative allyship from White social work students. BIPOC participants …

Latinx On The Rise Mentoring Program’S Impact On Graduating Student’S Professional Integration Past Undergraduate Studies, Lucero Martinez-Salas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mentoring programs are implemented to create a space for skill and information transmission between a mentor and mentee. Mentoring programs are typically implemented in an academic setting with professors or peers acting as a mentor and students as mentees. Based on the under-representation of Latinx students in higher education and further career paths, mentoring with this population could be positively impactful to their student experience. This thesis focuses on the Latinx on the Rise mentoring program and the experience of the mentees with a focus on the Latinx student experience. Implications for implementation of such programs and their impact will …

Analysis And Optimization Of The Two-Phase Series Capacitor Buck Dc-Dc Converter, Salahaldein Ali Aboajila Ahmed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current sharing schemes for conventional multi-phase converters are based on sensing each phase current to deliver the current information to their controllers. In conventional buck converters, this fact may require a preset current sharing ratio at the expense of efficiency, which eventually requires a larger sensing circuit to achieve the sensing accuracy of each phase. Introducing the concept of automatic current sharing is one of the solutions to tackle this issue. Automatic current sharing (Current Sharing Mechanism CSM) is an advanced way to distribute heat generation in multi-phase switching topologies at full load. A two-phase series capacitor buck converter (2-pscB) …

Algorithms Vs. Human Nature: A Tale Of Selective Exposure, Dené E. M. Wamsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The public’s turn towards news websites and social media for news consumption has sparked anxiety over echo chambers, avoidance of opinion-challenging content, and potentially fragmentation and polarization among sociopolitical groups. Algorithms have specifically been blamed for increasing the ease of filtering out counter-attitudinal online content and potentially exacerbating selective exposure tendencies. However, longstanding classic psychological research has demonstrated the ubiquitous phenomenon of cognitive dissonance and selective exposure far before the internet became the primary tool for news consumption. Research investigating how algorithms directly influence online approach and avoidance behavior is unfortunately scarce. This dissertation work aimed to analyze the impact …

Effect Of Intervention Of Low-Tech Aac Access Through Triadic Gaze On Communication From School-Aged Children With Multiple Disabilities, Bailey Norton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of instruction in teaching triadic gaze to communicate by accessing low-tech AAC. The low-tech AAC was an Eye-Com board with two target words laterally fixed to the board via Velco backing. Three school-aged participants completed the study, each with multiple disabilities, severe motor restrictions, and limited speech. This study utilized a multiple baseline across participants design. Laminated color photos depicting individualized, motivating vocabulary for each participant were used as probe materials. All three participants demonstrated increased performance in accurately utilizing triadic gaze for selecting from a field of two from baseline to intervention …

Colloidal Monolayers For Concentration Light In Ultra-Thin Semiconductor Layers, Rachel Cherry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Thin film semiconductors are used as photoconductive absorber layers for the development of broadband terahertz generation. Using a femtosecond laser pulse, the generation of a transient increase in the conductivity occurs by photoexciting conduction band electrons in the semiconductor. These thermalize through the emission of terahertz radiation. The route to terahertz generation is not particularly efficient as significant losses come from the absorption in the substrate that is beneath the photoconductive antenna layer. This work explores the application of hexagonally close-packed monolayers of chemically synthesized nanospheres as a potential light concentration method for ultra-thin films of GaAs and black phosphorus …

Macronutrient Availability Shapes Host Response To Infection And Feeding Behavior, Weston Gerald Perrine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macronutrients in the diet are vital to the physiological processes necessary for an organism to effectively clear a pathogen. Diet can be important to a host’s susceptibility to infection and severity of pathology, though results can vary across host-pathogen systems (Sen et al. 2016). Manipulating the ratio of specific macronutrients in the diet is an effective method to begin understanding how individual macronutrients, rather than food types, have on immune responses. Using an avian host-pathogen system, I explored the effects of dietary macronutrient composition, specifically lipid and protein content, on disease pathology and behavior of canaries (Serinus canaria) infected with …

Aberrant Responding With Underlying Dominance And Unfolding Response Processes: Examining Model Fit And Performance Of Person-Fit Statistics, Jennifer A. Reimers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have recognized that respondents may not answer items in a way that accurately reflects their attitude or trait level being measured. The resulting response data that deviates from what would be expected has been shown to have significant effects on the psychometric properties of a scale and analytical results. However, many studies that have investigated the detection of aberrant data and its effects have done so using dominance item response theory (IRT) models. It is unknown whether the impacts of aberrant data and the methodology used to identify aberrant responding when using dominance IRT models apply similarly when scales …

Public Libraries In Rural Arkansas: An Oasis In An Information Desert, Britt Graves

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public libraries in Arkansas are welcome, but those found in rural Arkansas are almost a necessity. The public uses the library for more than just checking out books or their email: it’s become a community gathering place for all walks of life, regardless of age or economic status. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the state, libraries also became essential for education, medicine, news, and employment, nearly overloading their resources and shining a spotlight on technology, or the lack thereof, that so many public libraries are needing. With the Arkansas governor planning an upgrade on broadband technology and the federal government …

The Impact Of Dietary Protein Supplementation As Part Of A Time Restricted Feeding Eating Pattern On Sleep, Mood, And Body Composition In Adults With Overweight Or Obesity, Rebecca L. Bowie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Obesity in the United States continues to increase, and effective, long-term weight loss strategies are limited. Time restricted feeding (TRF) is a dietary intervention that has potential to serve as an effective long-term weight loss strategy, however more data is needed to establish the effectiveness of a TRF eating pattern on obesity and its related health outcomes. To our knowledge, manipulation of macronutrient composition during TRF intervention and the effect of TRF on sleep and mood have not been studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of protein supplementation during TRF on mood, sleep, and …

Something Like A Phenomenon: High Achieving Women Of Color And Experiences Of Mental Health Resource Utilization, Andrea Hampton Hall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine, explore, and understand the lived experiences of high-achieving Black and Latina women who had utilized mental health services in the last 18 months. The impact of discrimination and stigma is present today and may manifest itself within communities of color when these individuals attempt to access mental health services. The counseling field and counselor education programs are ethically responsible for integrating social justice counseling into coursework and practice. This informs educators and counselors of barriers that may influence and impact best practices for providing mental health services to communities of color. A …

Teaching For Career Success: An Agricultural Industry Perspective Of Preparedness Needs For Diverse Workforce Development, Madelaine Giebler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examined agricultural graduate preparedness needs through the lens of agricultural industry professionals. In the rapidly changing industry environment, continual review of agricultural curriculum needs provides relevant curriculum recommendations for academic programs. This study came at a time when agricultural curriculum was in need of review. Methodology for this study involved a qualitative mixed methods approach employing survey and interview responses. A total of 121 industry professionals, identified through the University of Arkansas Bumpers College Career Development Center, were contacted with the survey link. A total of eighteen individuals completed the surveys, and of those eighteen survey respondents, eight …

A Mixed Methods Approach To Context Specific Curriculum Design For Very Small And Small Strawberry Growers In The Southeastern United States, Thomas A. Yeargin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Outbreaks of foodborne illness due to fresh produce are a continued threat to both the publichealth and the economy in the United States. Though there are many factors which influence the perpetuation of foodborne pathogens, the inability of the food industry to curtail this issue indicates systemic failure of interventions aimed at improving food safety practices. In this dissertation, we detail the efforts made over the past few decades to provide training to food producers and food handlers as well as recommendations that have been made for improvement based on these studies. By borrowing from more advanced fields of study …

Making Meaning Of The Shared Experience Of Participants In An Undergraduate Lgbtq+ Mentorship Program, Brendan Corbett Csaposs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the ways in which LGBTQ+ students at the University of Miami make meaning of their shared experiences in the LGBTQ+ Mentorship Program that the university offers, in order to explore ways in which higher education institutions might consider better supporting this key group of students. This study draws upon a variety of theories of sexual identity development, building on the work of Rosario et al. (2011) in looking at the ways that students make meaning of their sexual identity based on self-identification, association with the larger community, and engagement in a …

Analyzing Carroll’S Model Of School Learning, Degree Of Learning, In Adult Basic Education, John Kelly

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined Carroll’s Model of School Learning (MSL) on adult basic education (ABE). The study's central question was, “Does Carroll's MSL account for additional variance in TABE 11 or 12 scores beyond instructional time after controlling for age?” A non-experimental cross-sectional design was employed to explore the fiscal year 2019–2020 dataset (n=99) from Arkansas ABE centers to show how instructional time and MSL account for variation in adults’ post-test reading scores. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were run to predict the correlation between MSL and the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) Reading score. The results show that MSL is …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And The Implementation Of The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act In Higher Education: Discretionary Practices Of Disability Services Professionals, Crystal Denise Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly transformed the landscape of higher education. The urgent nature of procedural changes in academic and administrative higher education services did not exempt leadership, faculty, or staff from their legally mandated responsibility to provide equal access to the educational environment for students with disabilities as outlined within title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies used by disability services professionals to implement the ADAAAA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources and preferred formats of policy guidance were explored. The priorities of department, division, and institution-level …

Challenging Student Behaviors And Teacher Well-Being, Dannah Steele

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Classroom management is a necessary component of a teacher’s classroom in order for students to learn in a safe environment. When a teacher is unable to manage his or her classroom because of dangerous and disruptive behaviors, it can be physically dangerous and impede the learning of others. Teachers frequently exposed to challenging behaviors experience high levels of stress that transcends into their personal lives. The purpose of this study was to determine how administrators can better support teachers who experience high levels of stress incurred from working with students who exhibit challenging behaviors in the classroom. Data collected through …

On The Same Page: Student Government And The University Administrative Agenda Alignment, James Michael Diloreto-Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within institutions of higher education, shared governance is an essential component to a healthy functionality. Among the many stakeholders at these institutions, students are the largest in number and hold primacy. Participation in student governance establishes a sense of shared ownership over their communities while also providing a unique avenue for students to gain wisdom and develop critical skill sets. Senior administrators at these institutions have many inherent challenges due to an organization that is largely decentralized and autonomous (Duderstadt, 2007). Regarding agenda setting, the Garbage Can Model (Cohen et al., 1972) was utilized as a theoretical framework. The purpose …

Investigating The Impacts Of Participating In A Virtual Literacy Clinic: A Case Study Exploring Self-Efficacy In Pre-Service Teachers, Caitlin Mahoney Spears

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study describes how participation in a university literacy clinic impacts self-efficacy in pre-service teacher candidates. This study was conducted one and a half years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, creating the need for the clinic’s program, Literacy Camp, to be completed through fully virtual means. Thus, ways in which the pre-service teachers’ experience was impacted by the method of instructional delivery was also detailed. Despite the body of growing research related to virtual learning and efficacy outcomes, there was a gap in the literature related to pre-service teachers’ participation in a fully virtual university literacy clinic and its impacts …

Rural Students On College Enrollment: Perceptions Of Influence Surrounding College Choice, Lucas M. Simmons

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to describe the community, personal experiences, and life events of individuals from rural Arkansas communities in developing their decisions to attend college and how the community impacted their successful enrollment at the University of Arkansas. Specifically, the study set out to explore how rural communities were perceived to influence college enrollment decisions and choices in degree selection. Although situated at one case study institution, the University of Arkansas, the findings have importance for all rural students and communities, and ultimately public policy and institutional behaviors. Therefore, the purpose for conducting the study was …