Digital Commons Network^™

Spotted Wing Drosophila (Drosophila Suzukii) In Arkansas: Winter Morphs, Wild Hosts, And Fungal Control, Rosalee Knipp

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), or spotted wing drosophila (SWD), is an invasive fruit fly pest that was first found in the United States in 2008. Unlike native Drosophila, SWD females have a serrated ovipositor that allows them to attack ripening fruit. Since its introduction, it is unclear how and where they overwinter in Arkansas, what local hosts they utilize and what potential alternative tactics can be used to combat this pest. In states north of Arkansas, winter morphs (WM) of SWD are larger, darker pigmented, and can survive colder temperatures than SWD flies found in the summer. These WM were found …

Three Essays On Corruption And Collusion, Arlo Redwine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies corruption and collusion with data derived from a laboratory experiment and household data. In Chapter 1 I study experimental procurement auctions with bribery and a public reserve to test for the tacitly collusive equilibrium described by Compte et al. (2005). Three sellers compete for 40 periods to sell a single item to a computerized buyer who accepts bribes and determines ties in bids and bribes randomly. In the closing periods, only 13.5% of auctions display the collusive equilibrium, but 58.7% of selling prices are noncompetitive. In comparison with simulated predictions for auctions that are corrupt but competitive, …

Subsurface Analysis Of Mississippian Tripolitic Chert In Northwest Arkansas, Thomas Jason Liner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 70 years the Mississippian strata of Northwest Arkansas have been studied in great detail. The study area is located on the escarpment between the Boston Mountains Plateau and the Springfield Plateau where a surface occurrence of Mississippian age rock allows for access to outcrops in close proximity to gas wells that encounter subsurface Mississippian strata. Many outcrops found in Northwest Arkansas expose Lower Mississippian (Kinderhookian-Osagean) strata that represent a full third order transgressive/regressive sequence that is unconformity bounded. These Mississippian outcrops are commonly treated as surface analogs to the Mississippi Lime Play in North Central Oklahoma. This …

Fully Analog Laser Driver With Robust Active Feedback Control, John Petrilli

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this project was to go through a real life engineering development cycle, document and justify the design choices, and use background experience in electronic design and control systems to implement the best design possible. The laser driver implemented in this project is designed for the general use of a large variety of diodes in continuous wave mode, much like off the shelf laser drivers. The design goals included improving upon off the shelf laser drivers by decreasing steady state error, setting time, response time, and overshoot. Many different feedback control systems were evaluated, and a modified PID …

A Support Program For College Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Functioning Of Participants Versus Non-Participants And The Role Of Program-Sponsored Mentoring, Ayla Raven Mapes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly more students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are attending college. In response, many colleges are now offering these students the extra support of an Autism Support Program (ASP), many of which include a mentoring component. This study is one of only a handful of attempts to examine these programs empirically. Using a small sample of college students who identified as having ASD, I compared participants and non-participants of a university ASP. An online survey was used to assess demographic characteristics and pre-college academic performance, as well as students’ functioning across the following domains: social, adaptive, academic, emotional, and having …

An Integrated Well Log And 3d Seismic Interpretation Of Missourian Clinoforms, Osage County, Oklahoma, Abram Max Barker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Integrated analysis of well and geophysical data can provide detailed geologic interpretation of the subsurface in Osage County, Oklahoma. Systems tracts and depositional system successions can be interpreted at marginal seismic resolution using well log motif with seismic reflector character within a depositional context. Shelf-prism and subaqueous, delta-scale clinoforms of Missourian age observed in 3D seismic were interpreted with greater sequence stratigraphic detail when coupled with wireline well logs. The Late Pennsylvanian Midcontinent Sea was thought to be approximately 150 feet average depth across the southern Midcontinent during the Missourian Stage, and deepen towards the Arkoma and Anadarko Basins to …

Physiological Characterization Of The Soynam Parental Lines Under Field Conditions, Akshita Mishra

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The narrow genetic pool of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) in North America can limit its future yield gains. Among the worldwide germplasm collection of 45,000 unique landraces, only 80 contribute 99% to the collective parentage of North American soybean cultivars. Among these 80 landraces, just 17 contribute to 86% of the collective parentage of the modern cultivars. The Soybean Nested Association Mapping population (SoyNAM) was therefore developed with the objective of diversifying the soybean gene pool. Forty diverse soybean genotypes from maturity groups (MG) 1 through 5 were crossed with a common MG 3 parent to develop 40 recombinant …

Evaluation Of Genetic And Environmental Influences On Broiler Meat Quality, Sara Katherine Orlowski

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The effect of both genetic and environmental influences on broiler meat quality were evaluated over three experiments. Selection response was assessed for broiler lines selected for high (HBY4) and low (LBY4) four day percentage breast yield which were formed from a random bred control (RAN). A modern random bred population (MRB) created in 2015 was evaluated for differences in 4 day percentage breast yield and the resulting differences in the incidence and severity of the woody breast and white striping myopathies. Additionally, the use of embryonic thermal manipulation to impact cell division and early caloric feed restriction to slow growth …

Vegetation Characteristics And Bird Communities Associated With Singing Painted Buntings In Northwest Arkansas, Lauren Kristina Thead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It has been shown that bird communities are affected by the species composition and physical structure of plant communities. Within avian communities, the bird species that are the most localized in distribution tend to be the most affected by habitat changes. My research analyzed plant and bird communities found with the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris Linnaeus), a locally common but declining species throughout much of its range. First, I describe vegetation characteristics associated with singing male Painted Buntings in northwest Arkansas. I categorized field sites with singing male Painted Buntings as either managed for wildlife or unmanaged, based on land-use …

Working-Class Graduates’ Perceptions Of The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens Training And Its Impact On Their Life Choices And Future Success, Andrew Kenneth Ashley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine working-class graduates’ perceptions of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens training. This purpose was accomplished through a qualitative analysis of data. The data was collected from interviews of graduates and teachers. Following the coding process, graduate data was then reduced to the following categories: social awareness, relationship development, teamwork, communication skills, empathy, self-awareness, and self-confidence which created the themes of interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills. Four additional graduate themes were created from decision-making data: weighing pros and cons, prioritizing outcomes, thinking long-term, and real-life applications. Additional graduate data was provided …

Burning Community Integration And Disability, Christopher Shane Brace

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with anxiety and depression have always been marginalized and stigmatized. Individuals with “hidden” disabilities are encouraged by society to keep them hidden, or face ridicule and persecution. Society decreases their sense of self-worth, and self-efficacy by destroying any perception of normalcy. Social support resources are vital for individuals with anxiety and depression’s continued mental health. As time goes on the individuals experience a decrease in the amount of available resources, at the same time the need for them increases. These individuals need a way to quickly replenish their social resources and the Burning Man regional network creates a unique …

Investigation Of A Gan-Based Power Supply Topology Utilizing Solid State Transformer For Low Power Applications, Akrem Mohamed Elrajoubi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Gallium nitride (GaN) power devices exhibit a much lower gate capacitance for a similar on-resistance than its silicon counterparts, making it highly desirable for high-frequency operation in switching converters, which leads to their significant benefits on power density, cost, and system volume. High-density switching converters are being realized with GaN power devices due to their high switching speeds that reduce the size of energy-storage circuit components. The purpose of this dissertation research is to investigate a new isolated GaN AC/DC switching converter based on solid-state transformer configuration with a totem-pole power factor corrector (PFC) front-end, a half-bridge series-resonant converter (SRC) …

Delphi Study Identifying Future Technical Competencies For Architecture And Construction Educators, Jon Richard Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this modified Delphi study was to identify the dominant technical competencies needed to effectively teach architecture and construction at the secondary and post-secondary level and to determine if there are differences of opinion among educators, recent graduates and business and industry personnel as to what those competencies should be.

At the time of publication, the menu of technical workshops offered by the Kansas Center for Career and Technical Education (KCCTE) was determined by the workshop administrator and the director of the KCCTE. To ensure that these workshops provide instructors with the knowledge and skills that align with …

Fabrication And Characterization Of Electrochemical Glucose Sensors, Mohammed Marie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrochemical sensors based on the nanostructure of the semiconductor materials are of tremendous interest to be utilized for glucose monitoring. The sensors, based on the nanostructure of the semiconductor materials, are the third generations of the glucose sensors that are fast, sensitive, and cost-effect for glucose monitoring.

Glucose sensors based on pure zinc oxide nanorods (NRs) grown on different substrates, such ITO, FTO, and Si/SiO2/Au, were investigated in this research. Silicon nanowire (NW)- based glucose sensors were also studied. First, an enzyme-based glucose sensor was fabricated out of glass/ITO/ZnO NRs/BSA/GOx/nafion membrane. The sensor was tested amperometrically at different glucose concentrations. …

Decadal Land Surface Phenology And Water Quality In The Headwaters Illinois River Watershed, Justin Ray Rollans

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over 25 percent of the world’s population either lives on or obtains water from karst aquifers. The complex interactions between subsurface karst geologic features, the constant motion of the plant life cycle, and significant water resource demand all suggest the need to better define those interactions. The relationship of historical land surface phenology and water quality in karst topography were investigated in the Headwaters Illinois River watershed in Northwest Arkansas (NWA). This area represents high vulnerability to surface water and groundwater contamination, with both natural and anthropogenic processes such as over application of broil litter for enhanced cattle browse, affecting …

Prison Release, Religious And Civic Contexts, And Recidivism, Samuel Carlson Thomas Iv

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Under the veil of mass incarceration many of the prisoners will be released, then later readmitted for another crime or parole/probation violations, which falls under the definition of recidivism. Criminologist have attempted to shed light on indicators that explain why some individual prisoners have higher likelihoods than others. I attempt to understand the specific context (at the county level) in which prisoners are released in one point in time and see if the context in which they are released can help explain their likelihoods of recidivating, specifically in the context of religious and civic organizations. I use data from the …

Risky Business: Millennials’ Protection Motivation Factors For Norovirus Outbreaks On College Campuses, Dylan Conrad Martinez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The risk and severity of hNoV transmission is obscurely recognized to foodservice millennial customers. Most commonly associated with cruise ships, consumers are not aware of its full potential to strike at other locations, especially college campuses. For the foodservice industry and the university community, it is imperative that a proactive method for increasing millennials’ motivation to practice mitigation methods emerges to reduce future hNoV outbreaks on college campuses. Research has shown that students can play a major role in the spread of hNoV on college campuses. Therefore, the purpose of these studies is to examine motivations for health protective behaviors …

Responsiveness Of Cobb Mv × 700 Broilers To Dietary Amino Acid And Energy Density, Craig William Maynard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As new broiler crosses are introduced to the industry, it is of paramount importance to understand their nutritional digressions from previous and other modern broilers. In particular, amino acids (AA) and dietary energy have been identified as key drivers of live performance and carcass composition. In addition, increased nutrient density in broiler diets have been linked to an increase in breast muscle myopathies such as white striping and woody breast. Therefore, a series of trials were conducted to determine the responsiveness of live performance, carcass characteristics, and breast muscle myopathies of Cobb MV × 700 broilers to dietary AA and …

Fall Migration And Winter Habitat Use Of Northern Saw-Whet Owls (Aegolius Acadicus) In The Ozark Highlands, Mitchell L. Pruitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studying movement ecology is important not only in understanding the distribution of a species, but in understanding the magnitude of migration through certain regions, as well as explaining regional differences in demographics. The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a small, migratory forest owl found throughout much of North America. Despite being captured widely during fall migration, the species’ movement ecology is poorly understood. Exploratory studies outside the saw-whet owl’s normal range have successfully captured the species during fall migration. In the Ozark Highlands ecoregion of the central United States, their status has been considered vagrant during fall and winter. …

Effect Of Macrograzers (Campostoma Spp. And Faxonius Spp.) On Periphyton In Ozark Streams With Considerations Given To Macrograzer Biomass, Phosphorus, And Season: Mensurative And Manipulative Studies, Kayla R. Sayre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient and benthic algal biomass relationships can guide numeric nutrient criteria development in lotic systems. However, herbivorous macrograzers may confound this relationship by reducing the slope of the positive relationship between nutrients and periphyton biomass in streams. I conducted a mensurative field study to determine if stoneroller and crayfish abundance related to algal biomass at varying nutrient concentrations and manipulated macrograzer presence with electrical exclosures in streams to examine macrograzer effects on algal biomass and understand whether these effects on periphyton varied with total phosphorus (TP) or season. Macrograzer density was quantified across a TP gradient (n=15 streams; range = …

Changes To Subaqueous Delta Bathymetry Following A High River Flow Event, Wax Lake Delta, Usa, Amanda Rose Whaling

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I report changes to the subaqueous bathymetry of the Wax Lake Delta (WLD) located in coastal Louisiana with the purpose of quantifying the two- and three-dimensional evolution of the entire delta front. The spatial distribution and volume of erosion and deposition were determined by differencing two Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) collected 16 months apart, including the 2nd largest high flow event (flood) in the WLD’s recorded history. The difference map showed 6.41×10^6 m^3 ± 3.70% of sediment were deposited and 1.19×10^7 m^3 ± 2.71% were eroded yielding 5.46×10^6 m^3 ± 7.32% of net erosion in the survey area (~75.9 km^2). …

Quasi-Particle Band Structure And Excitonic Effects In One-Dimensional Atomic Chains, Eesha Sanjay Andharia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high exciton binding energy in one dimensional (1D) nano-structures makes them prominent for optoelectronic device applications, making it relevant to theoretically investigate their electronic and optical properties. Many-body effects that are not captured by the conventional density functional theory (DFT) have a huge impact in such selenium and tellurium single helical atomic chains. This work goes one step beyond DFT to include the electron self-energy effects within the GW approximation to obtain a corrected quasi-particle electronic structure. Further, the Bethe-Salpeter equation was solved to obtain the absorption spectrum and to capture excitonic effects. Results were obtained using the Hyberstein-Louie …

Where Are All Of Arkansas' Chinquapins? An Ecological Assessment Of Castanea Throughout The State, Logan Pierce Estes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Around the turn of the twentieth-century, the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) was accidentally introduced into North America. This strong pathogen, which specializes on trees of the genus Castanea, spread rapidly and within half a century had nearly extirpated North America’s Castanea natives from their ranges. During this catastrophe, the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) garnered much of the scientific attention, pushing the other Castanea natives – the chinquapins – to the wayside. More than a century following the spread of the blight, little research into the ecology of North America’s chinquapins had been performed, leaving these trees significantly underrepresented. The …

The Evaluation Of Genetic And Phenotypic Differences Associated With Short Term Selection Of Four Different Feed Efficiency Strategies In Japanese Quail, Alex David Gilley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The concept of feed efficiency (FE), one unit of feed required to improve one unit of desired output, is relatively simple. However multiple outputs are desired in a commercial poultry breeding program, resulting in the need for nutrients to be partitioned in a particular manner. At the broadest level, nutrients are partitioned between production and maintenance requirements. The requirements for production and maintenance varies between birds. It is the poultry breeder’s responsibility to select individuals most aligned with the breeding objective. Irrespective of the breeding objective, various related and non-related traits influence a bird’s FE. To effectively improve FE, the …

The Impact Of Coaches' Character On Youth Basketball Players, Natasha Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

If utilized effectively, recreation and sports can serve as major tools for developing youth, improving the educational environment, and increasing the number of productive adults that are healthier physically and mentally to positively impact society. Most research targeting recreation and sports developing youth has the perspective primarily of parents and youth. Evaluating the character strengths of coaches and youth athletes who actively participate in team basketball is vital.

An exploration of the value of basketball and character strengths of (n = 64) youth athletes, between the ages of 12 to 16 years, and the impact of their involvement with coaches …

Perceptions Of E-Learning By Management Trainees In A Small, Fast Food Restaurant, Anthony A. Longo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Small businesses account for a majority of U.S. jobs and play a vital role in the economy. However, the survival rate for small businesses is disconcerting. Only half of the small businesses will survive five years or more and one-third ten or more years. Fast food restaurants are part of the food and drinking industry. It is the second largest industry in the United States and the most vulnerable to business failure. Research has shown the capabilities of small business managers can play a significant role in the success or failure of a small business, but little research has been …

Evaluation And Characterization Of Fitness Costs In Multiple Herbicide Resistant Echinochloa In Arkansas, Teal Marie Penka

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Echinochloa spp. are major weed problems for rice (Oryza sativa L.) on a global scale. In the southern rice belt of the U.S.A., Echinochloa colona (L.) Link (junglerice) and E. crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv (barnyardgrass) are the most troublesome weeds. These species are morphologically diverse, and its high ploidy level augurs high genetic diversity, which favors high adaptability to stress, including herbicide selection pressure. The objectives of these studies were to 1) isolate resistant (R) and sensitive (S) biotypes from eight accessions of E. colona with different resistance profiles; 2) determine the resistance levels of selected R and S biotypes …

Forging With Embers: The Life And Pre-Gubernatorial Career Of Isaac Murphy, 1799-1864, Keith Joshua Lee Todd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The gubernatorial administration of Isaac Murphy from 1864-1868, as Arkansas began emerging from the Civil War into Reconstruction, has had a thorough, if dated, examination in Arkansas historiography. However, Murphy’s life and pre-gubernatorial career, including his early political activities—being the first treasurer of Washington County, Arkansas (1836-1838), serving three terms in the Arkansas General Assembly (two in the House, 1846-1849, and one in the Senate, 1856-1857), and the totality of his action during both sessions of Arkansas’s Secession Convention (1861)—have been largely neglected. This thesis will additionally provide a biographical interpretation of Murphy necessary to fully understand his political actions—his …

Smart Surge Irrigation Using Microcontroller Based Embedded Systems And Internet Of Things, Prashant Dinkar Borhade

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Surge Irrigation is a type of furrow irrigation and one of many efficient irrigation techniques. It is one of the economical techniques and requires minimum labor for monitoring it. In surge irrigation, water is applied intermittently to a field to achieve uniform distribution of water along the furrows, which is important while irrigating, as it ensures that there is enough water near the root zone of the crop. The uneven distribution can cause a loss in crop productivity.

Surge irrigation uses a surge valve, which is an electro-mechanical device that irrigates a field. The commercial surge valves available on the …

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions Of Their International Teaching Assistants (Itas) And Perceptions Of Themselves In A Course(S) Instructed By An Ita, Nadia Hanayeen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The University of Arkansas is a large, diverse public university. International teaching assistants (ITAs) represent 20% of the total graduate teaching assistants at the University of Arkansas. In the Fall semester of 2015, the University of Arkansas ranked 9th among U.S. universities based on the number of ITAs instructing undergraduate classes. Combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis methods, this study investigated domestic undergraduate students’ perceptions of their ITAs and of themselves in courses instructed by ITAs. The descriptive quantitative findings showed that the two most significant challenges facing ITAs are American students’ perceptions of their pedagogical skills and …