Digital Commons Network^™

Portrayal, Kathryn A. Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is in addition to my thesis series, Portrayal, a group of selected photographs. In this essay I outline the contents and developments of the series of photographs by the same name. It includes information on the artistic techniques employed, concepts and considerations taken into account when making the photographs including the relationship with and presentation of the subject, the exhibition of the photographs, and influences on the specific composition and tone of the photographs.

The images in Portrayal are not candid or objective views. Each is constructed based upon the negotiations with the subject and represent an edited …

Field Observations And Computer Modeling Of Tornado-Terrain Interaction And Its Effects On Tornado Damage And Path, Nawfal Shihab Ahmed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tornado forces on structures have been a research focus for the past decades, and some comparisons have been made to distinguish between straight boundary layer (SBL) wind and tornado wind forces on specific structures. However, very little attention has been paid to terrain effects on tornado damage and path. Available damage investigation data for four tornado locations (Joplin-2011, Tuscaloosa-2011, Parish-2011 and Mayflower-2014) is utilized to explore terrain effects on tornado damage and path. Google Earth, site visits and aerial images are employed to study the influence of terrain on an extent of damage and path variation. Additionally, a three dimensional …

Development Of The Masw Method For Pavement Evaluation, Benjamin J. Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to establish a recommended procedure for performing multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) on pavements as well as evaluating the ability of MASW to detect a change in shear wave velocity as damage in concrete increases. The tests for establishing a recommended procedure for performing MASW on pavements was conducted at five sites at the University of Arkansas Engineering Research Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The five sites consisted of three materials: asphalt, concrete, and soil (two sites were on asphalt, two were on concrete, and one was on soil). The methods evaluated at these …

Consumer Willingness To Pay For Genetically Engineered Edamame, Elijah John Wolfe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of GM labeling on consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for edamame. It also investigated how people reacted to different messages and whether the order of receiving positive or negative information about GM technology impacted their willingness to pay (WTP). The study had three components: (1) a sensory test of GM and non-GM labeled products; (2) a non-hypothetical experimental auction to assess WTP for GM, non-GM and unlabeled products; and (3) a questionnaire to collect demographics and other information from the participants. Results of the sensory evaluation revealed no statistically significant difference between GM and non-GM …

Movements, Music, And Meaning: A Comparative Analysis Of Cultural Narratives In Vietnam Era And Post-9/11 Anti-War Music, Jonathan Nathaniel Redman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the presence of widely circulating cultural narratives in the lyrics of approximately eighty anti-war songs from the Vietnam and post-9/11 eras. Unlike prior movements and music research, this thesis privileges culture over movements and views movements as cultural antennae both picking up on trends and cultural narratives, and broadcasting their own altered cultural meanings back into the “cultural airways.” It sees music as a cultural medium which acquires cultural meanings from its surroundings, alters those meanings, synthesizes new ones, and perpetuates old ones. Drawing on comparative and narrative analysis approaches informed by grounded theory techniques, this thesis …

Gene Expression And Physiological Analysis To Study Differences Between Oryza Sativa Cultivars Susceptible And Resistant To Chalky Grain Formation Subjected To High Nighttime Temperatures., Nicholas Lawson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Starch composition and grain quality of rice is greatly influenced by genotype and environmental factors. The detrimental effects of high nighttime temperatures on rice yield and quality has recently become apparent, with some of the warmest average nighttime temperatures being recorded in the past few years. One of the most notable effects of this stress, an increase in grain chalk formation, correlates with a decrease in quality. This effect varies greatly between cultivars as some show less temperature-sensitive quality reduction than others. The goal of this research is to elucidate fundamental changes that occur in developing plants and grains as …

Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry Analysis Of Ground Deformation Within The Coso Geothermal Site, California, Erik Vaughn Brawner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Earth’s surface movement may cause as a potential hazard to infrastructure and people. Associated earthquake hazards pose a potential side effect of geothermal activity. Modern remote sensing techniques known as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) can measure surface change with a high degree of precision to mm scale movements. Previous work has identified a deformation anomaly within the Coso Geothermal site in eastern California. Surface changes have not been analyzed since the 1990s, allowing a decade of geothermal production impact to occur since previously assessed. In this study, InSAR data was acquired and analyzed between the years 2005 and 2010. …

Identification Of Biomarkers For The Overall Survival Of Ovarian Cancer Patients, Kristi Mai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rapid advance in sequencing technology has led to genome-wide analysis of genetic and epigenetic features simultaneously, making it possible to understand the biological mechanisms underlying cancer initiation and progression. However, how to identify important prognostic features poses a great challenge for both statistical modeling and computing. In this thesis, a network-based approach is applied to the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ovarian cancer data to identify important genes related to the overall survival of ovarian cancer patients. In the first step, a stepwise correlation-based selector is used to reduce the dimensionality of TCGA data, by filtering out a large number of …

Instructional Methods And Engagement: The Impact Of Gamification On Student Learning Of Apa Style, Joyce Elaine Terrell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the effects of simple gamification on the instructional skill outcome and level of engagement as measured by time, repetitions, and responses to the Cognitive Absorption, Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness Scale (Saadé and Bahli, 2005). Participants were 70 graduate and undergraduate students randomly assigned to one of two instructional conditions: gamified or typical online instruction. Instruction consisted of three modules on the use of APA 6th ed. (American Psychological Association) citation and reference style in college level writing. Both groups received the same instruction but with different context and directions. Participants in the typical condition …

Design Of An Assistive Technology Adaptive Switch Using An Inertial Measurement Unit, Ethan Storm Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A new assistive technology switch for people with disabilities was developed utilizing an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) as the sensor technology. The hardware can be customized through firmware to provide custom switch activations on a person by person basis. The firmware is customized to recognize specific data features in the IMU data which identify the desired switch activation movement performed by the user. In this way, the switch can be adapted to activate based on the movements of the user. During this research, the generic hardware platform, including the IMU sensor technology and Bluetooth communications, was designed and tested. An …

Assessment Of Microbial And Growth Response Of Broilers Fed A Commercial Prebiotic, Sang In Lee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prebiotic refers to nondigestible food ingredients that enhance the health of the host by selectively promoting one or more number of beneficial bacteria. Gibson and Roberfroid (1995) initially described prebiotics as compounds that neither hydrolyzed nor absorbed in upper part of the gastrointestinal tract, selectively stimulates growth of beneficial bacteria, enhance health of the host and able to amend microorganism population to healthier states. Prebiotics are particularly attractive supplements in animal production due to their variety of effects including production of short chain fatty acids, pH amendments and suppression of pathogen colonization. In addition, prebiotics were emphasized as antibiotic alternatives …

A Prediction Model For Acute Core And Lower Extremity Injuries In Division 1 Collegiate Football Players, Alexandra Aline Mcdonald

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Context: Various intrinsic factors such as high exposure, poor endurance of core muscles, previous injury, strength deficits, suboptimal neurocognitive function, and orthopedic abnormalities have been found as predictors for sprains and strains among collegiate football players. Objective: Assess the applicability of pre-participation assessments as predictors of core or lower extremity injury. Design: Cohort Study. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football program. Patients or Other Participants: Athletes who underwent mandatory pre-participation examinations before preseason football training over two consecutive seasons (n=225). Main Outcome Measure(s): Associations between preseason protocols and injury incidence for core and lower extremity injuries were established …

A Storm In The Port: The Process Designing Twelfth Night, Jacquelyn Ryan Cox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to document the process and provide all the necessary materials for the realization of the lighting design for the University of Arkansas Department of Theatre’s 2015 production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. This thesis consists of the following materials: designer’s script analysis, design concept statement, historical and evocative research, Vectorworks overstage plot, Vectorworks section plot, LightWright paperwork, cue sheet, final magic sheets, and process evaluation. The materials provided are necessary to the design team, the electricians who hang the light plot, and the designer in order program the cues. Archival photography is included …

Investigating The Factor Structure Of The Teachers’ Sense Of Efficacy Scale With Pakistani In-Service And Pre-Service Teachers, Sajid Ali Yousuf Zai

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teachers with a high sense of efficacy are motivated to achieve and are generally optimistic about future learning. There is an extensive body of research that indicates a teacher’s self-efficacy beliefs can be a performance indicator for school outcomes. Research on characteristics related to teachers in Pakistan has been increasing over the last decade, however there are a number of instruments being used with this population without any documented validation studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES; Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) to determine the latent structure of …

Influences Of Temperament, Symbolic Gesture, And Caregiver Beliefs On Infant Emotional Expression, Mary Sugg Bassett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to analyze the relationships of infant temperament, communication through symbolic gesture, caregiver beliefs with emotional expression in infants. Participants were the parents and childcare teachers of sixteen infants and toddlers, between the ages of six and 25 months, currently enrolled at the University of Arkansas child development study center. The independent and combined influence of infant temperament, use of symbolic gestures, and the beliefs of parents and teachers were significantly related to infants’ emotional expression in the study. Parent-reported scores of emotional expression competence were positively correlated to teacher-reported positive temperament levels (r …

Character Assessment: Three Essays, Collin E. Hitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I propose a new approach to measuring character skills. In the following three essays, my co-‎authors and I measure the effort that adolescent students appear to put forward on surveys ‎and tests. First, I examine the extent to which students simply skip questions or plead ‎ignorance on surveys. Second, I develop new methods for detecting careless answers, those ‎instances in which students appear to be "just filling in the bubbles." I show, using ‎longitudinal datasets, that both measures are predictive of educational degree attainment, ‎independent of measured cognitive ability and other demographic factors. Finally, I ‎demonstrate that international differences in …

Heat Stress Effects On Cotton During Reproductive Development And Subsequent Acclimation Responses, Toby Ryan Fitzsimons

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High temperature stress is among the most difficult to control abiotic factors affecting crop yields in the Southern United States due to its wide regional influence. Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) though a tropical plant in origin, it is sensitive to the effects of high temperature. This is of particular concern when the warmest temperatures coincide with the most sensitive developmental stage of flowering. Thus, the capacity to improve cotton’s ability to tolerate heat stress has been a significant focus for many decades. Therefore, this research was composed of several different components all designed to investigate heat stress effects. Using a …

Development Of A Biofilm Model For Evaluating Poultry Drinking Water Sanitation Procedures, Pramir Maharjan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enclosed water system has created a minimal sanitation focus leading to biofilm issues which are a source of flock health challenges. A series of in vitro tests were conducted to evaluate biofilm growth on polyvinylchloride (PVC) surfaces when exposed to treated/untreated water sources (test water) that are typically supplied in commercial barns. PVC test coupons (15.16 cm2) were immersed in test water in beakers to grow biofilm. Test water supplies were characterized for microbial, mineral and pH content. Temperature of test water was set at 90 °F (32.2 ᵒC) on d1 and then dropping 1°F each day over 7-day period …

Resolving Paragneiss Provenance At Grollier Lake In The Athabasca Granulite Terrane, Western Canadian Shield, Dustin Ply

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

U-Pb crystallization ages of metamorphic and detrital zircons from all three paragneiss samples fall into the range of ca. 1.85-2.59 Ga, excluding two much older grains. Evidence suggests that the paragneiss of Grollier Lake record deformation exclusively from the Taltson and Trans-Hudson orogenies. It is apparent from geochronological data that the Taltson orogeny played an exceedingly larger role in the deformation of these rocks than the Trans-Hudson. Deposition of the paragneiss protoliths most likely culminated between ca. 2037-1994 Ma with metamorphism ceasing by 1852.1 ± 11.1 Ma. The oldest overgrowth considered to be concordant is 1994 ± 12 Ma and …

Men Who Coach Women, Shannel Blackshear

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although Title IX helped to shape athletics in educational settings, the legislation also transformed the world of coaching. Due to the growing demand for competitive female athletics at the collegiate level, the need for qualified individuals to coach women’s sports continues to grow. As colleges and universities continue to create women’s athletic opportunities, coaching collegiate female teams has become equally competitive to coaching male athletes in terms of pay, benefits, compensation packages, and national attention (Welch & Sigelman, 2007). Despite the fact that 57% (Pilon, 2015), of female collegiate athletic teams are coached by male coaches, there is a gap …

Trade And Transport In Late Roman Syria, Christopher Wade Fletcher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the relative notoriety and miraculous level of preservation of the Dead Cities of Syria, fundamental questions of economic and subsistence viability remain unanswered. In the 1950s Georges Tchalenko theorized that these sites relied on intensive olive monoculture to mass export olive oil to urban centers. Later excavations discovered widespread cultivation of grains, fruit, and beans which directly contradicted Tchalenko’s assertion of sole reliance on oleoculture. However, innumerable olive presses in and around the Dead Cities still speak to a strong tradition of olive production. This thesis tests the logistical viability of olive oil transportation from the Dead Cities to …

Cloning, Fed-Batch Expression And Purification Of A Novel Anti-Candida Peptide And Development Of A Cleavage Resistant Variant Of Green Fluorescence Protein, Rudra Palash Mukherjee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work illustrates that the intelligent design of a bioprocess for the production of peptides of various length is possible by having a prior knowledge of desired product, cell line, fermentation conditions, and choices for downstream recovery. Cloning, expression, and recovery of a novel 12-mer anti-Candida peptide served as an illustrative case for a proposed Escherichia coli platform. The antifungal peptide, expressed as a fusion to GFPUV during high call density fed-batch, was recovered from cell lysate, concentrated using ion exchange chromatography, and finally cleaved with cyanogen bromide. The platform was capable of producing active peptide capable of arresting the …

Evaluation Of Rusle 2 To Estimate Soil Loss From Pastures, Stasha Katrina Balkissoon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The accurate estimation of soil erosion by the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation version 2 (RUSLE2) is critical for several conservation assessments, least of which is its use in the Phosphorus Index (PI) to identify and rank the vulnerability of agricultural fields to phosphorus (P) runoff. Earlier versions of RUSLE reported a soil loss overestimation, which were revised to give RUSLE2, where biomass production in different climatic regions was more accurately represented. RUSLE version 2.0, which contains the new vegetative biomass production routine, was evaluated using two performance indices, the Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency Index (NSE) and Index of Agreement (D) …

Quickest Fault Detection In Direct Drive Wind Turbine Using Stator Current, Vitaly Romanov

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A new online method for detecting bearing faults in direct-drive wind turbines (WT), based on stator current analysis and quick change point detection techniques, is proposed. Bearing faults are common problems for machinery, such as wind turbines. Online methods of fault detection give clear advantages by allowing the diagnosis of wind turbines without physical access. Stator current signal is always available, it is perfect for online analysis, and no additional sensors are required. Faults of bearings supporting the main shaft of direct-drive WT introduce excitations into the stator current spectrum. Change-detection procedures provide a simple and yet efficient way to …

Prevention Of Drone Jamming Using Hardware Sandboxing, Joshua Mead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, we concern ourselves with the security of drone systems under jamming-based attacks. We explore a relatively new concept we previously devised, known as hardware sandboxing, to provide runtime monitoring of boundary signals and isolation through resource virtualization for non-trusted system-on-chip (SoC) components. The focus of this thesis is the synthesis of this design and structure with the anti-jamming, security needs of drone systems. We utilize Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based development and target embedded Linux for our hardware sandbox and drone hardware/software system.

We design and implement our working concept on the Digilent Zybo FPGA, which …

The "We-Ness" And Empathy Of Liberalism, David Sparkman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most research in Social and political psychology focuses on the psychological antecedents to conservatism; the primary aim of this work was to investigate antecedents to liberalism. This led to an examination of we-ness and empathy as underlying mechanisms to liberal attitudes. Using perspective taking as a cognitive process common to both we-ness and empathy, I tested a model of we-ness and empathy as serial mediators of the effect of perspective taking on political attitudes. Results suggested that we-ness and empathy serially mediated the association between perspective taking and liberalism (and its Social and economic sub-attitudes), and empathy independently mediated the …

The Effects Of Brief, Passive Psychoeducation On Suicide Literacy, Stigma, And Attitudes Toward Help-Seeking Among Latino Immigrants Living In The United States, Aubrey Renee Dueweke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latino immigrants drastically underutilize mental health treatment services compared to other ethnic groups, despite rates of mental illness that are comparable to those observed among the general population. With regards to suicidal behavior specifically, twice as many Latino suicide attempters do not seek or receive psychiatric services in the year prior to attempting suicide, compared to non-Latino White attempters. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether provision of brief, passive psychoeducation in the form of a brochure could increase suicide literacy (i.e., recognizing suicidal behavior, understanding risk factors and causes of suicidal behavior), reduce stigma toward suicidal …

Using An Online Learning Module In A Nursing Program To Improve Knowledge And Skills To Prevent Falls In The Community Dwelling Older Adult Population, Susan Kane Patton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nationally, 28.4% of older adults fall each year. Falls and resulting injury result in decreased mobility, functional impairment, loss of independence, and increased mortality. Utilization of evidence based protocols by providers to identify older adults at risk of falling is limited and rates of participation by older adults in prevention activities is low. Because of nursing’s increasing role in caring for older adults, development of fall prevention education for nursing students would result in increased awareness of the need for fall prevention in community dwelling older adults and increased access of older adults to falls risk assessment. There is a …

Hardware Trojan Detection Via Golden Reference Library Matching, Lucas Weaver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the proliferation of hardware Trojans in third party Intellectual Property (IP) designs, the issue of hardware security has risen to the forefront of computer engineering. Because of the miniscule size yet devastating effects of hardware Trojans, few detection methods have been presented that adequately address this problem facing the hardware industry. One such method with the ability to detect hardware Trojans is Structural Checking. This methodology analyzes a soft IP at the register-transfer level to discover malicious inclusions. An extension of this methodology is presented that expands the list of signal functionalities, termed assets, in addition to introducing …

Dandy As Disease: Gender Hygiene And British Nineteenth-Century Literature, Sharon Louise Fox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Dandy as Disease: Gender Hygiene and British Nineteenth-century Literature” explores the link between the nineteenth-century dandy, ideas of hegemonic masculinity, and Walter Besant’s The Revolt of Man, a dystopian text in which women have usurped all traditionally-masculine roles, while men are the caretakers and manual workers. The first chapter deals with the historical role of the dandy in the nineteenth-century and how he might be viewed as the cause of the fall of Britain. The second chapter revolves around Besant’s novel, exploring how men are shown to be at fault for Britain’s fall in the eyes of the rest of …