Digital Commons Network^™

Understanding The Support Local Movement From The Perception Of Generation Z In The Nwa Region, Daniela Medina

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The support local movement is a growing trend within Generation Z, with that comes the need to understand marketing strategies Generation Z responds to best. As Generation Z is entering the workforce and purchasing their groceries there is a need to understand how this generation perceives the term local beef. There is currently little research in regard to Generation Z and their perceptions of local beef. This study aimed to fill a gap within research by conducting a qualitative study to gather rich data to understand Generation Z’s perception of the term local beef and what marketing strategies impacted them …

Green Infrastructure In The Ozarks: Northwest Arkansas Development Policy And The Open Space Plan, Daniel Holtmeyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Northwest Arkansas regional planning authorities in 2016 released the Northwest Arkansas Open Space Plan, a voluntary document outlining ways to protect and preserve important open spaces even as the region’s population balloons and urban development spreads outward. No one appears to have made a systematic attempt to gauge the Plan’s impact on development decisions, however. In this thesis, I conduct a qualitative survey of several cities and counties’ planning codes and comprehensive plans to determine how much these policies have in common with the Open Space Plan’s essential principles. From that survey, I also conduct two case studies of recent …

Cartographic Analysis Of Earth-Sun Relationships In Ancient Amazonia, Jackson Bennett Critser

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The alignments of ancient man-made earthworks across the Amazon Basin, known as geoglyphs, have recently been discovered to predate early societal dates. Although much research indicated that the Amazon was uninhabitable until the last 1000 years (Meggers 1971), new evidence suggests this is not the case. The application of advanced cartographic and GIS technologies were implemented to link solar ‘marker’ days (e.g. solstices, equinoxes) with the alignment of geoglyphs, megaliths, stone architecture, and broader city forms to discover and analyze previously unknown Earth-Sun relationships across the Amazon Basin to conceivably sophisticated urban and architectural plans. The study of these geoglyphs …

Identifying Predictors Of Eventual Rural Practice Among Female Osteopathic Medical Students, Dana Kahl

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States is facing a growing physician shortage that threatens the ability of our healthcare system to provide needed services. This shortage will be more acutely felt in rural and underserved areas. Osteopathic medical education, with its priority of primary care specialties, plays a significant role in meeting the healthcare needs of rural communities in America. The fastest-growing demographic of osteopathic physicians is women under the age of 45 (American Osteopathic Association, 2021). Additionally, for the first time in history, women outnumber men in medical schools, accounting for 51% of current medical students (Boyle, 2019). Who is admitted to …

An Ecological Perspective Of American Rodent-Borne Orthohantavirus Surveillance, Nathaniel Mull

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Orthohantaviruses are a global group of viruses found primarily in rodents, though several viruses have also been found in shrews and moles. Many rodent-borne orthohantaviruses are capable of causing one of several diseases in humans, and the mortality associated with these diseases ranges from < 0.1% - 50% depending on the specific etiological virus. In North and South America, orthohantavirus research was ignited by an outbreak of severe disease in the Four Corners region of the United States in 1993. However, despite the discovery of over 20 orthohantaviruses in the Americas, our understanding of orthohantavirus ecology and virus-host dynamics in this region is still limited, and orthohantavirus surveillance is generally restricted in scope to select regions and small portions of host distributional ranges. In Chapter I, I present a literature review on the current understanding of American rodent-borne orthohantavirus ecology. This review focused on under-studied orthohantaviruses, addressing gaps in knowledge by extrapolating information from well-studied orthohantaviruses, general rodent ecology, and occassionally from Eurasian orthohantavirus-host ecology. There were several key conclusions generated from this review that warrant further research: 1) the large number of putative orthohantaviruses and gaps in orthohantavirus evolution necessitate further surveillance and characterization, 2) orthohantavirus traits differ and are more generalizable based on host taxonomy rather than geography, and 3) orthohantavirus host species are disproportionately found in grasslands and disturbed habitats. In Chapter II, I present a prioritized list of rodent species to target for orthohantavirus surveillance based on predictive modeling using machine learning. Probable orthohantavirus hosts were predicted based on traits of known orthohantavirus hosts using two different types of evidence: RT-PCR and virus isolation. Predicted host distributions were also mapped to identify geographic hotspots to spatially guide future surveillance efforts. In Chapter III, I present a framework for understanding and predicting orthohantavirus traits based on reservoir host phylogeny, as opposed to the traditional geographic dichotomy used to group orthohantaviruses. This framework establishes three distinct orthohantavirus groups: murid-borne orthohantaviruses, arvicoline-borne orthohantaviruses, and non-arvicoline cricetid-borne orthohantaviruses, which differ in several key traits, including the human disease they cause, transmission routes, and virus-host fidelity. In Chapter IV, I compare rodent communities and orthohantavirus prevalence among grassland management regimes. Sites that were periodically burned had high rodent diversity and a high proportion of grassland species. However, rodent seroprevalence for orthohantavirus was also highest in burned sites, representing a trade-off in habitat management outcomes. The high seroprevalence in burned sites is likely due to the robust populations supported by the high quality habitat resulting from prescribed burning. In Chapters V and VI, I describe Ozark virus and Sager Creek virus, two novel orthohantaviruses discovered from specimens collected during Chapter IV. Both chapters report full genome sequences of the respective viruses and compare both nucleotide and protein phylogenies with related orthohantaviruses. Additionally in Chapter VI, I support the genetic analyses with molecular and ecological characterizations, including seasonal fluctuations in host abundance, correlates of prevalence, evidence of virus shedding, and information on host cell susceptibility to Sager Creek virus.

Effects Of Landscape And Yard Features On Mammals In Residential Yards In Northwest Arkansas, Emily Johansson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Most wildlife residing in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can coexist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This may be particularly true when development is low intensity, as in suburban yards. Due to the wide variety in how homeowners utilize their yards, they can be considered individually managed “greenspaces.” These yards can provide a range of food (e.g., bird feeders, compost, gardens), water (bird baths and garden ponds), and …

Reproducibility And Replicability In Unmanned Aircraft Systems And Geographic Information Science, Cassandra Howe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multiple scientific disciplines face a so-called crisis of reproducibility and replicability (R&R) in which the validity of methodologies is questioned due to an inability to confirm experimental results. Trust in information technology (IT)-intensive workflows within geographic information science (GIScience), remote sensing, and photogrammetry depends on solutions to R&R challenges affecting multiple computationally driven disciplines. To date, there have only been very limited efforts to overcome R&R-related issues in remote sensing workflows in general, let alone those tied to disruptive technologies such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and machine learning (ML). To accelerate an understanding of this crisis, a review was …

"Perché Il Mondo È Cambiato": Second Generation Italian Hip Hop And The Authorization Of Postcolonial Italian Identities, Anthony Sargenti

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Second generation Italian hip hop artists negotiate, contest, and decolonize italianità through their lyrics, music, and activism. Italian Postcolonialism, Cultural Theory, and Musicology inform my approach to understanding the struggle over contemporary Italian politics of identity and belonging. I utilize Discourse Analysis to contextualize lyrics, music, and music videos that resist hegemonic notions of italianità and champion inclusive citizenship. Artists analyzed include Amir Issaa, Karima DueG, Ghali, Tommy Kuti, Cécile, Chadia Rodriguez, and Alessandro Mahmoud. Centralizing hip hop as a collective site of resistance demonstrates the movement towards recognition as well as equal representation. Second generation artistry and lyricism starts …

Effects Of Land Use On Soil Microbial Communities In Tropical Montane Forests Of Malaysian Borneo, Yang Kai Tang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Land use, such as logging and forest conversion to agriculture, can modify soil physicochemical and biological properties, and affect soil health. To understand how land use change can impact soil properties and canopy structure, we used a land use gradient in Malaysian Borneo consisting of six sites, including old growth forests, mixed forests, and agriculture fields. Specifically, we aimed to answer the following questions: (1) How do soil physicochemical properties vary across land use types? (2) Does bacterial diversity and composition vary across different land use types? (3) Does fungal diversity and composition vary across different land use types? We …

Biology, Monitoring, Sampling, And Management Of Rice Billbug, Sphenophorus Pertinax, In Furrow-Irrigated Rice, Chase Alan Floyd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Furrow-irrigated rice hectares have increased annually for the last five years in the predominant long-grain rice producing states. Initial implementation of the system began in the 1980’s, but lack of rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea, Hebert) resistant cultivars made the system a nonviable option for rice producers. Hybridization of rice cultivars with less susceptibility has begun to increase the interest of producers to implement a furrow-irrigated rice production system due to the cost saving opportunities that it may provide. Elimination of the flood from large sections of the rice fields in a furrow-irrigated system alters management strategies and pest complexes compared …

Flood Hazard And Risk Analyses In The Republic Of Panama: A Case Study From The Juan Diaz River Watershed In Panama City, Virgilio De Jesus Quintero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Flooding is the natural hazard with most occurrences in Panama. Its frequency and magnitude have increased over the years. This dissertation analyzes Panama’s flood activity in order to better understand flood hazards, the current evolution of Panamanian perceptions of flood risk, and the incorporation of indigenous knowledge used to mitigate flood hazards. The first chapter developed a baseline of past and current flood inventory in Panama, which required the use of flood historical data, thematic cartography, and Geographic Information Science (GIS). This chapter shows Panama has experienced floods in varying degrees. Through the spatial and temporal distribution of floods from …

Informal Education Experiences Of Black Women-Owned Healthcare Small Businesses In Mississippi, Timothy E. Lampkin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Small businesses are critical to the economic success of the United States, and several states, such as Mississippi, have a strong reliance on small business development. Through small, individually owned businesses, the overall economy is enhanced, and the quality of life for many is improved. A growing trend within the small business community is private ownership by Black women. This population segment has dramatically grown in their presence within business ownership, and it is necessary to describe elements of their success. The proposed research focuses on informal education as an enabler of this small business success. Informal education is a …

Examining The Association Between Facebook Marketing And Applications Received In Graduate Programs At One University, Heather Danielle Campbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the technological world continues to grow and expand, the use of social media marketing continues to increase. Graduate programs looking to increase the number of applications received can turn to Facebook to market their programs. This study looks at the use of self-presentation, from a graduate program level of Facebook use, to create content that reaches their target audience. Self-presentation allows graduate programs to control the types of marketing, posts, and content displayed regarding their program in an effort to be seen in a certain light. This study explores six types of Facebook content perceived as favorable in the …

The Human Natural Resource Endowment Of Limestone For Cement Manufacturing, Vanya Marie North

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the total per-capita allocation of limestone globally. Termed the Human Natural Resource Endowment (HNRE), it is calculated by subtracting the cumulative annual production from the ultimately recoverable reserve (URR) of limestone and dividing the difference by global population. HNRE represents a unique way of visualizing resource depletion by asking how much of a given resource can be allocated to each person on earth, and how long that allocation can last given multiple population and usage scenarios. The average American, born in 2021, will use approximately 23,930 kgs of cement in their lifetime, with similar demands globally. Demand …

Data-Driven Deep Learning-Based Analysis On Thz Imaging, Haoyan Liu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer affects about 12.5% of women population in the United States. Surgical operations are often needed post diagnosis. Breast conserving surgery can help remove malignant tumors while maximizing the remaining healthy tissues. Due to lacking effective real-time tumor analysis tools and a unified operation standard, re-excision rate could be higher than 30% among breast conserving surgery patients. This results in significant physical, physiological, and financial burdens to those patients. This work designs deep learning-based segmentation algorithms that detect tissue type in excised tissues using pulsed THz technology. This work evaluates the algorithms for tissue type classification task among freshly …

Efficient Hierarchical Space-Time Models For Large Areal Datasets With Application To Forest Inventory Mapping Using Remote Sensing Imagery, Md Kamrul Hasan Khan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation is development of a novel hierarchical framework, that can be used for predictive modeling of Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data over large regions. This dissertation has two significant contributions. Based on a study region in north-central Wisconsin, we analyze satellite imagery, along with a sample of national forest inventory field plots, to monitor and predict changes in forest conditions over time. The auxiliary data from the satellite imagery of this region are relatively dense in space and time, and can be used to learn how forest conditions changed over that decade. However, these records …

An Investigation Of Tax Assessors’ Perception Of The Relationship Between Proactive Career Management Behaviors (Pcmbs) And Career Success: Determining The Most Valuable Career Management Behaviors, Daniel K. Berry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate government and private-sector tax assessors’ perceptions of the relationship between proactive career management behaviors (PCMBs) and career success. The findings of the study established a foundation to assist government and private-sector tax assessor organizations with developing the human capital within and the careers of their employees. The study’s findings revealed that all four of the PCMBs (career planning, career self-exploration, environmental career exploration, and voluntary human capital development) had significant relationships to career success when tested with a multiple regression model. The study’s findings also revealed that there was no significant difference …

Delineating Field Variation Using Apparent Electrical Conductivity In An Ozark Highlands Agroforestry System, Shane Reid Ylagan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Little to no work has been conducted assessing field variability using repeated electromagnetic induction (EMI) apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) surveys in agroforestry (AF) systems within regions similar to the Ozark Highlands. The objectives of this thesis were to identify i) spatiotemporal ECa variability; ii) ECa-derived soil management zones (SMZs); iii) correlations among EMI-ECa and in-situ, sentential-site soil properties; iv) whether fewer, EMI-ECa surveys could be conducted to capture similar ECa variance as mid-monthly EMI-ECa surveys; v) correlations between ECa and forage yield, tree growth, and terrain attributes based on plant (forage and tree) species, and fertility treatments, and ECa-derived SMZs, …

Deciphering Surfaces Of Trans-Neptunian And Kuiper Belt Objects Using Radiative Scattering Models, Machine Learning, And Laboratory Experiments, Al Emran

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Decoding surface-atmospheric interactions and volatile transport mechanisms on trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) involves an in-depth understanding of physical and thermal properties and spatial distribution of surface constituents – nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and water (H2O) ices. This thesis implements a combination of radiative scattering models, machine learning techniques, and laboratory experiments to investigate the uncertainties in grain size estimation of ices, the spatial distribution of surface compositions on Pluto, and the thermal properties of volatiles found on TNOs and KBOs. Radiative scattering models (Mie theory and Hapke approximations) were used to compare single …

Forging Community In The Ouachita Foothills Of Southwest Arkansas: Duckett Township, Homesteading, Distilling And Race, Lisa C. Childs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Community was key to successful subsistence agriculture in Arkansas, especially in the Ouachita foothills in southwest Arkansas (including Polk, Howard, Montgomery, Pike, Garland Counties) and Oklahoma (McCurtain, Pittsburgh, LeFlore Counties) until the 1940s. Nearly a quarter of Arkansas’s land remained in the federal government’s name twenty years after statehood, and even more of the land in the western Ouachita foothills. Much remains unknown about how farming communities were formed in this area from the end of the Civil War until approximately World War II. As seen in the Duckett community in northern Howard County, while family connections were important to …

Precision Weed Management Based On Uas Image Streams, Machine Learning, And Pwm Sprayers, Jason Allen Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weed populations in agricultural production fields are often scattered and unevenly distributed; however, herbicides are broadcast across fields evenly. Although effective, in the case of post-emergent herbicides, exceedingly more pesticides are used than necessary. A novel weed detection and control workflow was evaluated targeting Palmer amaranth in soybean (Glycine max) fields. High spatial resolution (0.4 cm) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) image streams were collected, annotated, and used to train 16 object detection convolutional neural networks (CNNs; RetinaNet, Faster R-CNN, Single Shot Detector, and YOLO v3) each trained on imagery with 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.2 cm spatial resolutions. Models were …

Orbital Mapping Of Seasonal And Yearly Changes In Co2 And Water Ice On The Southern Polar Cap Of Mars, Victoria Michell Ann Karnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research exhibits a new foundation for the rates of change in CO2 and water ice on the southern polar cap of Mars, where the annual precipitation cycles are known to fluctuate seasonally between the north and south pole, based on observations from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer (CRISM). The conventional belief is that both CO2 ice and water ice on the southern polar cap condenses and evaporates over the course of a Martian year (MY), condensing during the Martian spring and summer and evaporating during the Martian fall and winter. With this theory in mind, CO2 and water ice …

Understanding The Potential Utility Of Tamarktm Grain Sorghum, Jacob Alan Fleming

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Herbicide-resistant crops have been commonly used in corn, cotton, and soybean since the 1990s to control numerous different grass and broadleaf weeds. However, this technology has not been available for grain sorghum producers whom have faced challenges controlling grass weeds. Recently a collaboration between the University of Arkansas and Texas A&M University has resulted in a new bred line of grain sorghum, TamArkTM, which is resistant to ACCase inhibitor herbicides which have been previously used to control grass weeds in broadleaf crops. Multiple studies were conducted to determine the sensitivity of TamArkTM and problematic grass weeds to ACCase inhibitor herbicides, …

Thermal Inactivation Kinetics Of Salmonella In Milk Powder As Impacted By Water Activity And Powder Type, Erika Litta Kadas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, low-water activity (aw) foods (aw <0.65) were considered to be microbiologically safe for consumption. However, these foods have been implicated in outbreaks of pathogens such as Salmonella enterica, at a frequency that surely challenges this assumption of safety. Although usually implicated in outbreaks involving poultry and egg products, Salmonella spp. have frequently been the culprit in several outbreaks and recalls associated with low-water activity foods (LWAF) due to contamination resulting from the environment, animals, or even the employees during pre-or post-processing. One such LWAF that has been associated with Salmonella spp. outbreaks is milk powder. Milk powders are used in a variety of products ranging from infant formula to confectionary goods. With their widespread use, improving their safety is imperative. A key step in improving their safety is to thoroughly investigate preventive controls related to milk powder processing. The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) established the Preventive Controls for Human Foods Rule, which mandates that processors design and establish a food safety plan outlining any potential hazards and the steps they will take to ensure those hazards do not compromise the safety of the product. Presently, the dairy industry does not have an established kill-step for milk powders post-spray drying. Spray drying may reduce some microbial populations, however, desiccation(e.g., spray drying) is not considered a kill-step. The work outlined in this thesis aims to assist our dairy industry partners in establishing their own thermal process for milk powders post-spray drying. Moisture sorption isotherms of two milk powders (nonfat dry milk: NFDM and a milk protein concentrate with 85% protein content: MPC-85) were determined and showcased that the temperatures at which the isotherms were determined (23, 40, or 60°C) significantly affected both the adsorption and desorption isotherms (p<0.0001) for each powder. Secondly, the thermal inactivation kinetics of Salmonella spp. in both powders were evaluated at two different water activities (0.20 and 0.30) and three temperatures (75, 80, and 85°C) to determine the effect of water activity on the thermal resistance of a cocktail of Salmonella spp. The D-values of Salmonella were heavily influenced by the thermal treatment temperature (p< 0.0001), but not the water activity (p >0.05). The overall findings contained within this thesis provide valuable information about the thermal inactivation kinetics of Salmonella spp. to our partners in the dairy industry so that they may implement an appropriate thermal process for their milk powders.

Analysis Of Seismicity And Related Seismic Risk In Muslim Countries: Case Studies From Afghanistan And Pakistan, Ikramuddin Bahram

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How communities respond to a natural hazard is influenced by how they perceive it. This dissertation evaluated the gap between intent and action regarding earthquake hazards in Muslim countries with a focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cultural biases provided predictions of risk perceptions and risk-taking preferences that were often more powerful than measures of knowledge and experience. In Muslim communities, perception of risk was influenced by the teachings of Islam and related rituals, traditions, and culture.

This study evaluated the seismicity and earthquake hazard in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Assessments of seismic risk and perception of danger were conducted to examine …

Mitochondrial Dna Diversity, Parasite And Pathogen Occurrence, And A Potential Disease Vector In Managed And Unmanaged Honey Bee, Apis Mellifera L. Populations, Dylan Cleary

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The western honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is a globally important pollinator plagued by several harmful stressors impacting colony health and survival. At least eight A. mellifera subspecies were imported and continue to be the genetic ancestors of U.S. honey bee populations today. Successive genetic bottle-neck events have led to reduced genetic diversity in U.S. honey bees. First, the subset of subspecies imported into the U.S. represents only a third of A. mellifera subspecies. Next, the parasitic varroa mite reduced managed and feral populations. Third, ongoing breeding practices have selected for traits from a single genetic lineage and bred from …

Through The Heart Of The City: Interstates And Black Geographies In Urban America, Airic Hughes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Federal urban renewal projects changed the landscape of numerous American cities throughoutthe twentieth century. Many of these projects worked cohesively in tandem with discriminatory urban planning policies such as redlining. The conclusions of this project demonstrate how U.S. Interstate 630 (I-630) intentionally re-segregated Arkansas' capital city, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 national desegregation order and the infamous desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. I further contend that I-630 was constructed using the racialized language and tactics of urban renewal and was fundamental to improving Little Rock’s national reputation by purging the city's social memory and legacy …

The Mangrove Walks: An Econometric Analysis Of Climate Migration Drivers From Coastal Bangladesh And Their Geopolitical Impacts, Kendall Scott Byers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Coastal Bangladesh is subject to extreme climate change forces upon poor, rural populations. The aim of this thesis is to determine the strength of environmental drivers of migration and discern whether planned or catastrophic migration predominates in the polder areas of Bangladesh. I use regression analysis on a 1,025 household, 2016 IRRI/IWMI analysis of Polder 28/1, 28/2, and 30 within Satkhira district to determine factor correlations with migration. Progressive salinization is the strongest environmental driver, while flooding decreases migration through trapping household capital investment. Religion has the greatest correlation with migration. Hindus migrate less frequently, but do so with more …

Changes Of Winter Severity In Arkansas During 1901-2100, Christian Garcia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to quantify the winter severity in a way that was reproduceable and easy to understand. The Accumulated Winter Severity Seasonal Index (AWSSI) was chosen for this reason and was used to quantify winter severity by season across the state of Arkansas. The variables that go into the AWSSI calculation are maximum daily temperature, minimum daily temperature, daily snowfall, and daily snow depth. When the snowfall and snow depth were missing, they can be estimated using daily temperature and precipitation. Then the estimated snowfall and snow depth can be subsequently used to quantify the winter …

Examining The Intersection Of Cultural Competence And Classroom Management Self-Efficacy In Northwest Arkansas K-6 Teachers, Bonnie Culp King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to examine the relationship between Northwest Arkansas K-6 teachers’ cultural competence and classroom management self-efficacy. Multiple linear regression will be the quantitative approach used for analyzing K-6 teachers’ self-reported data. Valid and reliable instruments will be used to measure the concepts as operationalized for this study. Cultural competence will be measured using the “Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale” and classroom management self-efficacy will be measured using the “Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale.” Demographic information will be collected to control for two variables: a teacher’s years of experience in teaching and race/ethnicity. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics will be …