Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Reimagining And Literary Voice: Southeastern Tribal Women Negotiate Cultural, Social, And Political Identity Through Literature, Linda Sue Shaffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines literature written by women who identify with Native tribes that originally inhabited, and in some cases continue to inhabit, the southeastern area of what is now known as the United States. The analysis presented in each chapter applies tribally specific methods used for creating knowledge within the particular discourse community being represented through literature. The project also employs the perspectives of Native literary scholars to consider the ways in which the roles and lives of Native women have been influenced by Euro-American values and to analyze the ways in which these female authors engage literature as a …

An Electrochemical Characterization Of A Vanadium-Based Deoxydehydration Catalyst, Joel Eric Baker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alternative methods for the conversion of polyols into olefins, be it for carbon storage or hydrocarbon fuel production, have become prevalent in today’s chemical industry. One process in particular, deoxydehydration (DODH) has been proven effective in taking sustainable biomass derivatives and converting them through the utilization of various homogenous metal catalysts. While this process may show productive yields and material conversion, it is hindered by the need of a sacrificial reductant. This makes a novel process economically unviable and relatively unused outside of scientific research. That fact begs the question: Can the process be improved? It is proposed here that …

Give Hate A Chance: An Exploration Of The Affective State Of Interpersonal Hate, Carmen Merrick

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Interpersonal hate, the affective state of one individual experiencing hate toward another, is widely experienced. However, to date there is no experimental evidence of interpersonal hate. This phenomenon was explored, as was its place in the triad of hostile emotions. It was theorized that interpersonal hate would be differentiated from the hostile emotions (contempt, anger, and disgust) by appraisal of violation type and by behavioral response, and that the hostile emotions could be recognized by these characteristics, as well. Specifically, it was hypothesized that interpersonal hate would be incited by autonomy violations and avoidance responses; anger would be incited by …

Morphology Controlled Synthesis Of Copper Based Multimetallic Nanostructures And Their Electrocatalytic Properties For Methanol Oxidation Reaction, Leanne Elizabeth Mathurin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research focuses on the development of shape-controlled synthesis of Cu NM, Cu-based bimetallic and trimetallic nanostructures, and their electrocatalytic properties for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Copper nanomaterials (Cu NM) with specific surface facets can tailor their catalytic activity. Understanding reagents responsible for Cu NM growth is important for morphology-controlled synthesis of the nanostructures. This research studies the halide influence on Cu NM growth and morphology in an oil-based synthesis. The morphology of the Cu NM varies with the halide type (i.e., Cl-, Br-, I-), and the halide concentration. Additionally, the type of Cu precursor also influenced the morphology of …

“Good Guys Do Rape”: An Examination Of College Student Perceptions Of Sexual Assault Perpetrators, Taylor Blythe Martinez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When people think of a typical sexual assault, they rely heavily on preconceived notions of sexual violence, which often represents stereotypical rape scenarios. Many stereotypical depictions of perpetrators tend to be centered around individuals who are strangers, mentally ill, lonely, with poor or impoverished upbringing. How perpetrators and victims are depicted impact the likelihood of others believing victims and attributing guilt to perpetrators. This may contribute to societal endorsement of acquaintance rape as not real compared to stereotypical rape scenarios. The current study examines how college students, and in particular fraternity men and sorority women, view perpetrators of sexual assault. …

Electrochemical Time Of Flight For Rapid And Direct Measurement Of Diffusion Coefficients, Jonathan C. Moldenhauer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The determination of diffusion coefficients is of fundamental importance to the understanding of electrochemistry and sensors. Developing a method by which diffusion coefficients of Red/ox active analytes can be determined quickly and elegantly, would be a great advancement over presently accepted methods. This dissertation reports the reviving electrochemical time of flight (ETOF), and developing a method that allows for empirical determination of diffusion coefficients from a single measurement. ETOF is a generate and detect experiment where the time an electrochemically generated species takes to transit a known distance is measured and related to the diffusion coefficient of the species. The …

The Use Of Probiotics To Control The Microbial Load Present In Commercial Broiler Chicken Hatch Cabinets As An Alternative To Formaldehyde Fumigation, Lucas Elzie Graham

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Formaldehyde has been used for decades as a disinfectant in the poultry hatchery. Hatch cabinets are treated with formaldehyde to control the microbial bloom that occurs inside of the hatch cabinet as the hatch progresses. Even with formaldehyde being a known human carcinogen and the detriment that it has on living creatures millions of chicks are exposed to formaldehyde in the hatch cabinet. In these experiments we tested a lyophilized probiotic spray inside of the hatch cabinets from day nineteen to day twenty one to control the microbial bloom that occurs. Hatch cabinet environments were sampled in six experiments. Media …

Exploring Winery Operation As A Diversification Option For Native American Tribal Enterprises, Randi M. Combs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of tribal members regarding the strengths, challenges, and opportunities presented by tribal winery operation. Specifically, issues of business diversification, marketing, perceived barriers to success, potential benefits to the tribe, and the role of agriculture in the preservation of tribal heritage were considered. A modified mixed-methods exploratory sequential research model was used to collect and organize data in two phases. Phase 1 quantitative data was used to inform the development of a Phase 2 qualitative interview protocol. Phase 1 found a significant relationship between a higher income level and a lower …

Beyond Coattails: Explaining John Paul Hammerschmidt's Victory In 1966, Jesse Ray Sims

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the campaign issues, demographic factors, and voting trends that helped Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt defeat incumbent Democratic congressman James W. Trimble in Arkansas’s third congressional district in 1966. Much of the historiography addressing this election largely neglects the historic significance of Hammerschmidt’s successful campaign and the factors contributing to his victory. Instead, historians primarily write about the election of Republican Winthrop Rockefeller to the governor’s office that year.

This thesis pieces together several theories on how Hammerschmidt defeated Trimble, including the effect of Winthrop Rockefeller’s coattails, the demographic changes taking place in the Ozarks beginning in the …

Indigenous Resistance: Settler-Colonialism, Nation Building, And Colonial Patriarchy, Megan E. Vallowe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Indigenous Resistance: Settler-Colonialism, Nation Building, and Colonial Patriarchy,” interrogates the Western Hemisphere’s spatial construction by settler-states, Indigenous nations, and activists groups. In this project, I assert that Indigenous/Settler contact zones are significantly more convoluted than current scholarship’s use of contact zones in that the distinctions between Indigenous actors and settler-colonial ones are often blurred. These hybrid contact zones sometimes contain negative outcomes for all participants and often include undercurrents of insidious power dynamics within and across settler-states and Indigenous peoples alike. Using critical cartographic theory and deconstruction methods, this project first illustrates how empires ascribed a racialized patriarchy onto the …

Climbar - An Arkansas Rock Climbing Documentary, Daniel Alan Henkel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis project, ‘ClimbAR’ - a rock climbing documentary - is to tell the story of a fringe sport/outdoor activity in the state of Arkansas. The history of the sport has been passed down primarily by word of mouth and contained within a small, tight knit group of Arkansas rock climbers since its humble beginnings in the 1980s. Though many of the original climbers in the state have since moved on, a new generation of adventurers have taken the reins. This film focuses on the newest generation of Arkansas rock climbers.

Like many climbers in the state, …

"The Caribbean Imaginary In Southern Women's Literature", Christy Delaine Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“The Caribbean Imaginary in Southern Women’s Literature” examines the U.S. South’s often contradictory approaches to viewing the Caribbean. While the image of the U.S. South has long been constructed by imagined fantasies, the southern authors in this project often thrust their own images onto the Caribbean imaginary. Throughout this project, I argue that over the past seventy years, the imperialist bent towards the Caribbean manifests in a variety of forms: media manipulation, patronage, fantasies, and nostalgia. At times, the Caribbean is seen as an imagined utopia full of potential, however this construction often erases the historical renderings of economic and …

Plasmon-Mediated Energy Conversion In Metal Nanoparticle-Doped Hybrid Nanomaterials, Jeremy Dunklin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change and population growth demand long-term solutions for clean water and energy. Plasmon-active nanomaterials offer a promising route towards improved energetics for efficient chemical separation and light harvesting schemes. Two material platforms featuring highly absorptive plasmonic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are advanced herein to maximize photon conversion into thermal or electronic energy. Optical extinction, attributable to diffraction-induced internal reflection, was enhanced up to 1.5-fold in three-dimensional polymer films containing AuNPs at interparticle separations approaching the resonant wavelength. Comprehensive methods developed to characterize heat dissipation following plasmonic absorption was extended beyond conventional optical and heat transfer descriptions, where good agreement was …

Characteristics And Behaviors Of School Board Members In "Grade A" Arkansas Public School Districts, Bridget Lynn Polk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to describe characteristics and behaviors of school board members in Arkansas school districts where 50% or more of their campuses earned a letter grade of “A” on the 2014 Arkansas School Performance Report (Arkansas Department of Education [ADE], 2015). This purpose was achieved through analysis of artifacts from selected school districts including: achievement patterns; board minutes; and board member professional development records. A web-based survey of school board members was also utilized to gather demographic and background information. Finally, personal interviews were completed with a small group of board members to collect …

(Social) Media Priming: The Role Of Social Media In Priming Biases And Aggression In Online News Readership, Thomas Stallbaumer Ii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is aimed at better understanding the role of media priming in biases and aggression while using social media platforms to consume news. Priming theory holds that exposure to media can have short-term impacts on people’s subsequent behaviors or judgments. (Roskos-Ewoldsen et al., 2009)

Research in priming theory has shown that there are primes for aggressive behavior, the information and criteria we use in making judgments of the president, and various stereotypes. (Chang and Hitchon, 2004; Dixon and Maddox, 2005; Josephson, 1987; Valentino, 1999; )

This study will discuss the ways in which biases and aggression can be more …

Modern Palestinian Filmmaking In A Global World, Sarah Frances Hudson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation employs a comprehensive approach to analyze the cinematic accent of feature length, fictional Palestinian cinema and offers concrete criteria to define the genre of Palestinian fictional film that go beyond traditional, nation-centered approaches to defining films. Employing Arjun Appardurai’s concepts of financescapes, technoscapes, mediascapes, ethnoscapes, and ideoscapes, I analyze the filmic accent of six Palestinian filmmakers: Michel Khleifi, Rashid Masharawi, Ali Nassar, Elia Suleiman, Hany Abu Assad, and Annemarie Jacir. After a detailed examination of each filmmaker’s body of work, I examine the trends that occur across the genre that have the greatest impact on the Palestinian filmic …

Assessment Of The Arkansas Horse 4-H Program: Perspectives From Multiple Stakeholders, Fawn Lee Kurtzo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Assessment of the Arkansas horse 4-H program utilized stakeholders’ perceptions to describe inputs, outcomes, preferences and impacts provided by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Stakeholders’ perceptions were captured through three studies. Studies included the following: a pre- and post-test evaluation of the 2016 summer horse camp, purposive interviews with county agents (n = 6), volunteer leaders (n = 4), and parents (n = 4) of horse 4-H clubs, and a statewide survey provided to Extension staff (n =26) and volunteer leaders (n = 28) affiliated with horse 4-H clubs.

The 2016 summer camp evaluation found the goals to improve horsemanship, …

Thylakoid Protein Targeting/Insertion By A Signal Recognition Particle In Chloroplasts, Priyanka Sharma

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Protein targeting is a fundamental cellular process that directs proteins from their site of synthesis to the site where they function. The signal recognition particle (SRP) dependent targeting pathway is conserved in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes where it co-translationally targets polypeptide chains emerging from ribosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum (eukaryotes) or cytoplasmic membrane (prokaryotes). A structurally unique form of SRP is found in chloroplasts where it functions to post-translationally bind and target a subset of integral thylakoid membrane proteins, the light harvesting chlorophyll binding proteins (LHCPs). Mature LHCPs bind chlorophyll a/b and function in photosynthetic light capture. Like many other …

The Dialectics Of The Community: Mexican Production Of Death, Blanca Judith Martinez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work attempts to provide a discussion of the current waves of violence present in the northern border of Mexico. The country became a neoliberal state during the late 1980s and the early 1990s. The external debt and the historical corruption of the Mexican government placed Mexico in a vulnerable stage leaving its sovereignty with a fissure before the eyes of international circles of power. The adoption of a neoliberal economic system has impacted all the social tissue. The euphoric discourse of advancement and opportunity was spread by ideological apparatus, and people in constant need accepted positively the system. The …

Scenic Design For "The Metal Children", Joseph Bryan Farley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A scenic design for the play “The Metal Children” by Adam Rapp was created and performed by the steps of the design process used in the design program at the University of Arkansas Department of Theatre. The Metal Children presents itself as a multi-unit set. With a script that introduces five different locations, one begins to question how we move forward with every different scene fluidly and in a quick scene shift time. When beginning the design process, I had to look at the show as if it were a musical with multiple scenic pieces that would fly in and …

A Genetic Analysis Of Nuclear Functions Of The Lipin Protein In Drosophila Melanogaster, Xeniya Rudolf

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Lipins are a family of proteins that have critical functions in the control of fat storage and energy homeostasis. Biochemically, lipins have two functions. They provide an enzymatic activity (phosphatidate phosphatase or PAP activity) in the glycerol-3 phosphate pathway that leads to the production of storage fats (triacylglycerols). In addition, they play a role in the regulation of genes in the cell nucleus as transcriptional co-regulators. The PAP activity of lipins has been widely studied in a number of organisms. However, the transcriptional co-regulator function is not as well described in the literature. The transcriptional function of lipins depends on …

Do You See What I See? Perception And Social Construction Of Academic Success Between Student-Athletes And Support Services, Lauren Kirby

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study explores how academic success is defined and socially constructed between athletic academic support professionals and at-risk student-athletes. There continues to be an increase in academic support services provided to student-athletes, including learning specialists, academic advisors, and academic buildings (Wolverton, 2008). Although a significant relationship between support services and academic output of student-athletes has been found (Hollis, 2002; Ridpath, 2010), the relational and communicative dynamics of these groups have not been fully explored.

Using qualitative methods, one-on-one interviews were conducted with participants, and grounded theory and thematic analysis were employed to identify overarching themes for the research questions. …

White Power In Context: The Structural Correlates Of White Power Support Events In The United States, 2012-2015, Drew Cormac Medaris

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Much of the prior research on white power groups focuses on very rare outcomes – criminal events, especially violent ones – without as much attention devoted to the more common or fundamental activities that often work to start the mobilization process for ethnocentric groups and the individuals associated with them. Broadly, the goal of the current study is to fill this gap in knowledge by integrating prominent criminological theories and themes drawn from the Social movement literature in order to explore the geographic distribution and macro-level correlates of ideologically-motivated white power movement activities. Specifically, I implement content analysis techniques of …

Where We Get Our News: A Multilevel Analysis Of The Media Framing Of Immigration And Crime, Cody Robert Tuttle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite an abundance of literature demonstrating that immigration and crime are unassociated, public opinion often reflects the contrary. I examine a source that could contribute to this disconnect between research and public opinion – media framing – particularly, how the specific way that news outlets talk about immigration and crime, along with where they are located geographically, influence how prominently these stories are covered. I employ content analysis of newspaper articles from 2008-2012, which I geo-locate and pair with structural covariates gathered from several other data sources. I use multilevel models to analyze the effect of article-level framing and county-level …

Using Rb-Tnseq To Analyze Natural Variation In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Syed Raza Mahmood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the main challenges in biology today is the characterization of millions of genes of unknown function being continuously identified in sequencing studies. Transposon mutagenesis is a technique that has been widely used for annotating gene function and has now been combined with next-generation sequencing (Tn-Seq) to assess mutant fitness on a genome wide basis. However, Tn-Seq approaches are often constrained by laborious library preparation protocols which limit the number of organisms or conditions that can be assessed. Random bar code transposon-site sequencing (RB-TnSeq), is a transposon sequencing technique that streamlines library preparation and increases the throughput of mutant …

The Disclosure Of Organizational Secrets By Employees, Danny Franklin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizational secrets enable firms to protect their unique stocks of knowledge, reduce the imitability of their capabilities and achieve sustained competitive advantages (Hannah, 2005). In today’s business environments, the loss of valuable proprietary organizational knowledge due to intentional employee disclosure represents a substantial threat to firm competitiveness. Anecdotal evidence suggests that firms in the United States lose more than $250 billion of intellectual property every year, with intentional employee disclosure accounting for a significant portion of these losses (Dandliker, 2012; Heffernan & Swartwood, 1993). Thus, understanding factors that influence such intentional secret disclosure is a key concern, especially in knowledge-intensive …

Effects Of Cover Crop Treatments On Apple Trees, Jennifer Billig

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ground cover management systems affect soil quality and health and thereby orchard growth and productivity. There have been few studies in the southern US on the effects of managed drive-rows using cover crops as part of a sustainable apple orchard management system. A field study used treatments of 1) seasonal legumes (cowpea [Vigna unguiculata] and crimson clover [Trifolium incarnatum]), 2) seasonal grasses (millet [Setaria italic] and annual rye [Lolium multiflorum]), or 3) unmanaged natural vegetation drive row plantings, with mowed vegetation blown into the tree row as mulch (mow/blow) nested variable. The legume crop cycles produced more than twice as …

Environmental And Climatic Constraints On Large-Scale Camelina Production In Eastern Arkansas, Benjamin Robert Tracy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Camelina sativa is a cold weather crop that is typically grown in semi-arid environments in the Western United States, usually as a spring crop, but sometimes during the winter. Research analyzing climate data and soil hydrology is important to better understand the environmental and terrain conditions necessary for Camelina farming wherever it is proposed for large-scale production. This study focused on various conditions and constraints pertaining to the potential for Camelina as a crop biofuel in Eastern Arkansas. Due to interest in the economic potential of crop biofuels in this area, and in particular the low input costs for Camelina, …

Monolingual And Bilingual Children's Language-Based Social Preferences In A Predominantly Monolingual Environment, Rachel Marie Stevens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monolingual children consistently display Social preferences for individuals who speak their native language with a native accent compared to individuals who speak a foreign language or speak their native language with a foreign accent. Two explanations have been proposed for these language-based preferences. The first explanation is that language cues a child to in-group membership and children prefer to affiliate with individuals who are members of the same in-group. The second explanation is that children display preferences for their native language and accent because that is what they are most familiar with, and children prefer familiarity over the unknown. The …

Factors Affecting Intentions To Use Social Commerce In Shopping For Fashion Products, Tiffany Bounkhong

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine factors affecting millennials’ attitudes and intentions to purchase fashion products through Social commerce. The current study adopted the technology acceptance model (TAM; Davis, 1989) to develop a theoretical framework. A total of 531 college students completed an online survey at a university. The sample was appropriate because millennials are a highly educated generation (Goodman, 2015) and most college students are Social media users (eMarketer, 2015). The sample was predominantly female Caucasian American students (71%) who are daily visiting Social media networking sites over four times.

Results of exploratory factor analysis with varimax …