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Purchaser Preferences On Carbon Labels: Conventional Vs. Organic Milk, Mustafa Ozkan Aug 2011

Purchaser Preferences On Carbon Labels: Conventional Vs. Organic Milk, Mustafa Ozkan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past several years, there has been growing attention concerning global warming/climate change and how humans are contributors. It is known that agricultural production is a main contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and the livestock sector is particularly significant because it is quoted as having between 3 and 18% of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent pending different assumptions. Due to this, carbon footprint labeling has been described as a potential tool to inform consumers about greenhouse gases associated with food products and assist them with the necessary information to purchase products that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. …


Mechanism Of Transcriptional Suppression Of A Phytochrome A Epiallele In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Gulab D. Rangani Aug 2011

Mechanism Of Transcriptional Suppression Of A Phytochrome A Epiallele In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Gulab D. Rangani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cytosine methylation in DNA is an integral part of epigenetically controlled regulatory networks in eukaryotes. Both plants and vertebrates display DNA methylation in the gene coding region; however, its role in gene expression is not well understood. Gene promoter, on the other hand, remains largely unmethylated. Acquisition of methylation in promoter results in transcriptional suppression of the gene. The goal of this research is to study the effect of coding region methylation in gene expression using a unique gene model, phyA'. phyA' is a transcriptionally suppressed epiallele of the Arabidopsis thaliana Phytochrome A gene, which contains methylation in CG sites …


Multiple Literacies, Fragmented Identities: Arab Students At American Universities, Gamil Mohammed Al-Amrani Aug 2011

Multiple Literacies, Fragmented Identities: Arab Students At American Universities, Gamil Mohammed Al-Amrani

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a combination of ethnography and case study which describes the Social and cultural context of literacy acquisition among Arab students at the University of Arkansas. I examine the power relations that define this minority group in the larger Social context and describe how these relations shape, transform, and sometimes threaten their cultural identities in the classroom. The dissertation investigates the different Social and cultural factors that facilitate or obstruct their learning process, factors such as age, gender, religion, and marital status. It explains how the students' acquisition of literacy exists within a larger dynamic process of Social …


Stability And Sensory Properties Of Rice Bran Peptide Fraction Incorporated Orange Juice, Mirna Georges Khairallah Aug 2011

Stability And Sensory Properties Of Rice Bran Peptide Fraction Incorporated Orange Juice, Mirna Georges Khairallah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Functional foods offer consumers added benefits beyond the sole nutritional content of the food. Food companies are aggressively seeking new and cheaper sources of functional ingredients. Kannan et al. (2008) characterized anticancer peptides and peptide fraction from rice bran. However, information about their application and stability in food is lacking. In this study the stability of the peptide fraction in water at pH 7.2, at pH 3.5, and in orange juice was studied. The effect of the addition of the peptide fraction on the quality parameters of orange juice including sensory was also assessed. The results showed that the peptide …


Effects Of Ergot Alkaloids And Antioxidants On Bovine Sperm Motility, Ryan James Page Aug 2011

Effects Of Ergot Alkaloids And Antioxidants On Bovine Sperm Motility, Ryan James Page

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The studies that comprise this thesis were performed in an attempt to identify and eliminate stressful conditions that may lead to infertility in the male bovine. The first project was performed to determine if ergot alkaloids directly affect bovine sperm motility. Percentage of motile spermatozoa was affected (P = 0.015) by a three-way interactions between time, concentration, and alkaloid. Ergotamine and dihydroergotamine decreased (P = 0.01) sperm motility in a concentration and time dependant manner and ergonovine had a minimal effect on overall sperm motility. The number of static spermatozoa also was affected (P < 0.01) by a three way interaction and increased as ET and DHET concentrations increased. Percentages of progressively motile and rapidly motile spermatozoa decreased (P < 0.01) in a two way interaction between alkaloid and concentration. Overall, sperm motility was decreased by ET and DHET. Furthermore, the qualities of motility as represented by progressive, rapid, path velocity (VAP), progressive velocity (VSL), track speed (VCL), beat frequency (BCF), lateral amplitude (ALH), straightness (STR), elongated, and area were decreased by those alkaloids. These data verify that ergot alkaloids commonly found in toxic tall fescue are detrimental to bovine spermatozoa. In the second study two antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid) were added to bovine sperm culture media and cryopreservation extender. The antioxidant capabilities of these two vitamins could help reduce free radical production and help preserve sperm viability. There was an interactive effect between ascorbic acid concentration and storage method on the bovine sperm motility characteristics: motile, progressive, rapid, track speed (VCL), and straightness (P < 0.05). A bull by ascorbic acid interaction (P < 0.05) was observed for motile, progressive, rapid, path velocity (VAP), progressive velocity (VSL), and VCL characteristics. Alpha tocopherol had no affects on sperm motility characteristics. Lipid peroxidation was affected (P < 0.01) by bull and ascorbic acid. Malondialdehyde concentrations for ascorbic acid treatments (0, 5, 10, 20 mM) were 3.25, 4.2, 2.96, and 2.15 ìM respectively. Results from the second study indicate that the addition of ascorbic acid may reduce sperm motility, but help prevent lipid peroxidation.


The Integration Of Technology Within Physical Education Teacher Education: Perceptions Of The Faculty, Helena Baert Aug 2011

The Integration Of Technology Within Physical Education Teacher Education: Perceptions Of The Faculty, Helena Baert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2008, the national Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) standards included a more integrated approach to teaching pre-service teachers about technology and stated that teacher candidates should be able to plan and implement technology infused learning experiences that meet lesson objectives. With the inclusion of the 2008 standards, PETE faculty have the task to create instruction that effectively integrates technology. This study investigated the preparedness for technology integration of 198 teacher educators within nationally recognized PETE programs. The study utilized survey research design to identify current technologies used, analyze current level of technology proficiency in relationship to the level of …


From High School To College: Factors Shaping The Collegiate Experience, Mary Jane S. Secuban May 2011

From High School To College: Factors Shaping The Collegiate Experience, Mary Jane S. Secuban

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting this study was to develop an understanding of undergraduate college students' Social readiness for the collegiate experience. The study made use of a qualitative approach and a narrative research design that used focus group interviews. The seven focus group interviews were conducted at four sites across the Southern and Midwest United States, including different institutional types. These institutions included a community college, private college, research and comprehensive state university. A total of 21 undergraduate first- and second-year students participated. The findings included external factors such as parents, siblings, friends and teachers having a significant influence over …


College Student Mental Health: The Relationship Between Depression And Emotional Intelligence Using The Student Relationships Assessment, Andre George Broquard May 2011

College Student Mental Health: The Relationship Between Depression And Emotional Intelligence Using The Student Relationships Assessment, Andre George Broquard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional relational intelligence (ERQ) and depression in college students. The significance of this study is based on the additional support that can be provided to students with increased information and understanding of emotional relational intelligence and depression. In an effort to help college students achieve their educational goals and aspirations, the researcher suggests that emotional relational intelligence can be beneficial. The relationship between depression and emotional relational intelligence may provide insight on how to support and care for college students who are struggling with depressive symptomology. The results …


The Antimicrobial Activity Of Cold Pressed Terpeneless Valencia Orange Oil At Cold Temperatures, Sean Jeffrey Pendleton May 2011

The Antimicrobial Activity Of Cold Pressed Terpeneless Valencia Orange Oil At Cold Temperatures, Sean Jeffrey Pendleton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research was undertaken to identify an antimicrobial for use during chilling in beef processing, including periods of temperature abuse, as well as to evaluate membrane filtration as means to remove essential oils from bacteria to prevent further antibacterial action. Cold pressed terpeneless Valencia orange oil was examined in combination with various temperatures (37°C, 10°C, and 4°C) to determine its antimicrobial activity against various strains of bacteria. The strains were tested using a ninety-six well microtiter plate method, with or without membrane filtration. The compound 2, 3, 5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride was used as a growth indicator. Serial, two fold dilutions …


Early Modern Evil Genius: Hyperconformity And Objectivity In Sixteenth And Seventeenth-Century English Literature, Christine Hoffmann May 2011

Early Modern Evil Genius: Hyperconformity And Objectivity In Sixteenth And Seventeenth-Century English Literature, Christine Hoffmann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation studies the response among early modern and postmodern audiences to the experience of information overload, and suggests that the most appealing response to living in a communications network that appears both systematic and random is to use a rhetoric of struggle that is ambiguous in the same way. >The reasons for this appeal are twofold: firstly, the rhetoric of struggle is a way to cope with the difficulty of situating oneself within a system of circulating information that operates according to its own arbitrary rules. Mimicking that arbitrariness is a way of finding aesthetic synchronicity between how one's …


An Empirical Investigation Of Emotional Reactivity And Elevated Mental Contamination: A Comparison Of Sexual And Physical Assault, Christal Badour May 2011

An Empirical Investigation Of Emotional Reactivity And Elevated Mental Contamination: A Comparison Of Sexual And Physical Assault, Christal Badour

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although evidence suggests that disgust and disgust-related phenomena such as mental contamination should be associated with the experience of sexual assault, there has been relatively little direct examination of this relation. Consequently, the primary aim of the current study was to conduct a multimodal assessment of disgust and mental contamination-based reactivity to an individualized script-driven imagery procedure. Participants included 27 sexually assaulted, 25 physically assaulted, and 30 non-traumatized control female adults. Subjective reactivity (i.e., ratings of disgust, anxiety, feelings of dirtiness, and urges to wash), physiological reactivity (i.e., electromyogram activity of the right levator labii superioris and medial frontalis regions) …


Modern Day Utopia: An Examination Of Internal Social Control Among "Rainbow Family", Ashleigh Elain Mckinzie May 2011

Modern Day Utopia: An Examination Of Internal Social Control Among "Rainbow Family", Ashleigh Elain Mckinzie

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis employs ethnographic fieldwork and interviews to examine internal Social control, ideological embeddedness, and resistance to mainstream culture and ideology in a utopian, counter-cultural group called The Rainbow Family of Living Light. Combining theoretical perspectives on emotions and re-integrative and dis-integrative shaming with symbolic interaction, I examine the experiences of Rainbow during a national Gathering in the summer of 2010. Through interviews and observations, I illustrate the rituals, organization of camp, stratification based on work, and solidarity building activities, that Rainbow Gatherers create to resist mainstream ideology and culture. Further, I show that they Rainbow Gatherers redefine deviance in …


The Symbolic Creation Of Cultural Performance At The Walnut Valley Festival, Maggie Colleen Cobb May 2011

The Symbolic Creation Of Cultural Performance At The Walnut Valley Festival, Maggie Colleen Cobb

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through two years of ethnographic fieldwork and 19 interviews, I synthesize symbolic interaction and a sociological framework of culture to examine the ways in which the Walnut Valley Festival is created and experienced as a unique form of cultural performance, one that is always shifting in response to the emergent cultural creation and reception of attendees. No work to date combines the dimensions of both production and reception of music festivals as a unique form of cultural performance. In bringing back the oftentimes ignored affective dimension in cultural studies, I use Griswold's (2004) metaphor of a cultural diamond, examining the …


New Interfacial Nanochemistry On Sensory Bioscaffold-Membranes Of Nanobelts, Feng Chen May 2011

New Interfacial Nanochemistry On Sensory Bioscaffold-Membranes Of Nanobelts, Feng Chen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanostructured bioscaffolds and biosensors are evolving as popular and powerful tools in life science and biotechnology, due to the possible control of their surface and structural properties at the nm-scale. Being seldom discussed in literature and long-underexploited in materials and biomedical sciences, development of nanofiber-based sensory bioscaffolds has great promises and grand challenges in finding an ideal platform for low-cost quantifications of biological and chemical species in real-time, label-free, and ultrasensitive fashion. In this study, titanate nanobelts were first of all synthesized, from hydrothermal reactions of a NaOH (or KOH solution) with TiO2 powder, to possess underexploited structure and surface …


The Effects Of Ovariecotomy On Neuropeptide Y Neurotransmission In Skeletal Muscle Arterioles, Kirk Wendell Evanson May 2011

The Effects Of Ovariecotomy On Neuropeptide Y Neurotransmission In Skeletal Muscle Arterioles, Kirk Wendell Evanson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of chronic estrogen supplementation on NPY neurotransmission in gastrocnemius first-order arterioles (G1A) of adult female rats. Female rats (4 mo; n = 30) were ovariectomized (OVX) with a subset (n = 15) receiving an estrogen pellet (OVE; 17β-estradiol (4μg / day)). Following conclusion of the treatment phase (8 weeks), red G1A were excised, placed in a physiological saline solution (PSS) bath, and cannulated with micropipettes connected to albumin reservoirs. A sampling port was placed immediately below the vessel to assess NPY overflow. The contralateral red G1A was homogenized in PSS …


Measuring Intervention Success In Countering Terrorism, Summer Marie Jackson May 2011

Measuring Intervention Success In Countering Terrorism, Summer Marie Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the shift of Attorney General Guidelines in the wake of September 11th, 2001, and the consequences for both federal law enforcement and federal prosecutors. Previous research has found that prosecutors are more apt to use an exceptional vagueness approach and try terrorists like traditional offenders. Likewise, terrorist are more likely to act like traditional offenders and plead guilty in the post-9/11 era. This study further supports the existing knowledge by providing evidence of increased plea bargain rates post-9/11 of terrorists. In addition, this study is important because it examines the consequences of the early intervention approach and …


Middle School Students' Perceptions Of The Gender And Ethnic Gap In Achievement, Marian Elizabeth Hendrickson May 2011

Middle School Students' Perceptions Of The Gender And Ethnic Gap In Achievement, Marian Elizabeth Hendrickson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study used a mix-method approach to determine achievement gap in gender and ethnicity. Quantitative data was collected from the 2008-2009 Arkansas state Benchmark exam to investigate the extent of the gap in the school. Qualitative data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with 13 students. The students were asked to explain their perceptions of the gender and ethnicity gap in the school. The use of two methods for this study enabled the researcher to better understand the actual achievement gap that appeared at the school and compare this information to the information provided by the participants. The Quantitative data gathered …


Emotion Work On The Home-Front: The Special Case Of Military Wives, Kimberly Michelle Murray May 2011

Emotion Work On The Home-Front: The Special Case Of Military Wives, Kimberly Michelle Murray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research includes interviews with twelve military wives to examine emotion-work techniques used to negotiate the everyday life of wives during their husbands' deployment. In this study, I seek to better understand the ways in which military wives negotiate their feelings within a context of military masculinity and how they manage role strain, feelings of loneliness, isolation, and marginalization. In addition, I examine the cultural constructs available to wives, such as traditional gender roles and subordination. Interviews confirm the complexity of the life of the military wife, revealing challenges of contradictory emotions in relationship to the military, her husband, her …


Multicultural Education In The Music Classroom: Definitions, Methods, And Motives, Candace Rhnea Stafford-Davis May 2011

Multicultural Education In The Music Classroom: Definitions, Methods, And Motives, Candace Rhnea Stafford-Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to understand the multicultural teaching experiences of music teachers in the Fayetteville and Springdale public school districts through the lens of James Banks' four approaches to curriculum reform. The research was intended to add to the limited literature presently found on the definition of multicultural music education and how this type of education is implemented. The study also increased knowledge of teacher motives for implementing multicultural education in the music classroom and highlight challenges that lie within implementation. Purposive sampling was used and in an attempt to get an information rich sample, two schools were chosen from …


Southern Exceptionalism And Its Impact On Environmental Attitude, Summer Dawn Woehr May 2011

Southern Exceptionalism And Its Impact On Environmental Attitude, Summer Dawn Woehr

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, the environment has become a top concern for many people. Scientific studies have shown evidence of immediate and future threats on our environment. Despite the vast amount of evidence, many people (especially in the South) do not believe there is a human cause for global warming, a fundamental part of the environmental movement. Literature suggests Southern exceptionalism may a play a part in shaping attitudes toward environmental policies in the South. Further, a recent look at V.O. Key Jr.'s 1949 Southern Politics in State and Nation suggests that religion has since been overlooked as an explanation for …


The Effectiveness Of A Personalized School-Wide Crisis And Trauma Management Training Program On Sense Of Preparedness For School Counselors-In-Training, Elizabeth Keller-Dupree May 2011

The Effectiveness Of A Personalized School-Wide Crisis And Trauma Management Training Program On Sense Of Preparedness For School Counselors-In-Training, Elizabeth Keller-Dupree

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a personalized school-wide crisis and trauma management training program for master's-level school counselors-in-training. The study began with Pilot Study 1: Crisis Training Need Assessment which sought to best identify the crisis training needs for a specific geographic region. Results from Pilot Study 1 supported that unexpected student and teacher death was the crisis category which affects students the most and is in need of further training at the master's level. Next, Pilot Study 2: Crisis Training Feedback sought to obtain comments and suggestions from masters- and doctoral-level counselors-intraining regarding …


Factors That Influence The Adoption Of Agricultural Conservation Programs In Northwest Arkansas, Edison Anthony Froelich Dec 2010

Factors That Influence The Adoption Of Agricultural Conservation Programs In Northwest Arkansas, Edison Anthony Froelich

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A survey was developed and administered to agricultural producers in Northwest Arkansas in order to better understand producer awareness of, application for and participation in six federal and state conservation programs available in Arkansas: the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, the Arkansas Revolving Loan Program, the Arkansas Nonpoint Pollution Management Program , the Arkansas Soil Nutrient and Poultry Litter Application and Management Program, and the Surplus Poultry Litter Removal Incentives Cost Share Program. Survey results found that less than half of the sample was aware of any one of the programs. A logit model was developed …


Efficient Separation And Sensitive Detection Of Listeria Monocytogenes Using Magnetic Nanoparticles, Microfluidics And Interdigitated Microelectrode Based Impedance Immunosensor, Damira Ashimkhanovna Kanayeva Dec 2010

Efficient Separation And Sensitive Detection Of Listeria Monocytogenes Using Magnetic Nanoparticles, Microfluidics And Interdigitated Microelectrode Based Impedance Immunosensor, Damira Ashimkhanovna Kanayeva

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes continues to be a major foodborne pathogen that causes food poisoning and sometimes death in immunosuppressed people and abortion in pregnant women. Nanoparticles have recently drawn attentions for use in immunomagnetic separation techniques due to their greater surface area/volume ratio and better stability against sedimentation in the absence of a magnetic field. Interdigitated microelectrodes and microfluidics make material transfer more efficient and biological/chemical interaction between the surface and solution phase much quicker. Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) with a 30 nm diameter were functionalized with rabbit anti-L. monocytogenes antibodies via biotin-streptavidin bonds and then amalgamated with target bacterial cells …


Applications Of Site-Specific Recombination Systems In Transgene Expression And Marker Gene Removal, Mehmet Aydin Akbudak Dec 2010

Applications Of Site-Specific Recombination Systems In Transgene Expression And Marker Gene Removal, Mehmet Aydin Akbudak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Site Specific Recombination systems, such as FLP-FRT and Cre-lox, have been successfully used for site-specific gene integration and marker-gene deletion in plant systems. They are very useful tools in the integration of single-copy full-length transgene cassettes into the genome because the transgene integration via conventional methods often generate multi-copy locus. Such complex locus containing direct and inverted repeats of full-length and truncated copies of the transgene cassette generate aberrant RNA resulting in gene silencing. Therefore, for stable gene expression, a single copy transgene locus is preferred. However, even single copy locus sometimes succumbs to gene silencing. Although the mechanism is …


Violence, Symbols, And The Archaeological Record: A Case Study Of Cahokia's Mound 72, Kathryn Koziol Dec 2010

Violence, Symbols, And The Archaeological Record: A Case Study Of Cahokia's Mound 72, Kathryn Koziol

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Acts of violence are not always easily distinguished in their form. Given the additional difficulties caused by the obscure nature of the archaeological record, it is no wonder that interpretations of these behaviors are so skewed both between and within fields of research. There is little consistency in this academic dialogue, which prevents researchers from grappling with the larger perspectives that should be approached. For instance, just how far back in our human history have events such as genocide occurred? Are these modern in origin? The scale of ancient events and our anthropological scopes need more adjustment to the unique …


Hardware Microkernels - A Novel Method For Constructing Operating Systems For Heterogeneous Multi-Core Platforms, Jason M. Agron Aug 2010

Hardware Microkernels - A Novel Method For Constructing Operating Systems For Heterogeneous Multi-Core Platforms, Jason M. Agron

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today's standard operating systems (OSes) do not have the proper structure, nor support for executing on heterogeneous multi- and many-core platforms. These deficiencies manifest in symptomatic issues that range from relatively low-level application binary interface (ABI) compatibility problems, to higher-level concerns such as application programmer interface (API) compatibility, synchronization, and caching issues. These issues in turn reflect back up to the programmer through a lack of a standard set of OS services. Non-uniformities in the hardware architecture are also reflected back into the programming model. In total these issues combined break down the most fundamental benefit of modern operating systems; …


Factors Affecting The Institutional Perception Of Alumni Of The University Of Arkansas, Anthony Mcadoo Aug 2010

Factors Affecting The Institutional Perception Of Alumni Of The University Of Arkansas, Anthony Mcadoo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alumni relations programs are a foundational component to institutional advancement and are often the unit that regularly communicates news and information about the institution to its alumni. Alumni relations professionals can strategically position a higher education institution among its alumni by including and emphasizing information that is found to have a positive impact on the opinion of alumni. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the factors that impact alumni opinion of the University of Arkansas, loyalty to components of the University and overall current opinion. This study utilized secondary data from the Alumni Attitude Study® …


The Relationship Among Beginning And Advanced American Sign Language Students And Credentialed Interpreters Across Two Domains Of Visual Imagery: Vividness And Manipulation, Linda Stauffer May 2010

The Relationship Among Beginning And Advanced American Sign Language Students And Credentialed Interpreters Across Two Domains Of Visual Imagery: Vividness And Manipulation, Linda Stauffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Given the visual-gestural nature of ASL it is reasonable to assume that visualization abilities may be one predictor of aptitude for learning ASL. This study tested a hypothesis that visualization abilities are a foundational aptitude for learning a signed language and that measurements of these skills will increase as students progress from beginning ASL students to advanced language learners and, ultimately to credentialed interpreters. Participants in this study consisted of 90 beginning and 66 advanced ASL students in five interpreter education programs in four southern states along with 68 credentialed interpreters. Students and interpreters were administered the Vividness of Visual …


A Comparative Analysis Of Single-Sex Schools In Terms Of Achievement In Reading And Math And Student Attendance, Debra Ann Brathwaite Jan 2010

A Comparative Analysis Of Single-Sex Schools In Terms Of Achievement In Reading And Math And Student Attendance, Debra Ann Brathwaite

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


And A Small One A Nation, Charity Michelle Smalls Jan 2010

And A Small One A Nation, Charity Michelle Smalls

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.