Digital Commons Network^™

News Media Coverage And Framing Of Human Trafficking In The United States, Chloe Junkerman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines what makes mainstream news media representations of human trafficking cases newsworthy, and how news media choose to frame sensationalized human trafficking stories. While there have been several notable studies examining news media framing of human trafficking as a social issue more generally, prior research has yet to empirically investigate how the news media cover specific human trafficking cases, thus overlooking what types of attributes make cases newsworthy. This is an important gap in research as the types of cases that get covered, or ignored, by news media, and how stories frame various aspects of these crimes, informs …

Effects Of Land Cover And Land Change On Monarch Butterfly Presence Across The Conus, Chris R. Burkhart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The decline of monarch butterfly populations (Danaus plexippus L.) over the past four decades, particularly in their overwintering habitats, has raised concerns about the species' conservation. Habitat loss and modification, particularly within the contiguous United States, are attributed as one of the key drivers of this decline. However, the specific impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on monarch distributions remains inadequately documented. This study integrates monarch observations from multiple sources spanning 2008 to 2019 with LULC data to analyze the relationship between habitat configuration and monarch presence. Using a randomized grid sampling approach, habitat configuration metrics were …

‘Catching Zzz’S And Feelings’: A Study Examining The Link Between Sleep And Emotional Intimacy Among Sexual Assault Survivors, Anna Marie Thi Thanh Nguyen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The impact of sexual assault can be significant, including an increased likelihood of subsequent negative psychological and physical outcomes, even compared to other trauma types. Further studies indicate that individuals who have experienced sexual assault are more likely to struggle with interpersonal relationships. Sleep is a transdiagnostic process and disrupted sleep is a prominent feature of post-trauma related symptoms. Sleep is also implicated in social cognitive processes that are used to establish emotional intimacy in interpersonal relationships. The goal of the current study is therefore to examine the relations among sexual assault exposure, sleep, and emotional intimacy. A two-part study …

Environments And Controls Of Erosional Bedforms In Soluble Channels, Ethan W. Oleson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Erosional bedforms, such as scallops, preserve valuable information on the paleohydrologic conditions forming soluble channels in karst systems. While these bedforms are commonly used to interpret past conditions, questions about their formation remain. Mathematical models of speleogenesis in turbulent flow predict that the conditions for forming scallops do not occur in natural carbonate systems. However, scallops are readily found in caves throughout the world. This conundrum has several possible resolutions, but each lacks field-based observations. We present a field-based study of the environments and controls of scallops in gypsum, limestone, and dolostone caves. Our results are based on field observation, …

Evaluation Of A Diflufenican:Metribuzin:Flufenacet Premixture For Soybean Tolerance And Weed Control, Matthew Coleman Woolard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Palmer amaranth [Amaranthus palmeri (S.) Wats.] and waterhemp [Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) Sauer] ranks among the most troublesome weeds of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], having evolved resistance to multiple herbicide sites of action. Bayer CropScience has announced its intentions to launch Convintro™ brand herbicides, one being a three-way premixture for use preplant until 3 d after planting in soybean. The premixture will include diflufenican (WSSA Group 12), metribuzin (WSSA Group 5), and flufenacet (WSSA Group 15) (DFF-containing premixture), adding a new site of action for use in soybean throughout the United States. In 2022 and 2023, field trials were conducted …

Influence Of Invasive Species, Drought, And Stream Permanence On Stream Crayfish Species With A Focus On The Imperiled Mammoth Spring Crayfish (Faxonius Marchandi), Leah Marie Bayer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater crayfish constitute one of the most-threatened taxonomic groups in North America. Invasion by other crayfish species as well as habitat degradation through alteration of natural flow regime are two of the most prominent threats to crayfish persistence. Additionally, extreme weather events like droughts can amplify threats posed by other stressors on crayfish populations and are expected to increase in frequency, magnitude, and/or duration in the future, which may negatively influence narrow-ranged endemic crayfish populations typical of the Southeast. The Mammoth Spring Crayfish, Faxonius marchandi, is a narrow-ranged endemic that occurs in the Spring River drainage of Arkansas and Missouri …

Investigating The Detection And Transport Of Low Molecular Weight Species To Better Understand Their Impact On Disease Pathology And Treatment, Haley Michelle Duncan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to the drastic differences in the projects involved, this dissertation will be split into two sections: Alzheimer’s disease and chronic kidney disease. Each chapter will contain an introduction, materials and methods section, results and discussion, conclusions, and works cited section. The Alzheimer’s disease chapter will also have a supplemental figures section containing the polyacrylamide gels that were silver stained and quantified via ImageJ. The presence of elevated levels of amyloid beta oligomeric species in the brain has been related to the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. As these oligomeric species are transient in nature, their kinetics pose a challenge to …

Feasibility Study For The Application Of A Solar Powered Absorption Chilling System For Cooling Poultry Houses In Northwest Arkansas, Matthew James Kelly

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates the economic feasibility of utilizing a solar-powered absorption chiller to provide cooling for poultry houses in northwest Arkansas. An existing thermodynamic model of a poultry house was modified to account for cooling. A simulation was performed using actual weather data from Fayetteville, Arkansas for 26 flocks of broilers at four cooling capacities for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 calendar years. Based on the simulation, the savings from reduced electricity use for ventilation and the cost of the required absorption chiller and solar thermal array for an 8-house farm were calculated. While providing cooling was found to reduce …

Strategies For Misinformation Correction: Evidence For The Power Of Negation, Angel Houts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated the effectiveness of different correction strategies for misinformation using a 2 (Source: no source, credible source) x 2 (Structure: negation, affirmation) within-subjects design with an additional control condition that had no corrections. Participants read 40 Twitter-like statements, which included 25 pieces of misinformation and 15 truthful statements, and rated their emotional responses on a Likert scale. After completing a distractor task, participants read additional Twitter-like statements across five different conditions. The first four conditions aimed to correct misinformation: negation with a credible source, negation without source, affirmation with a credible source, affirmation without source. The fifth …

Atypical Responses To Sensory Stimuli Or Eating Environments In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lydia Rockers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often encounter challenges in processing sensory inputs. Children with ASD may experience feeding difficulties and over- or under- stimulation during food-related activities such as eating or shopping. These have impacts on the health and well-being of individuals with ASD in childhood and throughout their lives. Further research is needed to address the impact of ambient sound levels in a retail or restaurant setting. The main objective of this thesis was to address these gaps by identifying responses to various environmental and food related stimuli. The findings of this research addressed differences in responses between …

Understanding The Emergence Of Self-Determination In Children With Disabilities Through Family Experiences In Early Childhood: A Qualitative Study, Karen K. Lange

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract A person’s ability to be self-determined begins to develop through the earliest interactions in life within the context of the family and caregiving environments. This qualitative phenomenological study of the experiences of eight parents representing seven families of young children explored how families promote their children’s early development of the skills, abilities, and attitudes of self-determination. The critical importance of the family context for the promotion of self-determination in young children is seen in the four themes that emerged from the experiences shared by these families. (1) The family context is transformed by a child with a disability, changing …

Modification Of Time-Domain Terahertz Spectroscopy System To Polarimetry Imaging System With Application To Human Breast Cancer Surgical Specimen, Nikita Gurjar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Breast-conserving therapy (lumpectomy) is one of the most performed breast cancer surgeries in the United States. The best outcome of lumpectomy surgery is achieved when the surgical margins are free of cancer. When remnants of cancer are detected at the surgical margins after the initial operation, a second operation will be required to remove the cancer. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients undergo breast conserving surgery (BCS) at local hospitals that do not have access to immediate on-site pathology leading to high rates of re-excision or reoperation (greater than 30%). Therefore, there is a significant need for new intraoperative technology …

Remodel-Fpga: Reconfigurable Memory-Centric Array Processor Architecture For Deep-Learning Acceleration On Fpga, Md Arafat Kabir

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deep-Learning has become a dominant computing paradigm across a broad range of application domains. Different architectures of Deep-Networks like CNN, MLP, and RNN have emerged as the prominent machine-learning approaches for today’s application domains. These architectures are heavily data-dependent, requiring frequent access to memory. As a result, these applications suffer the most from the memory bottleneck of the von Neumann architectures. There is an imminent need for memory-centric architectures for deep-learning and big-data analytic applications that are memory intensive. Modern Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are ideal programmable substrates for creating customized Processor in/near Memory (PIM) accelerators. Modern FPGAs contain …

Synthesis Of Nanoparticles And Their Applications In Power Module Packaging And Organic Electronics, Xinsong Zhang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nanoparticles can greatly change the properties of regular materials due to their special structures. In this research nanoparticles, such as silver nanowires, silver nanospheres and expanded graphite, are used in interconnection materials for power module packaging, and in conductive films for organic electronics. Silver nanowires synthesized by polyol synthesis, are used as fillers in micron silver paste. The electrical and mechanical properties of the sintered hybrid silver paste are investigated and compared with those of micron silver paste. The composites of silver nanospheres and expanded graphite are mixed with PEDOT:PSS solutions in 5 different weight ratio. The electrical and optical …

Development Of Iii-V And Iv Epitaxy On Sapphire Technology, Emmanuel Wangila

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research presents comprehensive insights into the epitaxial growth of germanium (Ge) on c-plane sapphire substrates using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The direct growth of Ge on sapphire typically yields three-dimensional (3D) Ge islands with diverse growth directions, multiple primary domains, and twinned crystals. However, incorporating a thin AlAs nucleation layer proves instrumental in enhancing surface and material quality. With a 10 nm AlAs layer, the achieved surface exhibits improved characteristics, including a smoother surface, single epitaxial orientation, sharper rocking curve, and a single domain. This study surpasses previous works by achieving a single primary domain and reducing twinning. Furthermore, …

Leveraging Machine Learning And Stochastic Programming To Address Vaccine Hesitancy In Public Health Resource Allocation, Hieu Trung Bui

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Infectious disease outbreaks highlight the urgent need for effective strategies to distribute vaccines and allocate critical healthcare resources to contain the disease and reduce its negative impacts on the population. Managing these allocations is a significant challenge, especially in marginalized communities facing uncertainty in healthcare demand and logistical constraints. This dissertation addresses these challenges by investigating factors that influence dynamic changes in vaccine hesitancy (VH) and its implications for disease spread and healthcare resource demand. It develops optimization models for vaccine distribution and resource allocation under uncertainty, validated with data from the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. The first study …

Student Perceptions And Academic Performance When Taught With Multiple Active Learning Methods In A High Enrollment Undergraduate Human Physiology Course, Kate Ireton Walker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

When instructing very large groups of students in science, it can be difficult to engage all students in the content and measure their understanding. A major unaddressed challenge in science instruction is how specifically to design and implement strategies that engender active learning particularly in high-enrollment undergraduate courses. Active learning, which represents a diverse set of strategies, may include student engagement as part of instruction through discussions, active movement, and application (Bernstein, 2018; Cavanagh, et al. 2016; Michael, 2006 & Wilke, 2003). This study was designed to provide data addressing the gap in the literature regarding how the continual implementation …

Computational Alchemy: Pioneering Spintronic, Thermoelectric, And Optoelectronic Materials Design Through First-Principles Calculations And Machine Learning, Eesha Sanjay Andharia

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Intelligent materials discovery and design plays a pivotal role in advancement of spintronics, optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices and technology. In this study, we investigate three types of materials using first principles calculations. First, the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of CrTiCoZ (Z = Al, Si) equiatomic quaternary Heusler alloys were investigated. CrTiCoAl compound was found to exhibit a half metallic ferromagnetic structure and Curie temperature above room temperature, which makes it an ideal candidate for magnetic tunnel junction, the basic building block of Spintronic devices. Second, we use Green’s function to obtain the finite temperature phonons by including quartic anharmonicity …

Optimization Of And Mechanistic Insights Into Photocatalytic And Non-Thermal Plasma Degradation Of Organic Pollutants For Sustainable Wastewater Treatment, Yiting Xiao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water pollution by organic pollutants poses a significant environmental threat, necessitating the development of advanced treatment technologies to ensure sustainable and efficient remediation. This dissertation explored innovative approaches to enhance the degradation of organic pollutants through the integration of photocatalytic and plasma-assisted systems, with a focus on optimizing these processes using methodologies ranging from response surface methodology (RSM) to advanced machine learning techniques. The first part of the dissertation investigated the degradation of organic pollutants in flocculated liquid digestate using photocatalytic titanate nanofibers (TNFs) synthesized via a hydrothermal method. This study represents the first application of TNFs, with a bandgap …

Esd-Robust 4h-Sic Low-Voltage Cmos Technology Development For High Temperature, Hui Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the development and optimization of electrostatic discharge (ESD)-robust, low-voltage CMOS technology using 4H-silicon carbide (SiC) tailored for high-temperature applications, addressing the critical need for reliable semiconductor devices in harsh environmental conditions. The advent of SiC as a semiconductor material offers significant advantages over traditional silicon (Si) in harsh environments, including higher thermal conductivity, greater electron mobility, and improved electrical characteristics at elevated temperatures. This research explores the integration of 4H-SiC into CMOS technology to enhance device reliability and performance in extreme conditions such as those found in aerospace, automotive, and energy sectors. The study begins with a …

Smartphone Gaming And International Students: Exploring The Experiences Of Hypercasual Gameplay For Practicing English Vocabulary And Learning About The United States Culture In Mediated Action, Se He Hwang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of smartphones in everyday settings is widespread, and people around the world use smartphones not only for making phone calls and sending text messages but also as a tool for searching for information and playing smartphone games during their free time. Since people around the world have easy access to smartphones regardless of their physical locations, smartphones can function as a tool for learning purposes, and playing games for learning purposes also supports the students to learn information in less stressful settings since playing games is predominantly for entertainment. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study in mediated …

Tuning Electronic Transport And Magnetic Properties Of Layered Magnetic Materials, Md Rafique Un Nabi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Two-dimensional magnetic materials (2DMMs) have gained significant interest due to their potential for novel physical phenomena and device applications. Mn_2-xZn_xSb, with its tunable magnetic properties and stable tetragonal layered structure, offers a rich platform for exploring these phenomena. The introduction of Zn into the Mn₂Sb lattice efficiently tunes magnetic and electronic properties, making it a compelling candidate for high-performance spintronic devices.

With this motivation, we synthesized Mn_2-xZn_xSb (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) single crystals using a flux method. Mn2Sb exhibits ferrimagnetic order below 550 K with antiparallel spins aligned along …

Understanding And Control Of Frustration And Topological Defects In Ferroic Matter, Suyash Rijal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ferroic matter are of great importance as they provide a platform to extend the understanding of many-body physics and also for their amazing functional properties relevant for technological advancements. The work in this dissertation is dedicated to two of such ferroic materials.

First is CrGeTe₃ (CGT), a two dimensional (2D) magnet discovered in 2017. The discovery of two-dimensional magnetism has invigorated the research community as their low dimensionality offers a unique avenue to understand and investigate the origin of magnetism in these atomically thin systems and harvest diverse application such as information processing, storage and transfer using their magnetic …

Ω-Shaped Rogowski Coil Current Sensor Optimization Design In Power Electronics Applications, Xia Du

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Accurate switching current measurement plays a pivotal role in characterization of power devices, overcurrent protection, and real-time control of system-level operations in power electronics applications. However, the ongoing revolution in power electronics, driven by the emergence of wide bandgap power devices operating at megahertz (MHz) switching frequencies, introduces challenges for current sensor design. The urgent issue now is the need to increase current sensor bandwidth significantly to adeptly capture the rapid switching speed current. Additionally, the trend towards high power density and compact power converters in various applications demands current sensors that are not only compact and nonintrusive but can …

Micro-Mechanical Characterization Of Uhpc Stiffness Mechanisms: Towards A Better Understanding Of Concrete Elastic Modulus, Charissa N. Puttbach

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current design code equations for estimating the elastic modulus of specialty concretes like ultra-high performance concrete are not all suitable. Developing empirical curves from exhaustive experimental testing is challenging for concretes that may have high levels of cement replacement with mineral admixtures and fibers at varying volume contents. As such, an alternative approach is taken that seeks to understand the constituent microscale stiffness mechanisms and relate the results to the macroscale. Micropillars are fabricated on several cement paste phases using a focused ion beam. A modified pico-indenter is used to determine the linear and non-linear behavior under micro-compression loading. Micropillar …

In The Performance Of A Lifetime: Pepper Plinkett, Lily Camille Hollinden

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This narrative depicts a caricature of the human experience through the eyes of my alter- ego character, Pepper Plinkett. Pepper is a symbol of my personal philosophies of what it means to be human, and serves as a protagonist and guide through an infinite, ambiguous natural world. This exhibition is a celebration of the vibrancy, curiosity, and ridiculousness of a lifetime. The uniqueness of humor as a specifically human trait and its use as a tool of communication, particularly in expressing authenticity, is the driving force behind my use of clowns in my work. I take an absurdist approach to …

Imagining Tomorrow Is What Creative Minds Do: Storytelling, Collaboration And Design Futuring, Jessica Miles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

According to the 2020 Cigna US Loneliness Index Survey, 73% of Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) report feeling alone sometimes or always. Consequently, People who experience social isolation risk early death. Gen Z as a cohort is hyperconnected in the virtual world but socially disconnected, often relying on social apps and the internet as a creative outlet (Bakhtiari). Research shows that young adults frequently utilize these apps as a site for inspiration and brainstorming rather than searching for creative motivation in the outside world. Speculative design helps explore new perspectives and gives designers tools to support imagination and …

Providing A Statistical Analysis Framework For Agencies To Analyze The Parameters Influencing The Rutting And Cracking Performance Of Asphalt Mixtures, Mohammad Tahir Ansari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many state agencies recognize that their current asphalt mixtures are susceptible to cracking and poor durability. Some agencies are adjusting their mix design procedures to increase the asphalt binder content, while others are moving toward a balanced mix design (BMD) to try and address both cracking and rutting. However, there is uncertainty on what asphalt mixture properties can impact cracking and rutting. This research explores the IDEAL-CT and APA data from two years of mix designs collected by ARDOT. To understand which asphalt mixture properties impact cracking and rutting in the field, Pearson correlation (PCM), Spearman rank correlation (SCM) and …

Proctor And Harvard Miniature Compaction Energy Comparison, Julia Loshelder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Compaction with the Harvard Miniature Compaction Apparatus (HMCA) was investigated to develop a method that can be used in place of typical Proctor compaction. Advantages for compaction with the HMCA include the need for less soil for testing and less preparation time. To investigate the potential for HMCA as a replacement, soil specimens were compacted with both the Proctor and HMCA methodologies at equivalent energies. For this testing, the testing included modified energy (56,250 ft-lbf/ft³ [2693 kN-m/m³]), standard energy (12,375 ft-lbf/ft³ [593 kN-m/m³]), and reduced energy (6188 ft-lbf/ft³ [296 kN-m/m³]). Because …

Addressing Data Limitations Of Commercial Waterways Via Machine Learning And Stochastic Optimization, Sanjeev Bhurtyal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freight transportation is a crucial component of the US economy, with truck, rail, and water contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, challenges arise in maintaining infrastructure capacity to accommodate the growing tonnage and value of freight transportation. Waterways offer high efficiency and environmental friendliness, with the capacity to transport substantial cargo volumes. Utilizing waterways can alleviate bottlenecks in landside transportation, accommodating the rising tonnage of commodity flow in the US. Despite the advantages of waterway transportation, the data limitations hinder informed decision-making regarding port operation and infrastructure investment. The lack of granularity and timeliness in available data …