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Chivalric Schism : The Man Who Occupies The Masculine And The Feminine 2014, Timothy C. Morris

Master's Theses

Designated male and female gender roles have created a certain set of expectations that shape the lives of men and women. Although there are benefits and drawbacks for each of the sexes as a result of these sets of rules, males have unquestionably seen themselves the beneficiaries throughout the course of history far more often than their female counterparts. I would argue, however, that chivalric codes, behaviors ascribed to men of the knightly class in the Middle Ages, are confusing and even contradictory for their subjects, thus negating some of the advantage typically granted by virtue of being a male. …

Model Predictive Control For Temperature Dependent Systems, Felipe Vicente Sylva Prado

Master's Theses

Manipulating and monitoring the variables of temperature dependent systems can be a very complex task for most industrial facilities since they require either the close attention of experienced engineers or highly expensive control programs. These systems are often poorly operated, which increases the cost of production and affects the overall performance of the process. This paper aims at proposing a solution to this problem using adaptable Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithms for temperature dependent systems and computational methods to optimize their performance, while maintaining a stable temperature within the process. This research investigates and evaluates MPC and compares its performance …

Taxonomy, Diversity, And Distribution Patterns Of Portunid Crab Megalopae In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico During Fall Of 2003, Carley Rain Knight

Master's Theses

The field of zooplankton biology contributes to more accurate stock assessments as well as to a greater understanding of the marine food web. However, adequate information for the invertebrate component of zooplankton is lacking compared to the ichthyoplankton component. In this thesis, identification of Portunidae (Crustacea: Decapoda) megalopae collected during the fall of 2003 from a NOAA SEAMAP cruise revealed 7 species and 11 morphs with 90% of the total density comprised of Callinectes sapidus, Achelous gibbesii, Callinectes similis, Achelous spinicarpus, and Achelous sp.I. Keys and detailed descriptions are provided along with photographs and morphological drawings for each morph to …

Adaptive Method Of Approximate Particular Solution For One-Dimensional Differential Equations, Yichuan Dong

Master's Theses

An adaptive algorithm for the Method Approximate Particular Solution (MAPS) using radial basis functions for solving boundary value problems is discussed in this work. The goal of the adaptive algorithm is to construct an optimal collocation points distribution that gives the required accuracy with the smallest number of degrees of freedom. I proposed the formulation of the adaptive MAPS for second order boundary value problems in an arbitrary dimensional setting. Then I applied this method to three different boundary value problems in one-dimensional setting. The performance of the adaptive method has been demonstrated by numerical experiments.

Land As Power, An Analysis Of Female Land Inheritance And Intrahousehold Bargaining In Rwanda, Eric Adebayo

Master's Theses

Do increased levels of female land inheritance lead to increases in female intrahousehold bargaining power? Analysis of an expansive Rwandan household survey dataset from 2010-2011 suggests that female land inheritances are positively associated with female intrahousehold bargaining power. The results support the relative efficacy of intrahousehold bargaining models over that of unitary household models. The findings have implications for Rwandan lawmakers debating changes to the country's “Succession law” which makes gender discrimination in land inheritance illegal. This is the first paper of its kind to estimate female land inheritance's effect on bargaining power in Rwanda.

Autonomous Close Formation Flight Of Small Uavs Using Vision-Based Localization, Michael B. Darling

Master's Theses

As Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are integrated into the national airspace to comply with the 2012 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, new civilian uses for robotic aircraft will come about in addition to the more obvious military applications. One particular area of interest for UAV development is the autonomous cooperative control of multiple UAVs. In this thesis, a decentralized leader-follower control strategy is designed, implemented, and tested from the follower’s perspective using vision-based localization.

The tasks of localization and control were carried out with separate processing hardware dedicated to each task. First, software was written to estimate the relative state …

All About Life: Analyzing The Most Effective Interventions In A Colorado Juvenile Diversion Program, Kamille Mckinney

Master's Theses

Far too often in our society offenders in the criminal justice system started their criminal careers as juveniles and never found a way to dig themselves out of the black hole that is delinquency. In recent years, across the nation, there has been great effort expended in finding early interventions for juveniles to deter them away from the criminal justice system before they delve into a negative life trajectory. In Colorado multiple jurisdictions utilize diversion programs as a way to keep juvenile offenders out of the formal court system. This research examines one such Juvenile Diversion Program in the Fifth …

Characterization Of Biomechanical Properties Of Mitral Valve Chordae Tendineae, Keping Zuo

Master's Theses

Objective: Mitral regurgitation and prolapse are the two most common diseases of the mitral valve and result in the leakage of blood back into the left atrium during systole. Rupture of the chordae tendinae is the most common cause of mitral insufficiency. The goal of this study was to characterize the biomechanical properties of the mitral valve chordae tendineae of aged human and ovine hearts.

Materials and Methods: A total of 115 chordae specimens from fresh ovine hearts (n=18, weight = 374.833 47.947g, age of 1-2 year old), and 152 from human hearts (n=14, weight = 516.538 125.718g, mean age …

Prehistoric Life On The Mississippi Coast: Chronology And Function Of Ceramics From Three Shell Middens In The Grand Bay Estuary, Samuel Michael Huey

Master's Theses

This study analyzes ceramic assemblages with radio carbon dates produced from three archaeological sites, 22JA564, 22JA575, and 22JA633, with a view to determine the types and varieties of containers brought to and used at each site. The study area is located in the extreme eastern end of the Mississippi Sound in Jackson County, Mississippi. Methods employed in this research evaluate five variables: orifice diameter, vessel wall thickness, decoration, temper, and vessel shape. These variables were selected in order to determine the mechanical performance characteristics, as well as the formal and functional aspects of pottery assembled in this study. Determining form …

Callous-Unemotional Traits And Empathy Deficits: Mediating Effects Of Affective Perspective-Taking And Facial Emotion Recognition, Joyce Hoi Ling Lui

Master's Theses

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are core features of psychopathy that indicate severe and pervasive disruptions in behavioral and emotional functioning in youths (Frick, Ray, Thornton, & Kahn, 2014). Research on how CU traits are associated with cognitive and affective empathy (which includes an aspect of emotional responsiveness), are equivocal. Furthermore, little is known about what specific abilities may underlie these purported empathy deficits. Affective perspective-taking (APT) and facial emotion recognition are two abilities that may be implicated, given their associations with empathy, and to some degree, with CU traits (Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous & Warden, 2008a; Carr & Lutjemeier, 2005; Chambers & Davis, 2012; …

The Impact Of Serotonin And Dopamine On Human Aggression: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Caroline Isabelle Jalain

Master's Theses

Aggressive behaviors can have serious impacts on both the population at-large and the criminal justice system (Fish, DeBold, & Miczek, 2002); but despite these potential repercussions, no adequate treatment options have been identified to prevent (or reduce) such consequential actions. An increasing amount of research has, however, developed (over the years) in response to these treatment needs. Recently, the disciplines of neurobiology and neuropsychology have discovered specific anti-aggressive treatments. Studies on the prefrontal cortex specifically reveal that certain areas of the brain, along with an array of chemical imbalances, are related to aggressive behavior (Barrett, Edinger, & Siegel, 1990). Specifically, …

Stories, Garrett Alden Ashley

Master's Theses

These short stories represent different genres, forms, ideals, and times. This collection contains the weird, the scientific, the fantastical, and settings that are real. The problems faced by the characters are a product of each story's genre, but the willingness of its characters to overcome change remains the same. In one story, a man wants to get rid of his mechanical daughter because she reminds him of his wife. In another, a man takes care of his brother who has returned from the dead as a pig. In others, a man believes his wife is trying to kill him, a …

Refocusing Ecocriticism: Going Deep With Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, Ivan Anderson Philippoff

Master's Theses

The field of scholarship known as ecocriticism is growing rapidly. Members of the field must endeavor to define ecocritism’s goals and parameters to prevent fragmentation and lack of focus. While most professed ecocritics agree that increased awareness and respect for the environment must be of paramount importance, some disagreement exists concerning the best methods to achieve this goal. One of the issues that requires clarification involves whether proponents of ecocriticism should adopt a more ecocentric or anthropocentric perspective of the environment. The former views humanity as part of a worldwide community and views nature as valuable in its own right. …

The Effects Of Stocking Density And Feeding Frequency On Aggressive And Cannibalistic Behaviors In Larval Hatchery-Reared Spotted Seatrout, Cynosion Nebulosus, Christopher Burton Manley

Master's Theses

The Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) is a euryhaline fish that inhabits coastal regions from Massachusetts to Texas. Due to its predaceous nature and proximity to coastal shorelines it is the most important marine finfish in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of this importance, Spotted Seatrout has been identified as a possible candidate for stock enhancement. Stock enhancement is the practice of releasing hatchery-reared juveniles to increase local recruitment beyond existing levels. However, raising enough Spotted Seatrout in an intensive aquaculture system has proven difficult due to aggression and cannibalism during the larval stages.

The manipulation of stocking density …

Southern Hospitality: A Mississippi Twilight, Pyran Sand Taylor

Master's Theses

This is a collection of stories about ordinary people and mice, and the occasional mythological creature whose lives become more complicated.

Handling Risk: Testosterone And Risk Preference, Evidence From Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tobias Sytsma

Master's Theses

The relationship between testosterone and risk aversion is of increasing interest in the experimental economics. Using the ratio of the second digit to the fourth digit (2D:4D) as a rough indicator of level of prenatal testosterone exposure, this study attempts to replicate recent results from Garbarino et al., (2011), which found that individuals with digit ratios above the sample average were significantly more risk averse, and individuals with digit ratios one standard deviation below the sample average were significantly more risk seeking in a subject pool of male and female Caucasian students. Here, a subject pool from Dhaka, Bangladesh, is …

Optimization Based Touchscreen Graphical User Interface Design, Christian D. Royer

Master's Theses

Tablets have been increasing in popularity throughout the past couple years and developers are designing their graphical user interfaces (GUIs) with this trend in mind. This thesis attempts to examine how a process can be designed to automatically create a GUI layout for a menu driven interface based on predetermined criteria. The effectiveness of the system along with a qualitative analysis of GUIs was examined through the use of human subjects testing ATM designs on a tablet. A three-way ANOVA was designed to see if Gender, the type of Form, or if the order they did their testing was a …

Modeling And Simulation Of Parallel D-Statcoms With Full-Wave Rectifiers, Jason Brinsfield

Master's Theses

In recent years, both a significant increase in electrical demand and a large influx of intermittent renewable energy sources have put a considerable stress on the nation’s electrical grid. Conventional power flow control techniques such as capacitor banks and tap-changing transformers are incapable of adequately handling the rapid fluctuations in power supply and demand that today’s grid experiences. Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) controllers are a practical way to compensate for such rapid power fluctuations. One type of shunt FACTS controller is the Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM), which uses fully controllable switches to source or sink reactive power to a …

Investigating Present And Future Interactions Between Radio Frequency Identification, Additive Manufacturing And Supply Chain Management, Michael Nobuhiro Ochi

Master's Theses

A screening experiment was paired with research observing the past, present and futures of additive manufacturing (a.k.a. rapid prototyping, 3D printing), radio frequency identification, and supply chain management. The experiment tested different properties of objects created with a desktop fused deposition modelling printer to observe if any single factors or interactions affected the read range of embedded passive UHF RFID inlay. The combination of material and infill percentage had a statistically significant effect on read range, however the analysis is weak since the data could not justify the normality assumption of ANOVA. Furthermore, the size of the effect was small …

Historical Channel Adjustments In The Pascagoula River Basin And Adjacent Systems, Southeast Mississippi, Michael Charles Ayers

Master's Theses

This project identifies historical cross-section adjustments in 13 rivers of the Pascagoula Basin and adjacent fluvial systems over the last 30-50 years, which could reveal hydrologic and sedimentary responses to natural causes such as flooding or various anthropogenic activities in the region, such as logging, urban development, and instream aggregate extraction. Historical depth and streamflow measurement notes, taken at established USGS gaging stations, were used to determine incremental width, depth, and discharge values. For each section and date, individual depth measurements were subtracted from the adjusted mean gage height, which represents the channel bed or submerged bank positions. Comparisons of …

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Of Marine Clay Nano- And Microstructure By Transmission Electron Microscopy: Analysis Of Fabric And Pore Network, Jessica Rae Gardner Douglas

Master's Theses

Three-dimensional reconstructions of marine fine-grained sediment open a new dimension for studying nano- and microscale organo-clay fabric important to improving and advancing organic matter (OM) sequestration and fluid flow dynamics modeling. I created 3-D reconstructions of clay fabric and pore pathways from serial sections and photographic mosaics obtained using transmission electron microscopy. These reconstructions show aggregations of clay domains, surrounding OM, and pore networks. I examined a Model sample (laboratory consolidated) with 1% OM and a Natural sample (polychaete fecal pellet) with high levels of OM. Three-dimensional reconstructions were segmented into 300 nm cube subsamples to make highly localized qualitative …

Nine Exits: A Collection Of Short Stories, Tracie Renée Dawson

Master's Theses

Nine Exits is a collection of fiction and nonfiction written over the span of two years in workshops provided by the Center for Writers.

School, Disability Status, And Delinquency: An Examination Of Delinquency Among Rural Adolescents, Miriam Yvonne Brooks

Master's Theses

Extensive research has been devoted to identifying risk-factors that contribute to the onset of juvenile delinquency. Furthermore, evidence has suggested that a disproportionate number of adolescents with learning disabilities are confined in juvenile correctional facilities. Yet, there is a substantial gap in empirical research that explores the possible relationship between learning disabilities and delinquent behavior. The purpose of the current study is to assess how specific learning disabilities relate to various forms of delinquent behavior among adolescents from rural high schools in a southern state. Specifically, this study aims to assess how Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, and Dysgraphia relate to drug use, …

Seasonal Differences In Diet Of Two Predatory Fishes In Relation To Reef Type In The Inshore Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Brinton Thomas Barnes

Master's Theses

Relationships of various structural features between reefs and their developing benthic and fish communities have an immense biological and ecological importance for reef restoration and rehabilitation. Therefore, objectives of this study were to establish how abundance (CPUE) and diet composition (%IRI) changes seasonally within Spotted Seatrout, Cynoscion nebulosus, and Sand Seatrout, Cynoscion arenarius, to view which trophic levels are interacting in relation to different reef type (high relief profile vs. low profile relief). A Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA was performed on non-normal abundance data and determined no significant differences for reef type and season for both piscivorous species. Both …

A Paleopathological Analysis Of The Moran French Colonial Cemetery, Jennifer Lynn Funkhouser

Master's Theses

This research examines the health experiences of early eighteenth-century European immigrants to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Most were low-status individuals forcibly expulsed from France and brought to Biloxi to colonize Louisiana. Historical records report the immigration effort was poorly provisioned and that large numbers died from malnutrition and disease soon after arrival. The remains of 30 adults, presumably colonists from this period based on collagen dating and grave goods, have been recovered at the Moran site (22HR511). DNA analysis (n = 8) suggests all are European. Most are males, and only one lived past age 40. Estimated mean height is …

U.S. Relationships With Iran, Israel, And Pakistan: A Realist Explanation, Aaron Daniel Coates

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to assess U.S. relations with Iran, Israel, and Pakistan throughout the Cold War into the contemporary age of Islamic extremism. It demonstrates how the international relations theory of realism is most applicable to these relations when compared to the four competing theories of neorealism, liberalism, neoliberal institutionalism, and constructivism. Each case study is examined and evaluated in full detail. Particular emphasis is allotted to variables such as foreign aid, interventionism, sanctions, geography, and political and cultural similarities. The thesis concludes by offering a brief explanation as to the lessons that should be learned from …

Evaluation Of A Theory-Based Farm To School Program, Rebecca Kent Bishop

Master's Theses

Fruit and vegetable (FV) intakes in MS children remain lower than recommended. Theory-based, multi-component nutrition education interventions like Farm to School (F2S) target FV consumption and utilize such interventions to improve children’s dietary behaviors by incorporating nutrition and agriculture education. The current study was designed with Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as its framework. An intervention was implemented to enhance beliefs, norms, and self-efficacy regarding FV, thus potentially increasing the intention to consume more FV. The research objectives of this study are to describe changes over the course of the intervention in (1) nutrition knowledge; (2) norms, beliefs, and self-efficacy …

Collected Short Stories, Arthur Ross Walton

Master's Theses

In this collection of short fiction, I draw upon the experience of growing up in a small southern town and my work as a researcher with the Center for Oral History to reach beyond the stereotypes and create a more accurate portrayal of life in Mississippi.

There are two central themes touched on in these stories. The first I call “Occupational Obsolescence” and delves into the tensions created when a person’s (or community’s) livelihood is taken away for reasons beyond their control. The second, “The Outsider Within,” considers the question of how a person can be a resident of a …

A Tale Of Two Cities: Vicksburg And Natchez, Mississippi During The American Civil War, Ruth Poe White

Master's Theses

In 1860, Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi, had far more in common with each other than with the rest of the state. Most significantly, they both opposed secession. Beyond that opposition and their initial support for the war, however, the two city’s reactions differed. This thesis argues that one of the main reasons for this difference is that two distinct communities developed in each city. Pre-war experiences shaped the citizens of Natchez and Vicksburg, allowing Vicksburg civilians to quickly develop feelings of Confederate nationalism, while their Natchez counterparts, loyal to their city and their national trade networks, were more pro-Unionist but …

Assessing Landscape Change In Highland Peru With An Emphasis On Tree Cover Change, 1948-2012, Timothy Guy Sutherlin

Master's Theses

Tree cover change was examined around three cities in the central Andes of Peru, 1948-2012, using repeat photography, remote sensing, and ethnographic methods. Forest transition theory provided a framework to study the causes of the changes observed. The repeat photography results show that there were more trees on the landscape in 2012 than there were in 1948. There were increases in smaller groupings of trees visible in the photography that were associated with smallholder intensification in the form of new woodlots, field borders and dooryard trees. The remote sensing results show there was a significant increase in larger patches of …