Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

Determinants Of Family Planning Service Uptake And Use Of Contraceptives Among Postpartum Women In Rural Uganda, Katelyn M. Sileo

Master's Theses

Uganda is among the countries with the highest unmet needs for family planning, which is associated with both negative health outcomes for women. The present study was a cross-sectional secondary data analysis using Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Service Use (ABM) as a theoretical framework to identifying factors influencing family planning service uptake and contraceptive use among postpartum women in rural Uganda. Participants were 258 women who attended antenatal care at a rural Ugandan hospital and completed an interview approximately 13 weeks postpartum. Bivariate logistic regression models in SPSS were used to test hypothesized ABM factors as determinants of family …

Improving Alarm Management Efficacy Through Predictive Modeling And Trending, Edward J. Ryan Iv

Master's Theses

Alarm fatigue, the progressive desensitization of clinical staff to audible alarms in their environment, has been re-established as a National Patient Safety Goal by The Joint Commission as of January 1, 2014. In order to manage the number of alarms experienced by hospital employees, facilities are charged with finding a way to monitor their existing alarm load and then develop methods and policies by which to reduce or mitigate the threat of alarm fatigue. This study used an archive of 9.76 million patient monitoring alarms collected over an eight-month period in order to develop a process by which patient monitoring …

Benzathine Penicillin G For The Prevention Of Rheumatic Fever And Rheumatic Heart Disease In The Developing World: A Global Survey Of The Quality And Quantity Of Supply, Stephen B. Marko

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

De Gustibus Non Est Disputadem: The Culinary Arts, Ferran Adrià, And Documenta 12, Jean A. Nihoul

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Support Networks During The Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Experience, Stephanie Clines

Master's Theses

Context: The Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer (GAAT) position often serves as the first experience independently working as an AT, and the next stage in the professional socialization process. GAATs have three academic program tracks to choose from when selecting their assistantship: 1) Accredited postprofessional athletic training (APPAT), 2) Postprofessional athletic training (PPAT), and 3) Nonathletic training (NAT). The graduate assistantship experience can highly influence professional commitment and retention within the field due to the perception of being a rite of passage. Objective: To gain an understanding of how GAATs perceive professional socialization and mentorship during their graduate experiences. Design: Semi-structured …

Work Life Balance Perspectives Of Ncaa Division I Male Athletic Trainers: Positive And Negative Influences, Walter A. Trisdale

Master's Theses

Work-Life Balance Perspectives of NCAA Division I Male Athletic Trainers: Positive and Negative Influences

Trisdale W*, Mazerolle SM*, Goodman A†, Eason CM*: *University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; †Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

Context: Athletic Trainers (ATs) not only have to manage their responsibilities in the workplace, but also those associated with their personal and family lives. This is referred to as work-life balance (WLB). Long work hours, inflexible work schedules, travel, and coaches’ expectations have all been found to be major contributors of work-life imbalance especially at the NCAA Division I clinical setting where performance expectations are high. Organizational factors …

Hemodynamics Of The Aortic Root Upon Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation, Joseph D. Calderan

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Positive Behavior Intervention’S Effect On Student Tardiness To School, Catherine A. Egan

Master's Theses

Abstract

Developing and implementing proactive interventions within a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework creates a positive instructional environment that results in desired outcomes for students (e.g., improved behavior) and staff (e.g., improved organizational health). To date, most descriptive and empirical studies of PBIS have occurred at the elementary and middle school levels (Horner, Sugai, & Anderson, 2010). If PBIS strategies are to positively impact student success at the high-school level, more examples of evidence-based effective strategies are required. I investigated the effects of a proactive approach of acknowledging appropriate behavior across four high school students using a multiple-baseline …

Uh, Um, And Autism: Filler Disfluencies In Children With Optimal Outcomes From Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christina Anne Irvine

Master's Theses

Spontaneous speech is marked by the presence of frequent disfluencies, including fillers like um and uh, which are thought to serve distinct social-communicative functions (Clark & Fox Tree, 2002). People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with social communication. The current study examines a) the production of fillers in spontaneous speech among children and adolescents with ASD as well as individuals who have achieved “optimal outcomes” (OO) from ASD, and b) the association between filler rate and autism symptom severity versus general cognitive factors, in order to illuminate the processes implicated in filler production. Speech samples from 64 individuals …

Risk And Protective Factors That Affect Married Women’S Reproductive Health In A Low-Income Community In Mumbai, India, Benjamin D. Hallowell

Master's Theses

In low and middle-income countries (LMICs), symptoms of reproductive morbidities are the most common health problem reported by women. Women in developing countries are often at higher risk for these problems due to the social, behavioral, cultural, infrastructural, and demographic barriers they face in daily life and in receiving medical treatment. Previous studies conducted in LMICs have found an association between women’s self-reported symptoms of reproductive morbidity and negative life situations and have suggested, that rather than a biomedical issue, women in LMICs may express these symptoms to reflect other problems in their lives. Currently, however, women who self-report symptoms …

A Closer Look At Violent Crimes Among Severely Mentally Ill Patients Who Use Cocaine, Deepa Jayanti Mavani

Master's Theses

It is estimated that one in four U.S. adults have a mental illness and that nearly half will develop a mental illness during their lifetime, with one in 17 people in the general population suffering from a severe mental illness (SMI). The high prevalence of SMI in conjunction with its presumed link with violence, suggests substantial risk to the public. Evidence remains inconsistent in determining if this link exists. Some suggest that specific SMI’s such as schizophrenia and other psychosis–related disorders increase risk for violence, while others have reported no association (Fazel, et al., 2009). Establishing the validity of this …

Efficacy Of Plant Compounds For Reducing Foodborne Pathogens On Fresh Produce, Tyler E. Mattson

Master's Theses

Four plant derived compounds, namely carvacrol (CAR), trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC), eugenol (EUG) and β-resorcylic acid (BR) were investigated as wash treatments for reducing Salmonella spp. on tomatoes. In addition, the efficacy of TC and CAR in inactivating E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes on iceberg lettuce in the presence and absence of 10% organic matter was studied. Results suggest that CAR, TC, EUG and BR were effective in rapidly reducing large populations of Salmonella spp. on tomatoes when used in wash water, and CAR rapidly decreased E. coli O157: H7 and L. monocytogenes populations on lettuce even in …

The Art Of Commerce: Self-Stratification On Etsy, Natalie K. Umsted

Master's Theses

Scholars have long shown that there are gendered hierarchies within art worlds. This research examines how those hierarchies are forming on the online marketplace Etsy. Using qualitative methodology I examine 10 in-depth interviews with artists actively selling their artwork on Etsy. Additionally, I perform a qualitative content analysis of 50 artist profiles on Etsy. I find that offline cultural frameworks affect the ways these online artists project the value of themselves, their ability, and their art pieces. Offline practices, procedures, and attitudes influence the way we value our self, and thus affect the way we present our self online.

The Role Of Nrf2 In The Differential Susceptibility Of Male And Female Mice To Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity, Philip Rohrer

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Continuous Polynomial Adaptive Estimator For Nonlinearly Parameterized Systems, Haitham B. Felemban

Master's Theses

This the sis present the continuous polynomial adaptive estimator CPAE which estimates a nonlinear parameter in nonlinearly parametrized NLP system. It combines the multiple region law with the companion adaptive system presented in [1] to come up with the CPAE. Stability is discussed and general definition of persistence of excitation PE condition is proposed for parameter convergence using the CPAE. As an application, the CPAE was successfully used to estimate the airspeed in presence of airspeed sensor failure on a developed academic aircraft model. As part of Loss of Control Prevention through adaptive reconfiguration project supported by NASA, the IMU …

Gender Differences In Co-Rumination, Co-Worry, And Internalizing Symptoms In Late Adolescence, Caitlin Virginia Dombrowski

Master's Theses

Beginning in adolescence and continuing into adulthood, internalizing disorders have higher rates of prevalence in females. Cognitive and interpersonal theorists have described etiological factors in the development these symptoms, which may contribute to the symptom disparity across gender. Drawing on aspects of both models, repetitive conversations found in close female friendships have been proposed as a potential contributing factor to this gender disparity in internalizing arising in adolescence. Co-rumination, although associated with both depression and anxiety, does not fully consider anxiety-specific aspects of dyadic conversations, which may be important to understanding the differential developmental trajectory of the disorder. Co-worry, defined …

Minor Characters With Major Impacts : Examining Giovanelli’S Role In Henry James’ Daisy Miller 2014, Zachary Lang

Master's Theses

Henry James’s first journey into the world of the American girl came in the form of one of his most read novellas, Daisy Miller. Through the eyes of Frederick Winterbourne, the reader begins a study of Daisy Miller, a character whom James uses to showcase many of the issues that were prevalent at the time including the role of women, societal standards, and class mobility. Winterbourne and Daisy are the principal characters, and as such they are given the most attention from readers and critics alike. The minor character Giovanelli, however, has received little critical attention. Despite being a minor …

Forecasting Short-Term Stock Returns Using Irregular Pricing Behavior In The Options Market, Thomas W. Sampson

Master's Theses

This paper uses regression analysis to examine the relationship between today's implied volatility on AMD stock options with tomorrow's return on the underlying. An economic analyis of the options markets' micro-structure is discussed to establish the intuition and the basis behind the relationship. Four seperate models are developed to examine its statistical significance and the ability of options' prices to accurately forecast returns on the underlying security.

The hypothesis of the paper is that daily changes in implied volatility can be used to earn higher than expected returns on the underlying stock. I find that implied volatility can be used …

Material Differences In Equine Cortical And Trabecular Bone, Ryan B. Allen

Master's Theses

A greater understanding of bone materials would be beneficial in creating more accurate computer models and in the making of biomedical products involving bone. This study set out to determine whether cortical and trabecular bone are two separate materials, or whether they are the same material with a variance in porosity. To answer this question, samples were taken from different sections of the equine metacarpus, underwent densitometry analysis and were statistically analyzed. The majority of results suggest that the material is the same between varying densities of bone and thus the same between cortical and trabecular bone. These particular results …

Applied Mass Properties Identification Method To The Cal Poly's Spacecraft Simulator, Long H. Dam

Master's Theses

The Cal Poly Spacecraft Simulator is currently being developed for future testing and verifying theoretical control applications. This paper details the effort to balance the platform and remove undesired external torque from the system using System Identification technique developed by Patrick Healy. Since the relationship between the input and output of the system is linear, the least square method is proposed to identify the mass properties and location of center of mass of the system. The tests use four sine wave generators that are out of phase with different amplitudes as the inputs to excite various structural modes of the …

The Diagnostic Stability Of Developmental Delay And Developmental Language Disorder In Infants And Toddlers, Alexander J. Hinnebusch

Master's Theses

Numerous children are diagnosed with Developmental Delay (DD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) each year in the US. There are inconsistent diagnostic definitions for these disorders because individual states determine diagnostic criteria, complicating prevalence and diagnostic stability estimation. In the current study, 37 children received a diagnosis of DD and 21 received a diagnosis of DLD at an initial evaluation as part of participation in a study investigating the early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and were seen for a follow-up evaluation. The DD group was significantly more likely to retain this diagnosis at follow-up than the DLD group. …