Digital Commons Network^™

An Intersectional Analysis Of Male Student-Athletes' Meaning-Making About Masculinity, Michelle Lisack

Masters Theses

Men's athletics is often viewed as an environment where hegemonic masculinity is perpetuated, though some believe this environment provides a safe space for men to break away from hegemonic masculinity. This study was designed to gain an understanding of how male student-athletes experience masculinity and how the context of athletics influences meaning-making about masculinity. Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher interviewed five male student-athletes and observed the practice sessions of two different teams. The participants were student-athletes of junior or senior status from the following sports: tennis, soccer, swimming, baseball, and basketball. Results showed that male student-athletes found it challenging …

Genesis B From Ms Junius 11 And Paradise Lost: Possible Connections, Alicia D. Arnold

Masters Theses

This thesis looks at the ongoing debate concerning John Milton's potential use of Genesis B from MS Junius II when creating Paradise Lost. Much of the thesis looks at the probability of John Milton's ability to access or know Genesis B. Included is an annotated translation of "Satan in Hell" from Genesis B. The last chapter looks at the given translation and Paradise Lost to see if there are similarities in dialect, theme, and word-choices, or if Paradise Lost has Old English markers. The conclusion is that the debate must continue as there is currently not enough evidence to prove …

Stress As A Moderator Of Visual Perception: Do Elevated Stress Levels Interfere With Visual Cognition?, Ashley Ebersole

Masters Theses

Stress is an unavoidable aspect of human life, and despite a large body of research on stress, the relationship between chronic or traumatic stress and cognition is not yet fully explained. One component lacking research is visual attention, an area of visual cognition which is an essential part of our ability to interact with the world around us. This is especially true in the context of trauma and stress related disorders, and having a better understanding of how traumatic stress impacts attention and perception can inform psychotherapy for these issues. The current study aims to conceptualize how stressors impact the …

Low-Head Dams On Habitat, Fish Functional Guilds And Genetic Structuring In A Midwestern River System, Shannon Cassandra Frary Smith

Masters Theses

The natural flow regime of the majority of rivers in the United States has been altered by anthropogenic structures. This loss of connectivity plays a strong role in shaping river ecosystems by altering physical habitat characteristics and shaping fish community assemblages. Although the impacts of large dams on river systems are well documented and often easy to observe, there are fewer studies on the effects of smaller low-head dams. Additionally, the influences of low-head dams on the genetic structuring of small-bodied riverine fishes have yet to be fully explored. I assessed the effects of two low-head dams on the Vermilion …

The Effects Of The Caterpillar Game On Classroom Behavior And Teacher Stress, Amber Jacoby

Masters Theses

A single-case, multiple baseline design was utilized to evaluate the effects of the Caterpillar Game, a classroom management system, on disruptive student behavior, teacher praise, and teacher stress. Three classrooms were included in the study (preschool, kindergarten, and second grade). When the Caterpillar Game was implemented across the three classrooms, student disruptive behavior decreased and teacher behavior-specific praise increased. Disruptive behavior and teacher praise results remained similar to intervention two to four weeks later and teachers reported being highly satisfied with the Caterpillar Game. One of the three teachers reported a decrease in stress. This study adds further support to …

Comparison Of Memory In College Students With And Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Study Of Argument Recall Accuracy, Jordan Poll

Masters Theses

The memory abilities of college-aged adolescents (18-24) with ADHD were investigated using arguments. Previous ADHD research provides insight into ADHD's association with a decreased capability to recall important parts of statements. Students read a booklet containing 24 arguments to assess their ability to recall each argument. Participants read one statement, then, immediately after reading it, attempted to accurately recall it by writing it using paper and pencil. This process was repeated 24 times (total of 24 arguments). The researcher examined, specifically, the percent of correctly recalled predicates from those read arguments. Predicates were examined because it has been shown that …

Idealism, Pragmatism, And Student Motivation: Implementing Grading Systems, Practices, And Policies In Context, Kaleigh Mcroberts

Masters Theses

This thesis argues for the implementation of contextually-appropriate policies and practices that not only clarify the meaning of grades for teachers, parents, and students, but also give students more autonomy and improve their intrinsic motivation to learn. The literature about motivation reveals that the conventional wisdom—the use of contingent rewards—works when students are asked to complete simple, algorithmic tasks such as turning in assignments on time, but not when they're asked to complete complex, heuristic tasks such as those articulated by the Common Core State Standards. The literature about grading and grading systems reveals similarly misleading conventional wisdom: Educators often …

Holography In The Secondary Physics Curriculum, Stephen P. Hogan

Masters Theses

This paper presents a unit plan for effective implementation of a holography learning activity in the secondary science physics classroom. The study of holography has traditionally been limited to collegiate optics courses due to financial and physical constraints. Recent developments in the technology of holographic film has eliminated these two limiting factors. Recent secondary educators who have introduced holography with their secondary science classes have completed the activities, without much discussion or explanation regarding the scientific principles that allow the phenomenon to occur. In this paper we develop a foundational unit plan that finishes with holography as the pinnacle activity, …

Transferring Writing Skills To A 3rd Grade Music Classroom, Megan A. Wilson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the use of writing skills in a third grade general music classroom. Students wrote narratives based on music they heard, used an interactive notebook to reflect on musical experiences, conducted a short composer research project and wrote a biography about the composer. The study was designed to investigate the following research question: Will the use of writing in the music classroom help the students apply writing skills from their general education classes while learning music content? The duration of the study was for an entire semester and the students attended …

Quantifying Bat Detection Survey Methods And Activity Patterns, Tara C. Hohoff

Masters Theses

Bats have an astonishing diversity and provide vital ecosystem services in an array of different niches. In North America, most species of bats are insectivores and tend to be frequently overlooked for their important ecosystem role providing insect control. As bat populations have declined in recent years, farmers, land managers, conservationists, and bat enthusiasts have wondered what we can do to protect our local bat populations. As a first step, we need to develop methods that more effectively survey for rare species of bats. By performing inefficient surveys, we are doing a disservice to our funding agencies providing misinformation that …

The Mantle Transition Zone Beneath South America From Stacking Of P-To-S Receiver Functions, B. A. Goetze

Masters Theses

"The Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ) beneath South America is investigated with stacking of Receiver Functions (RFs) of converted P-to-S phases from the velocity discontinuities at 410 km (d410) and 660 km (d660). A total of 785 seismic stations provided 22,235 high quality RFs, allowing 1,717 MTZ thickness measurements in circular bins of 2⁰ radius. An apparent MTZ structure is derived using the IASP91 reference model, where the d410 mean depth is 409.1 km and the d660 is 661.5 km, and the mean MTZ thickness is 251.8 km. This model presents coherent depressions and uplifts of the discontinuities matching well known …

Reprocessing And Structural Interpretation Of Multichannel Seismic Reflection Data From Penobscot, Nova Scotia, Fulya Gizem Yagci

Masters Theses

"Penobscot area is located in the Scotian Basin, which was occurred as a result of extension in the eastern North America border. 2-D data set that was utilized for the study consists of three multichannel seismic profiles that were collected from Penobscot Parcel 8. The main purpose of the study was to enhance signal-to-noise ratio of the seismic reflection sections suppressing high frequency noise and multiples, and removing diffractions. In addition, while the resolution of the sections were enhanced, determining the correct processing techniques and parameters for better results was the another important criteria.

The processing steps included deconvolution, minimum …

Thrust Sensing For Small Uavs, Christopher Scott Marchman

Masters Theses

"Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become prevalent in both military and civilian applications. UAVs have many size categories from large-scale aircraft to micro air vehicles. The performance, health, and efficiency for UAVs of smaller sizes can be difficult to assess and few associated instrumentation systems have been developed. Thrust measurements on the ground can characterize systems especially when combined with simultaneous motor power measurements. This thesis demonstrates the use of strain measurements to measure the thrust produced by motor/propeller combinations for such small UAVs. A full-bridge Wheatstone circuit and electrical resistance strain gauges were used in conjunction with constant-stress cantilever …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Geomechanical Parameters In A Two-Way Coupling Reservoir Simulation, Hector Gabriel Donoso

Masters Theses

"Currently reservoir simulators model geomechanical effects such as compaction, subsidence, fault reactivation, breach of the seal integrity, etc. using only the rock compressibility to change the pore volume. However, rock compressibility as a scalar quantity is unfit to represent the true rock mechanics in the reservoir. In order to accurately represent geomechanical effects in a reservoir simulation, a two-way coupling simulation of the stress analyzer and the reservoir simulator was done. Based on the poroelasticity theory during the production or depletion of the reservoir the porosity and permeability changed due to the stress or pore pressure changes.

A sensitivity analysis …

Hidden Markov Model Based Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring Using Active And Reactive Power Consumption, Paulomi Nandy

Masters Theses

"This work presents a residential appliance disaggregation technique to help achieve the fundamental goal in Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) problem i.e. simple breakdown of energy consumption based on the appliance type in a household. The appliances are modeled using Hidden Markov Model by utilizing both their active and reactive power consumption data. The data was recorded by attaching Power Standards Lab PQube measurement device to the appliances. Granularity of the power readings of the disaggregated appliance matches with that of the reading collected for individual device. The accuracy of the model is compared with other models developed using only active …

Thresholding Techniques For Discrimination Of Seborrheic Keratosis From Melanoma In Dermoscopy Images, Pramada Kishtagari

Masters Theses

“Malignant melanoma is a very deadly form of skin cancer which has claimed many lives over the past few years. If detected early this can be cured, hence early detection of malignant melanoma is essential. Unfortunately melanoma is mimicked by seborrheic keratosis, a benign skin cancer. Identifying malignant melanoma as seborrheic keratosis using clinical diagnosis can prove fatal to the patient. To prevent such errors, dermoscopy, a common non-invasive skin imaging technique, is used which improves the diagnosis of these pigmented lesions by visualizing the morphological structures. This study proposes an automatic method by applying image processing techniques to aid …

An Imu-Based Spacecraft Navigation Architecture Using A Robust Multi-Sensor Fault Detection Scheme, Samuel J. Haberberger

Masters Theses

"Redundant sensor networks of inertial measurement units (IMUs) provide inherent robustness and redundancy to a navigation solution obtained by dead reckoning the fused accelerations and angular velocities sensed by the IMU. However, IMUs have been known to experience faults risking catastrophic mission failure creating large financial setbacks and an increased risk of human safety. Different fusion methods are analyzed for a multi-sensor network using cost effective IMUs, including direct averaging and covariance intersection. Simulations of a spacecraft in low Earth orbit are used to baseline a typical expensive IMU and compare the navigation solution obtained from a network of several …

Measurements And Simulation Of Conductor-Related Loss Of Pcb Transmission Lines, Oleg Kashurkin

Masters Theses

"With continuously increasing data rates Signal Integrity (SI) problems become more and more challenging. One of the main issues in high-speed data transfer is the frequency-dependent loss of transmission lines. This thesis is dedicated to conductor-related loss mechanisms in printed circuit board (PCB) transmission lines.

This thesis provides the experimental investigation of conductor properties used for fabrication of PCBs. Particularly, the resistivity and conductivity along with the temperature coefficients of eleven copper types is measured and reported. A four probe measurement technique is used. Results were verified by two independent measurements and show discrepancy of less than 0.5%.

Another major …

Silicone Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactors For Mixed Aerobic And Anaerobic Treatment Of Gas Phase Toluene And Trichloroethylene, Alexander Lee Korff

Masters Theses

"Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are common in effluent waste streams from many sectors of industry and low-cost emission control technologies have the potential to mitigate long-term impacts on the environment. Federal Regulations, such as the Clean Air Act and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPS), as well as state regulations are imposing stricter requirements on point-source emissions, with an emphasis on toxic VOCs. Trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE), which are toxic VOCs, have been used since the 1920's for a variety of industrial applications like: degreasing, paint and printing operations, as extraction solvents, and for cleaning and drying …

Esd Related Soft Error Detection And Root Cause Analysis, Suyu Yang

Masters Theses

"In this article, several methods are outlined for detecting functional changes in an IC due to external interference such as ESD or EMI. The goal is to provide diagnostic tools for detection of potential soft failure susceptibilities of complex systems during the hardware design stage without the aid of any complex software. After the soft errors are found, circuit modeling techniques are used to characterize the DUT. By running the circuit model, the soft error threshold can be predicted and the circuit model can be used to evaluate the performance of other ESD protection methods. In the end several methods …

Influence Of Mix Design Parameters On Dynamic Segregation Of Self-Consolidating Concrete And Consequences On Performance Of Precast Beams, Aida Margarita Ley Hernandez

Masters Theses

"Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC) is more vulnerable to stability problems as a consequence of its high flowing ability compared to conventional vibrated concrete. Dynamic segregation refers to the tendency of the concrete constituents to separate from the suspended matrix, usually in horizontal direction while being cast into the formwork or due to an impact. Similarly to static segregation, dynamic segregation can affect the homogeneity of SCC. Therefore, it is highly essential to ensure a proper dynamic stability in order to enhance the uniformity of in-situ properties of pre-stressed beams.

In this research project, the effects of SCC mix design parameters are …

Seismic Anisotropy And Mantle Dynamics Beneath The Southeastern United States Inferred From Shear-Wave Splitting Analysis, Yunhua Liu

Masters Theses

"Systematic spatial variations of mantle azimuthal anisotropy are revealed by over 3000 pairs of high-quality shear-wave splitting parameters (fast polarization orientations and splitting times) recorded at ~400 USArray and other network stations in the SE United States (75⁰-90⁰ W, and 24⁰-40⁰ N). The fast polarization orientations observed in the continental interior are subparallel to the absolute plate motion (APM) direction of the North American plate with apparent larger-than-normal splitting times, indicating a significant asthenospheric contribution. Fast orientations parallel to the edge of the North American craton are revealed along the southern and eastern margins of the continent. A portion of …

Mitigation Of Wellbore Instability In Deviated Wells By Using Geomechanical Models And Mpd Technique, Husam Raad Abbood

Masters Theses

"During drilling operations for the E oilfield in the Mishrif formation in southern Iraq, stuck pipe presents a significant wellbore stability problem for deviated wells. In this study, two solutions are utilized to address this problem. The first approach is a 1-D Geomechanical model of the Mishrif formation compiled based on the state of stress and rock strength parameters. It is utilized to assess the contribution of borehole collapse leading to the stuck pipe problems. The results of this study show that wells characterized by stuck pipe are drilled along azimuths which promote wellbore collapse. Three different failure criteria, the …

Accurate Imepdance Measurement Of O Clip And Near Field Coupling Estimation Using Equivalent Dipole Moment Model, Qiaolei Huang

Masters Theses

"As cellphones and electronic devices moves towards higher date rates yet smaller form factor, designer face more electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) problems. In order to better guide the early design; designers want to know the exact electrical performance of small components, coupling estimation between components.

In Section 1, a de-embedding method is proposed to measure the impedance of an innovative O-shape spring contact, for frequency up to 30 GHz. The measurements are performed under the same condition when it's actually used in cellphones. De-embedding method will be applied to remove the fixture effects of the measurement …

Origin Of Lacustrine Carbonate-Dominated Clinoforms In The Lower-Permian Lucaogou Low-Order Cycle, Southern Bogda Mountains, Nw China, Yiran Lu

Masters Theses

"Lacustrine carbonate clinoforms deposit can reflect ancient lake condition like paleoclimate and lake type. Complex lithofacies of a carbonate-dominated clinoform package in lower Permian Lucaogou low order cycle, Bogda Mountains, NW China, provide clues on clinoform-forming processes in a half-graben lake. The clinoform package is ~5.2 m thick, prograding from S to N for ~200 m with a maximum 15o dip angle, and spans ~4 km laterally. A clinoform consists of a lower siliciclastic-rich and an upper carbonate-rich beds, forming a clinoform cycle. Results of petrographic study of 30 thin sections suggest that the clinoform package is composed of mixed …

Design Of A Microwave Imaging System For Rapid Wideband Imaging, Matthew Jared Horst

Masters Theses

An imaging system composed of two linear arrays of antennas is designed through full-wave simulation and fabricated for use in synthetic aperture radar imaging. The arrays electronically scan along their antenna elements and are mechanically moved along a second orthogonal direction for scanning large two-dimensional areas quickly. Each linear array is printed on a circuit board where the antenna elements are integrated into the edge of the board as tapered slot-line antennas operating at 22 to 27 GHz. A multiplexer circuit is printed onto each linear array to transmit wideband signals to each antenna in the array. Receivers are printed …

Mitigation Of Glass Weave Skew Using A Combination Of Low Dk Spread Glass, Multi-Ply Dielectric And Routing Direction, Kartheek Nalla

Masters Theses

"As the data rates increase into the multi-gigabit range, the bit periods fall in the range of few tens of picoseconds. At above few Gbps, it becomes very important to reduce skew between differential pairs as it can adversely impact the signal eye and thereby increase bit error rate. The goal of this study is to mitigate the skew contributed by woven glass fabric of PCB dielectrics.

The glass weave skew between differential pairs in a PCB occurs due to the difference in dielectric constants (DK) of glass and resin. This thesis aims to mitigate the skew by reducing the …

Biodegradable Electronic And Optical Devices Toward Temporary Implants, Md Shihab Adnan

Masters Theses

"Implantable biomedical devices have a high potential to revolutionize health care technologies in near future. Implantable devices can be classified as permanent prosthetic devices such as pacemakers or nerve stimulants and temporary devices for intermediate monitoring and control scenario which are still in research phase. In contrast to permanent device, temporary implants lose functionality and become unnecessary after intended operational lifetime which may pose serious electromagnetic and biomedical safety concern, latent complications at the implanted sites and possible ethical issues if not removed from body by an additional surgical operation.

The first paper of this thesis focuses on exploring the …

Material Properties Characterization For Multilayer Pcb And Peec Macromodels For Above Plane Decoupling Capacitors, Xiang Fang

Masters Theses

"Accurate frequency-dependent dielectric properties are important for accurate modelling of signal and power integrity problems. And decoupling capacitors perform an important function in the impedance reduction of power distribution systems. Hence, precise dielectric properties and micromodels for decoupling capacitors are the key parts for the signal and power integrity design.

In Section 1, the existing method for extracting dielectric properties from fabricated multilayer printed circuit boards based on the measured electrical property of fabricated transmission lines is introduced and validated using simulations. And the potential errors in the procedure are discussed. After that Djordjevic-Sarkar causal dielectric model for dielectric properties …

Studies On Flocculation Of Fine Mineral Tailings Using Novel Polyacrylamide Based Polymer, Simin Khatibi

Masters Theses

"One of the important features in managing or treating sulfide fine tailings is separating solids from liquid by settling test. This thesis presents results of studied conducted on flocculation of Kaolin suspensions (a model tailings) and sulfide mineral tailings. Two polymers (PAM and Al-PAM) were tested as flocculants. The zeta potential value of slurries was measured by Nano Zetasizer device.

Al-PAM was found to be more effective for flocculation of kaolinite samples and also sulfide samples while PAM with used concentration was not. This study represents the power of flocculation as a possible solution to deal with industrial tailings"--Abstract, page …