Digital Commons Network^™

I Could Have Been You: Core-Self Differentiation As It Relates To Empathy And Aggression, Nazmi Cem Turker

Masters Theses

Previous research showed that the more one feels similar to a specific other, the less aggressive and the more empathic one behaves toward the other. Some people might have a self-concept that makes them prone to feel similar to others in general. Those people, despite being aware of the differences between them and others, may feel that their differences do not make them inherently or essentially different from others -they may feel their core-self is similar to others despite outer differences, while some may not feel as much so. This tendency was conceptualized as a trait related to one's self-concept …

The Relationship Between Participation In Community Service And Students Academic Success, Kelsi Grubisich

Masters Theses

This study explored the relationship between participation in community service and students' academic success at a mid-sized Midwestern institution. A quantitative study was conducted by distributing a survey through the Civic Engagement and Volunteerism Office listserv. The results from the t-test showed that there was no statistical significance in the participation in community service and students' academic success. Results from the Chi Square test showed that there was no statistical significance in the type of service students chose and their major, the gender participation, and the race participation. Recommendations were made to student affairs professionals to include more opportunities …

An Examination Into The Instruction Of The Alphabet During Preschool Years, Amanda Titus

Masters Theses

Instruction of the letters of the alphabet is a controversial topic among early childhood educators. Not only is it debated whether letter instruction is developmentally appropriate but there is then the discussion concerning how the letters are best taught once a program deems it is developmentally appropriate. In this study, 87 children were assessed at two separate times during the school year to determine a method of instruction that proved most effective. The study took place over three consecutive school years. The first year, 27 students were exposed to alphabetic instruction through a combination of music and mnemonic device assisted …

Analyzing Source Preferences In Student Writing When Integrating Diverse Texts, Lauren Covington

Masters Theses

This study examined the sources cited by sixth grade who had been exposed to multiple sources pertaining to a historical topic. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students exhibited a preference for specific types of sources when constructing and demonstrating knowledge about historic events, figures, or a specific time period. A total of 46 students participated in the study which extended over eight class periods of approximately 50 minutes each. During these class periods students constructed knowledge about historical figure, Rosa Parks, and the events of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Students were presented with a variety of …

Governance And Economic Growth In Developing Economies: A Comparative Study, Hamid Lahouij

Masters Theses

In the light of growing interest in the relationship between governance and economic growth, this research uses pooled cross-country times series for the time span 2002-2014 to investigate the impacts of governance and other growth determinants on economic growth of low-income, lower-middle income, and upper-middle income economies. This paper contributes to the literature on governance, economic development indicators, and economic development in novel ways. The research finds that governance is highly positively associated with economic development in developing countries regardless of their level of income. Moreover, while the research concludes that voice and accountability, political stability, and rule of law …

A Monstrous Tomorrow, Ty Noel

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Student Responses To Young Adult Literature Based On Group Dynamic Within The Literature Circle Setting, Abigail J. Schmitz

Masters Theses

The push of the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards encourages teachers to assist students with overcoming personal obstacles in the classroom. In the middle grades, young adult literature can be an outlet for students by allowing them to connect with characters similar to themselves and their life experiences. Within the middle level classroom, literature circles can address SEL needs and state standards while allowing students to work closely with their peers sharing in a discussion format in response to the same young adult novel. This research analyzed two groups of students and their oral and written responses to the …

Classification Of Basal Cell Carcinoma Using Telangiectatic Vessels And Machine Learning, Hemanth Yadav Aradhyula

Masters Theses

“Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is one of the most common types of skin cancer in the United States. Early detection of BCC by noninvasive techniques can decrease delay in treatment and save cost. A recent study estimated that 5.4 million cases of non-melanocytic skin cancer (NMSC) occur each year in the US. BCC accounts for 50% of NMSC cases. Telangiectasia, which appears in most BCCs is an important feature for identification of BCC for an automatic diagnostic system. In this thesis, three methods for detection of telangiectasia present in dermoscopy lesion image (DI) were proposed. Detected telangiectasia in DI was …

Error Mapping Of Build Volume In Selective Laser Melting, Ninad Kulkarni

Masters Theses

“Selective laser melting is one of the commonly used additive manufacturing processes employed for production of functional part. Therefore, quality aspects such as dimensional accuracy have become a point of great interest. Like all of the other additive manufacturing processes selective laser melting process suffers from the issue if having wide range of process parameters making the process control a complex task. Additionally, issues specific to the selective laser melting process such as position dependency of accuracy of the part, makes it difficult to predict the resulting dimensional inconsistencies in the part manufactured by this processes. This research is an …

Wrinkling Of Functionally Graded Sandwich Structures Subject To Biaxial And In-Plane Shear Loads, Harold Costa

Masters Theses

"Benefits of a functionally graded core increasing wrinkling stability of sandwich panels have been demonstrated in a recent paper [1] where a several-fold increase in the wrinkling stress was observed, without a significant weight penalty, using a stiffer core adjacent to the facings. In the present paper wrinkling is analyzed in case where the facings are subject to biaxial compression and/or in-plane shear loading and the core is arbitrary graded through-the-thickness. Two issues addressed are the effect of biaxial or in-plane shear loads on wrinkling stability of panels with both graded and ungraded core and the verification that functional grading …

Biodegradable Capacitive Pressure Sensor Toward Temporary Implants For Intervertebral Pressure Monitoring, Devdatt Chattopadhyay

Masters Theses

"The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate a new class of implantable biomedical device, based on biodegradable borate glass as the substrate material that can be potentially used to monitor the intervertebral pressure in the lumbar region of the human body. Two major types of implantable biomedical devices include the permanent prosthetic devices such as pacemakers and the temporary implants for short-term intervention and monitoring. Unless surgically removed after their intended operation, the temporary implants are left inside the body causing electromagnetic issues, latent complications and various biomechanical safety concerns. In order to address this issue, a new device …

Assessment Of Rockfall Rollout Risk Along Varying Slope Geometries Using The Rocfall And Crsp Software, Mariam S. Al E'Bayat

Masters Theses

"Most routes in mountainous areas suffer from rock falling, rolling and bouncing risk. There are many computer programs concerned with simulating the rockfall problem, and whereas they have the same purpose, they however differ in the input data that's needed to simulate the problem, and they also differ in the way of processing and kind of output.

This study used Rocfall® and the Colorado Rockfall Simulation Program (CRSP®) to simulate sixty-three models of varying slope geometry, where only the slope geometry is changed with the same material properties for both the slope and the rocks.

Both programs were fast and …

Evaluation Of Preformed Particle Gels Penetration And Propagation Behavior For A Conformance Control Treatment In Partially Open Conduits, Ahmed Mohamed Aldalfag

Masters Theses

"Preformed particle gels (PPGs) serve as a conformance control agent and have been used widely to control excess water production through conduits, fractures or fracture-like features. This research ranks the parameters that impact PPG resistance to water flow in partially opened conduits. Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of brine concentration, PPG injection pressure, back pressure, reducing water salinity and matrix permeability on PPG resistance to water flow through conduits, PPG penetration to the matrix. PPGs were swelled in different concentration brines and were injected into the conduits at a few designed injection pressures. PPG swollen in high brine …

Determination Of Significant Parameters That Drive Fracture Optimization In The Glauconite Formation, Southern Chile, Ghassan Saleh Mahdi Alqatrani

Masters Theses

"The Glauconite Formation in the Magallanes Basin of Southern Chile is a clay- and silica-rich formation with low permeability. As with many of the unconventional resources, the Glauconite Formation requires a hydraulic fracturing operation to enhance the productivity of the wells in this area.

Data and pertinent information of fracturing, completion, and reservoir quality parameters along with post-fracture production data were collected to initiate a database of nearly 70 wells, to be used to develop a better understanding of the fracturing behavior, optimize the well stimulation, and overcome the major barriers in the hydraulic fracturing of the Glauconite Formation. The …

Deformation Processes At The Leading Edge Of The Sevier Fold And Thrust Belt, Southwest Utah, William Joseph Michael Chandonia

Masters Theses

"Deformation processes leading to formation and abandonment of 'triangle zones' along the leading edge of the Sevier fold and thrust belt are investigated near Kanarraville, Utah through construction of a detailed geologic map and cross-section along Spring Creek. Here the eastern limb of the Kanarra fold, a Sevier structure, is well exposed along the Hurricane Cliffs due to uplift and erosion of the footwall of the Hurricane Fault. The east-verging Kanarra fold changes from upright to overturned within Spring Creek. Within the fold limb, parasitic folds, minor thrust faults, and duplex structures result in local tectonic overthickening of units and …

Structural And U-Pb Detrital Zircon Geochronologic Constraints On The Origin Of The Condrey Mountain Schist, California - Oregon, Joseph Reid Coons

Masters Theses

"The Condrey Mountain Schist (CMS) of the Klamath Mountains (northern California and southern Oregon) represent low grade oceanic and terrigenous sediments thrust beneath higher grade ophiolitic rocks of the Rattlesnake Creek Terrane (RCT). This study presents new U-Pb detrital zircon dates from the CMS, and from the possibly correlative basin rocks of the Galice Formation and accretionary rocks of the South Fork Mountain Schist. The Galice Formation yields a maximum depositional age of ca. 152 Ma with prominent date distributions of ca. 150-200 Ma (39% of analyzed grains), 200-600 Ma (1%), 600 - 1000 Ma (2%), and 1000-3200 Ma (58%). …

Design And Analysis Of A Passive Heat Removal System For A Small Modular Reactor Using Star Ccm+, Raymond Michael Fanning

Masters Theses

"Next generation nuclear power plants, specifically small modular reactor designs, are the best alternative to fossil fuels for power generation due to their power density and low carbon emissions and constant awareness of safety concerns. A promising safety feature of new designs is the removal of heat by passive systems in accident scenarios. The passive systems require no moving parts and no intervention by personnel. These systems must be accurately simulated for better understanding of the heat transport phenomena: natural convection cooling. Due to the fact that most work developing these passive heat removal systems are proprietary information, a passive …

Bio-Inspired Flow Fields For Pem Fuel Cells- Decoupling Pressure And Distribution Effects On Performance And Identifying Design Opportunities, Joshua David Heck

Masters Theses

"The performance of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) is significantly impacted by flow distributor geometry. The effects of flow distributor geometry on PEMFCs was explored in two ways in this study. Firstly, the relative effects of pressure and distribution characteristics of different flow fields on fuel cell unit and system level performance were considered. A method of decoupling these effects was proposed and demonstrated by application to the traditional serpentine and parallel flow field designs.The performance of these two designs were modeled computationally and it was shown that, of the 17% better performance of the serpentine design, 12% was …

Cfd Validation And Scaling Of Condensation Heat Transfer, Varun Kalra

Masters Theses

"A CFD study was performed using STAR-CCM+ to validate the software for its competence in the prediction and scaling of condensation heat transfer in the presence of air acting as a non-condensable gas. Three vertical concentric tube heat exchanger geometries with different diameters were studied in the CFD analysis. It was seen that the steam bulk temperatures predicted by STAR-CCM+ closely matched the experimental data. However, the temperatures of outer wall of the steel condenser tubes showed a deviation of 2% to 11% from the experimental values. The error in adiabatic water wall temperatures were found to range from 18% …

Analysis And Implementation Of Accident Tolerant Nuclear Fuels, Benjamin Joseph Prewitt

Masters Theses

"To improve the reliability and robustness of LWR, accident tolerant nuclear fuels and cladding materials are being developed to possibly replace the current UO₂/zirconium system. This research highlights UN and U₃Si₂, two of the most favorable accident tolerant fuels being developed. To evaluate the commercial feasiblilty of these fuels, two areas of research were conducted. Chemical fabrication routes for both fuels were investigated in detail, considering UO₂ and UF₆ as potential starting materials. Potential pathways for industrial scale fabrication using these methods were discussed.

Neutronic performance of 70%UN-30%U₃Si₂ composite …

Leveraging Knowledge At Startups, Amruta Anil Ranade

Masters Theses

"Startups contribute to the economy and job creation in the United States. One of the primary assets of startups is tacit knowledge of the employees of the startup. Technical communicators can help startups capture, share, and leverage the tacit knowledge at startups. Technical communicators could benefit from learning how knowledge management initiatives at startups work. The current study is an ethnographic case-study that was conducted at a fast-growing startup in California.

The data for the study was collected through observations, informal and semi-structured formal interviews with participants, and feedback from customers of the startup. The collected data was analyzed based …

Decodable Network Coding In Wireless Network, Junwei Su

Masters Theses

"Network coding is a network layer technique to improve transmission efficiency. Coding packets is especially beneficial in a wireless environment where the demand for radio spectrum is high. However, to fully realize the benefits of network coding two challenging issues that must be addressed are: (1) Guaranteeing separation of coded packets at the destination, and (2) Mitigating the extra coding/decoding delay. If the destination has all the needed packets to decode a coded packet, then separation failure can be averted. If the scheduling algorithm considers the arrival time of coding pairs, then the extra delay can be mitigated. In this …

Characterization Of The Rectification Behaviour Of In-Amps And Estimating The Near Field Coupling From Smps Circuits To A Nearby Antenna Using Dipole Moments, Chunyu Wu

Masters Theses

"This thesis discusses two parts.

In the first part, the rectification behavior of popular instrumentation amplifiers is measured in both common mode and single-ended RF noise injection. It is recommended that AD8221 be used in common mode RF noise injection environment. And AD8220 and AD8429 are recommended in single-ended RF noise injection environment. The mechanism of RF noise rectification inside in-amps is also discussed. It is verified that rectification mainly happens at the non-inverting input of two op-amps in the first stage of an in-amp. The DC voltage difference between inverting input and non-inverting input of the in-amp is further …

A Physics-Based Approach For Power Integrity In Multi-Layered Pcbs, Biyao Zhao

Masters Theses

"Developing a power distribution network (PDN) for ASICs and ICs to achieve the low-voltage ripple specifications for current digital designs is challenging with the high-speed and low-voltage ICs. Present methods are typically guided by best engineering practices for low impedance looking into the PDN from the IC. A pre-layout design methodology for power integrity in multi-layered PCB PDN geometry is proposed in the thesis. The PCB PDN geometry is segmented into four parts and every part is modelled using different methods based on the geometry details of the part. Physics-based circuit models are built for every part and the four …

Mining Asteroids For Volatile Resources: An Experimental Demonstration Of Extraction And Recovery, Egboche Christopher Unobe

Masters Theses

"Gaseous compounds trapped within carbonaceous asteroids may prove to be important targets for prospective space miners in the near-term. Volatile release is from hydrated, hydroxylated and carbonated phases present, making such bodies attractive as feedstock for the production of H₂O, CO₂ and simple organic compounds. A source of these species in orbit provides an opportunity to locally produce space-craft propellant and other life-support gases through the application of In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

For this study, an experimental vacuum system was modified and used to test the technical validity of radiatively heating asteroid simulants to extract contained gaseous …

Effect Of Fracture Heterogeneity On Proppant Transport And Settling Mechanism, Dhurgham Abdulameer Kadhim

Masters Theses

"Proppant transport modeling through fractures with slickwater fluid systems assumes uniform and homogeneous fracture widths by implying constant fluid behavior at wall boundaries. Hydraulic fracturing mineback operations have demonstrated that induced fractures are heterogeneous and varying in width. This work investigates the impact of fracture width heterogeneity, roughness, and leak-off on ceramic proppant transport and settling, using proppant distribution concepts of Equilibrium Dune Level (EDL) and equilibrium Dune Length (EDX). Experimental work was conducted to investigate the impact of fracture width heterogeneity by varying fracture width along two plexiglass sheets. To mimic actual hydraulic fractures, the injection side was designed …

Facebook And Value Congruence, Andrew James Eyberg

Masters Theses

"The current discussion on the use of social networking sites (SNS) in personnel selection is mixed at best. The present research utilized participant's Facebook profiles to determine if raters can correctly - and accurately evaluate work value dimensions as a measure of person-organization fit. Similar research was successful in capturing personality dimensions via SNS (Buffardi & Campbell, 2009). Additionally, the value dimensions of the current measure used -- the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) (O'Reilly et al., 1991) has been correlated with aspects of personality. Rater participants (N=105). Every five raters were randomly assigned five profiles to rate, for a total …

Detection Of Mine Roof Failure Using Inexpensive Lidar Technology, Ali Abdullah M. Alzahrani

Masters Theses

"Slope, Roof, and mine wall stability problems are some of the main reasons for deaths at U.S. surface or underground mining. The safety instruments were not enough to prevent that failure or even predict it before it occurs. However, the cost of such a tool that can be helpful in detecting roof failures is very high and not reachable in most instances.

The present study investigates the feasibility of using the M16 Leddar Evaluation Kit to detect the roof failure in mines. The M16 Leddar Evaluation kit cost is between 300$-800$, so it is the reachable price if it provides …

Quantifying Ceramic Proppant Transport In Complex Fracture Networks, Vivekvardhan Reddy Kesireddy

Masters Theses

"Water fracs have become an essential part of unconventional reservoirs to create deeper fracture networks. Proppant transport in water fracs is challenging in terms of fluids ability to carry the proppant deeper into these fracture networks. This experimental study investigates the impact of the flow rates, fracture widths and complexity controlling the ability of proppant to flow into complex fracture networks. This research attempts to nullify the knowledge gap in understanding width heterogeneity in primary and secondary fractures. This study speaks for settling pattern and proppant transport through a slot flow model with a unique approach to understand stage wise …

Welcome The Stranger? Recent History Of American Christianity And Refugee Policy, Brenda Edith Cuellar

Masters Theses

Immigration is a controversial and complex issue. The United States has a history of welcoming millions of immigrants and refugees. Recent political rhetoric surrounding immigration has been negative and associated with danger and terrorism. Religious leaders along with their congregations have a history of advocating on behalf of the marginalized as well as combating against a broken immigration system that leaves eleven million people undocumented. This research paper uses a case study to explore the Sanctuary movement, a religious and political campaign that provided shelter for thousands of Central American refugees fleeing war. Interviews with seven religious leaders in Arizona …