Digital Commons Network^™

Political Hebraism’S Involvement And Significance In The American Founding, Mitch Wardell

Masters Theses

Ideas influence the way people think and eventually how people act. Ideas were integral in both sparking the American Revolution and informing those who crafted the founding documents. It is a contested position to state that the United States had a Christian founding. An overlooked and under appreciated aspect of the American founding is the influence of political Hebraism on the founders view of republicanism. This thesis will explore why Hebraic studies is valuable in the American founding.

The Color Line In Communism: The East German Ministry Of Culture’S Portrayal Of Paul Robeson’S State Visit, Colin J. Rensch

Masters Theses

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Cold War, the American Civil Rights movement, and anticolonialism combined to create a complex political, social, and economic landscape and a division of the globe into the so-called first, second, and third worlds. It is within this context that African American performer and activist Paul Robeson traveled to the GDR for an official visit in October 1960.

This visit was highly significant in light of the oppression Robeson had experienced at the hands of the US State Department. In response to Robeson’s communist sympathy, the State Department had revoked Robeson’s passport in 1950, and …

Assessing The Robustness And Versatility Of Nanojars For Anion Binding, Mia Lily Ann Jawor

Masters Theses

Supramolecular chemistry is a field in chemistry that focuses on intermolecular bonds in a “host-guest complex” or supramolecular assemblies. Nanojars are supramolecular assemblies of the formula [anion⊂{Cu(μ-OH)(μ-pz)}_n] (n = 27‒33) which incarcerate kosmotropic anions, such as carbonate (CO₃^2‒), sulfate (SO₄^2‒) and hydrogen phosphate (HPO₄^2‒). Nanojars consist of three [Cu(μ-OH)(μ-pz)]_x (x = 6‒14, except 11) rings that are assembled similarly to Matryoshka dolls, where the top and bottom rings act as guests for the central ring. The larger central ring is bound to the two smaller rings by multiple …

A Framework To Support Automatic Certification For Self-Adaptive Systems, Ioannis Nearchou

Masters Theses

Presently, cyber-physical systems are increasingly being integrated into societies, from the economic sector to the nuclear energy sector. Cyber-physical systems are systems that combine physical, digital, human, and other components, which operate through physical means and software. When system errors occur, the consequences of malfunction could negatively impact human life. Academic studies have relied on the MAPE-K feedback loop model to develop various system components to satisfy the self-adaptive features, such that violation of the safety requirements can be minimized. Assurance of system requirement satisfaction is argued through an industrial standard form, called an assurance case, which is usually applied …

The New Left In American Evangelicalism, Jonathan E. Harris

Masters Theses

In the late 1960s and early 1970s a new kind of evangelical emerged as a result of interaction with New Left ideas. The evangelical left gained strength until the mid 1970s, only to reemerge in the 2010s.

The End Is Upon Us: Attila The Hun And The Christian Apocalypse, Nathan Landrum

Masters Theses

Since their arrival onto the European landscape from beyond Scythia, the land north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains, the Huns were originally perceived by the Roman world as a seemingly unknowable, uncivilized barbarian group that instilled fear on the unfortunate peoples in their path. As the Huns migrated further south and eventually permanently settled in the Great Hungarian Plain, the Romans’ original perception largely remained intact, but with great alterations. By the campaigns of Attila in the mid-fifth century, as numerous cities and towns were utterly destroyed across the Balkans, Gaul, and northern Italy, Attila and the …

The Value Of Assessment For The Inclusive General Music Classroom, Mary Elizabeth Quigley

Masters Theses

This project contains an analysis of the current inclusion and assessment practices of the middle school (7th and 8th grade) general music classroom. There are many studies concerning inclusion of students with special needs and the importance of assessments in teaching music. However, there are very few studies that connect assessment techniques with inclusion, demonstrating that music teachers are teaching to each student’s ability. This study used the case study methodology in the qualitative approach with teacher interviews, surveys, and several classroom observations to analyze the data. The data was coded, and names of people and the school district were …

‘Remember The Deeds Of The Lord:’ Collective Memory’S Role In A Reasonable Faith, Baily Ray Mcdaniel

Masters Theses

Faith has long been regarded by secular scholars as unreasonable and unjustified. One of the largest issues that Christians face today is working against the notion that faith is blind. Best-selling author Richard Dawkins states, “religious faith is an especially potent silencer of rational calculation, which usually seems to trump all others.” The irrationality of faith is echoed consistently by other scholars including Bertrand Russell. As Kelly James Clark points out, “Bertrand Russell was once asked, if he were to come before God, what he would say to God. Russell replied, ‘Not enough evidence God, not enough evidence.’” The claim …

Food Packages That Make Choosing Better, Easy, Shelley Tate Garner

Masters Theses

Food packaging with persuasive design components and information can help us make better food buying decisions when it matters most- as we are scanning the grocery aisle. The correct packaging design could make it easy for consumers to determine a healthy choice from a lesser option and be attractive enough to sway decision making, thus leading to a healthier public. Research has been produced in many categories that relates to the dynamic of packaging design and its impact on buying and consumer response. However, no one study seems to bring together the most common elements that influence “healthy” choices at …

Changes In Neural Network Connectivity Of Normal Young Adults In Response To Power Wheelchair Trainer Using Eeg Coherence, Ruby Phung

Masters Theses

The ability to move and explore their surrounding environment plays a critical role in the development of cognitive function in children, especially during early childhood. The lack of independent and autonomous mobility is, therefore, a clear disadvantage for the overall development of children with multiple, severe disabilities. Limited number of studies have been conducted on the impact of power mobility device on this specific population. Previous exploratory and pilot studies showed promising results regarding quantifiable and consistent changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) of children with multiple, severe disabilities when provided with power mobility training. This study aimed to further extend …

From The Dinner Pot To Smoking Pot; How A Better Understanding Of Cannabidiol In Crayfish Could Alleviate Anxiety And Modulate Hunger, Christopher Michael Timmer

Masters Theses

Anxiety affects approximately 1/3 of the US population and presents in many different forms, ranging from social to panic disorders. It also presents with high comorbidity for other mental disorders. One treatment is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) which allow for increased activation of serotonin (5-HT) receptors. SSRIs come with an extensive list of side effects, which can fail to maintain quality of life. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabis derived compound which has been shown to decrease anxiety by activation of multiple subtype 5-HT amine receptors. CBD has few side effects, is not psychoactive, and exhibits anti-psychotic properties. The current …

The Investigation Of Group 1 Late Embryogenesis Abundant Protein 6 And Its Role In Arabidopsis Thaliana Desiccation Tolerance, Joann Eise Thomson

Masters Theses

Like most seeds, Arabidopsis thaliana seed development is divided into three major phases: morphogenesis, storage deposition, and maturation drying. During maturation drying the seed becomes desiccation tolerant (DT) at some point and the seed rapidly loses water until its moisture level is approximately 10% on a fresh weight basis. The ability of the seeds to withstand this extreme water loss is hypothesized to be due, in part, to the accumulation of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins. In A. thaliana, there are 51 LEA proteins which are divided into seven groups based on amino acid sequence similarities. Group 1 LEA …

Bloom Or Bust: Search For Phytoplankton Community Drivers Using Long-Term Time-Series Observations And Field Measurements In A Model Great Lakes Estuary, Jasmine Mancuso

Masters Theses

As sentinels of climate change and other anthropogenic effects, freshwater lakes are experiencing ecosystem disruptions at every level of the food web, beginning with the phytoplankton. One of the major threats to waterbodies around the world are cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) resulting from anthropogenic eutrophication and exacerbated by climate change. Muskegon Lake, a drowned river mouth Great Lakes estuary on the east coast of Lake Michigan, is no exception and was declared an Area of Concern by the EPA in 1987 with nuisance algal blooms cited as a beneficial use impairment. Using long-term data and additional 2019 sampling, we …

Competitive Interactions: Spatial And Temporal Niche Partitioning Between Brook And Brown Trout In Southwest Michigan, Frederick J. Glassen

Masters Theses

Niche diet partitioning between Brook Trout and Brown Trout were studied in two southwestern Michigan, USA streams, one dominated by Brook Trout, the other with both Brook and Brown Trout. Brook Trout are endemic to eastern North America and have been introduced throughout the world for sport fishing. Brown Trout were first introduced to Michigan in 1883 using a genetic strain from Germany. Stomach contents were collected from a population of Brook Trout in the absence of Brown Trout in Frost Creek, while the other population was in potential competition with Brown Trout in Cedar Creek. Absent Brown Trout, Brook …

Analysis Of Center Of Pressure And Center Of Mass To Determine Patterns Of Postural Stability In Neurotypical Subjects, Natalie Tipton

Masters Theses

The body’s postural control mechanism is responsible for responding to perturbations of balance and keeping the body upright. One of the main ways that this is completed during quiet standing, where both feet are planted on the ground, is through center of pressure oscillations. In these oscillations, the center of pressure circles around the center of mass, constantly counteracting any lean that exists in the body. These oscillations can be recorded with floorembedded force plates and center of mass can be recorded with a motion capture system. In this research, these signals were recorded for stances with feet together and …

Carbon Sequestration In A Restored West Michigan Oak Savanna: Implications For Management Practices, Jeffrey A. Heise

Masters Theses

The savanna system is an ecosystem (i.e. a transitional ecosystem) that lies between forest and grassland ecosystems. They occur across the world in various forms, but in the North American Midwest they are specifically oak savannas: systems where the open overstory is dominated by various species of oak (Quercus spp.) and the understory consists of carbon-rich prairie grasses and forbs. This ecosystem is a highly degraded ecosystem and has lost almost 99% of its former range due to agriculture and fire suppression. Since savannas are fire-evolved systems, they are maintained by and require fire as a regular disturbance to …

Variation In Tundra Plant Traits Across A Latitudinal Gradient, Katlyn Rose Betway

Masters Theses

High latitude regions are warming faster than most regions. Studies documenting change in plant cover due to warming have reported that graminoids, deciduous shrubs, and evergreen shrubs are increasing in some regions of the Arctic, but not at others. Mixed responses to warming have caused researchers to shift towards an emphasis on functional traits of individual species rather than their growth forms. This thesis focuses on ten measured plant functional traits for twelve arctic species at three regions spanning a latitudinal gradient in northern Alaska (Utqiaġvik, Atqasuk, and Toolik Lake). We compare mean trait values across the three regions for …

God Sees And God Rescues: The Motif Of Affliction In Genesis, Emily Christine Page

Masters Theses

The book of Genesis mainly centers on the fulfillment of God’s patriarchal promises. However, the book presents characters who first experience hardship before they receive blessings from God. Many of the hardships are described in Genesis as “afflictions” (√ענה), the same word used to describe Israel’s suffering in Egypt (Exod 3:7). Although the motif of affliction receives attention for its appearance in Exodus, few scholars note the significance of this motif in Genesis. The purpose of this thesis is to trace the motif of affliction in Genesis and to determine the pattern of its appearance. The motif serves the larger …

The Storying Of Colombian Writing Centers, Jennifer Erin Pretzer

Masters Theses

Using the results from a study conducted on Colombian writing centers, this thesis applies principles from narrative theory to posit a grand narrative for Colombian writing center professionals. The study was modeled on one Jackie Grutsch McKinney used to examine US writing center professionals’ descriptions of their work, and the thesis includes a comparison with her results. Respondents were asked to answer seven questions, two of which were multiple choice and five of which were short answer. The questions asked respondents to describe their tutoring staff composition, their center’s operations, writing centers in general, and ways their center resembles and …

Mother Heart, Elisa Miriam Palumbo

Masters Theses

This memoir tells the story of a girl who lost her mom to cancer when she was eleven and how she learned to cope with her loss through writing.

“Someone’S Got To Look Out For The People”: Exploring Donald Trump And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’S Online Performance Of Populism And Immigration Rhetoric, Taylor P. Koopman

Masters Theses

This thesis examines the performance of populism by a right- and left-wing politician in the digital sphere during the peak of the immigration crisis in 2019 using the lens of Moffitt’s populism as performance theory (performer, stage, and audience) and Baldwin-Philippi’s four methods of ‘centering the people.’ My findings show that Trump and Ocasio-Cortez’s performances of populism condemn the degradation of the U.S. and portray themselves as immigration warriors. Trump uses exclusionary rhetoric to advocate putting “America First,” and Ocasio-Cortez expresses inclusionary rhetoric to develop an “America for All,” in a way that informs their performances of …

Originality, Decorum, And Fantastic Sight In Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Richard A. Decker

Masters Theses

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “fantastic realism” penetrates reality’s surface to reveal what he refers to as the “moral center” of reality and, in the process, transfigures readers. In Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, the novel’s main protagonist, Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, embodies this fantastic realism. This process provides Myshkin with a “fantastic sight” that allows him to see past the immorality of the manners—or “feigned decorum”—of Russian society as represented in the novel. In so doing, Myshkin serves his peers as a “Nouwenian minister,” classifying him as a “wounded healer” archetype as presented in Henri J. M. Nouwen’s The Wounded Healer. This …

Prediction Of Isotropic Strain Hardening Material Properties Using Gradient Boosted Regression Tree Method And Hyperparameter Optimization, Darren R. Promer

Masters Theses

In this study a new technique is proposed for the determination of elastic-plastic stress-strain relations for isotropic materials using the force-displacement output from an instrumented indentation test, finite element simulation, and machine learning methods. This non-destructive testing methodology has promising potential for industry implementation. Applications to benefit from this method include the characterization of localized material properties on surface engineered components, and the post-manufacturing assessment of material properties for items such as additively manufactured metallic components and load-bearing welded joints.

Currently, the capability of the instrumented indentation test for determining material properties is limited to the elastic modulus and surface …

Prescribed Freedom, Proscribed Freedom: Compositional And Improvisational Balances In Jazz, Andrew W. Saliba

Masters Theses

Jazz is a recent and flexible art form, rooted in the twin musical strains of occidental canon and folkloric African-American music. From its genesis, jazz musicians have had the difficult task of reconciling these seemingly opposite musical parents while simultaneously building a new musical canon that respects and upholds its past, even as it celebrates new individual voices. Like any multifaceted challenge this balancing of elements has not always gone smoothly, and attempts to codify the delineation and categorization of jazz remain controversial even now. There is additional challenge in defining the nature of “free” improvised music. While free music …

Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensors And Triboelectric Energy Harvesters Using Laser-Assisted Patterning Process For Flexible Hybrid Electronic Applications, Valliammai Palaniappan

Masters Theses

This work focuses on the design, fabrication and characterization of novel flexible capacitive pressure sensors and triboelectric energy harvesters using laser-assisted patterning process for flexible hybrid electronic applications. Initially, the capacitive pressure sensor was developed by fabricating a set of polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) dielectric films with pyramid shaped micro-structures using a laser-assisted patterning process. The pressure sensor consists of two electrodes (top and bottom) that were fabricated by depositing silver (Ag) on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using additive screen-printing process. Finally, the pressure sensor was assembled by attaching the top and bottom Ag electrodes to the smooth side of pyramid shaped …

Boethian Variations: Musical Thought In Sir Orfeo, Troilus And Criseyde, And Robert Henryson’S Orpheus And Eurydice, Joshua T. Parks

Masters Theses

This study approaches three poems from the late medieval British Isles—the Middle English Breton lay Sir Orfeo, Geoffrey Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, and Robert Henryson’s Orpheus and Eurydice—through the lens of medieval music theory. The most important authority for medieval music theorists was the late antique philosopher Boethius, who held to a Neoplatonic philosophy of music that valued reason, theory, and contemplation of the music of the spheres. Later medieval theorists cited Boethius extensively while also adapting his thought to suit their own purposes. In particular, the early fourteenth-century French theorist Johannes de Grocheio, influenced by Aristotle, departed …

A Multiscale Thermomechanical Metal Additive Manufacturing Simulation And The Impact Of Geometry On Residual Stress And Distortion, Luis Fernando Silva Velasco

Masters Theses

Metal additive manufacturing is an enabling technology for the rapid prototyping and manufacturing of geometrically complex parts that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to manufacture. However, the manufacturing process can produce undesired residual stresses and distortions. The first part of the work describes the implementation of a multiscale, thermo-mechanical simulation modeling the metal powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process. NASA’s Micromechanics Analysis Code was is to incorporate the microscale effects of an evolving material porosity on the predicted macroscale residual fields. The simulation shows that modeling an evolving material porosity, as the material transitions from a metal powder to …

Traumatic Clergical Ministry Leads To Vicarious Trauma, Ptsd, And Ministry Burnout, Teresa Denine Hanson

Masters Theses

The exodus of clergy leaving their positions of ministry incites the need to identify the cause; to probe the question of “why?” Though the topic of burnout is proliferous within ministry circles, the writer’s thesis is that the cause of departure lies within three areas, not isolated to the topic of “burnout.” Diversification of causes exist, broken down into three primary causes: Vicarious Trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Burnout. Following diversification of cause, personality traits are identified in the section Contributing Factors. From this point, the writer first addresses external supports for those with these primary areas, followed by …

Microbial Experience Influences Tumor- Infiltrating T Lymphocytes, Hanna Groeber

Masters Theses

Immune cells, including T cells, have been used for anti-cancer therapy with varying degrees of success. One potential reason for immunotherapy failures in clinical trials may be that typical specific pathogen free (SPF) mice do not accurately replicate human microbial experience, which has important influence on shaping the adaptive immune response. Recently, several previous studies have shown that the immune system of SPF mice more closely resembles newborn human immunity, whereas immune systems from mice exposed to diverse pathogens more closely reflect adult human immunity.

To study the impact of microbial experience on the immune response, we have adopted a …

Changes In Gene Expression Profiles In Müller Glia Following Exposure To An Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonist, Megan L. Stanchfield

Masters Theses

Previous studies from this lab have determined that dedifferentiation of Müller glia (MG) occurs after application of an α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, PNU-282987 (PNU), to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in adult rodents. This study was designed to explore the role of the HB-EGF/Ascl1/Lin28a signaling pathway in MG dedifferentiation to retinal progenitor cells. RNAseq was performed on MG following contact with RPE-J cells treated with PNU-282987. Up- or down-regulated genes were compared with published literature of MG dedifferentiation that occurs in lower vertebrate regeneration or with transcript profiles during early mammalian development. Between 8-12 hours, up-regulation was observed in …