Digital Commons Network^™

Molecular Characterization Of Wetland Soil Bacterial Community In Constructed Mesocosms, Ethan C. Bishop

Theses and Dissertations

The use of wetlands to effectively remediate aquifers contaminated with chlorinated solvents is an emerging technique, which shows high promise. In order to better understand this process and test its legitimacy, a treatment wetland was constructed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio and, in a joint effort with Wright State University (WSU), has previously shown the effective removal of PCE. The purpose of this research was to characterize the soil bacterial community, pre-PCE injection, among three wetland plant species from the sedge family (Cyperaceae) within constructed wetland mesocosms and to identify any bacterial dominance. Carex comosa, Scirpus atrovirens, and Eleocharis erythropoda …

An Experimental Study Of A Pulsed Dc Plasma Flow Control Actuator, Jennifer D. Wall

Theses and Dissertations

An experiment on the effects of a pulsed DC plasma actuator on a separated flow in a low speed wind tunnel was conducted. The actuator consisted of two asymmetric copper electrodes oriented normal to the flow separated by a dielectric barrier and mounted on a flat plate in the center of the tunnel. A contoured insert was constructed and used to create an adverse pressure gradient in the test section comparable to a Pak-B low pressure turbine blade distribution. Suction was applied from the upper wall to induce separation along the flat plate over the electrodes. The DC power supply …

Perspectives Of Administrators At Select Art Institutions On Student Involvement And Development Theories And Their Relation To Campus Extracurricular Activities, Mary Ellen Wade

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine extracurricular offerings at art institutions focusing on a few areas, including: (a) the amount of extracurricular offerings, (b) the types of extracurricular offerings, (c) how student affairs administrators viewed overall student participation in the extracurricular offerings, and (d) how demographics of the institution including size of the student population, commuter or residential campus, and the amount of funding received related to the amount of extracurricular activities offered by a particular institution.

This study examined two art institutions. Findings suggested student affairs administrators mostly have knowledge of and apply student development theories …

Hyperspectral Hypertemporal Feature Extraction Methods With Applications To Aquatic Invasives Target Detection, Abhinav Mathur

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, methods are designed and validated for the utilization of hyperspectral hypertemporal remotely sensed data in target detection applications. Two new classes of methods are designed to optimize the selection of target detection features from spectro-temporal space data. The first method is based on the consideration that all the elements of the spectro-temporal map are independent of each other. The second method is based on the consideration that the elements of the spectro-temporal map have some vicinal dependency among them. Methods designed for these two approaches include various stepwise selection methods, windowing approaches, and clustering techniques. These techniques …

Conservation Of Waste Rice And Estimates Of Moist-Soil Seed Abundance For Wintering Waterfowl In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Jennifer Kross

Theses and Dissertations

Waste rice in harvested fields and natural seeds in moist-soil wetlands are important foods for waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). Waste rice declines significantly between harvest and late autumn. I conducted experiments in 19 rice fields in Arkansas and Mississippi during autumns 2003 and 2004 to evaluate the ability of common post-harvest practices to conserve waste rice between harvest and late autumn. Greatest mean abundance of waste rice in late autumn occurred in standing stubble (x&95 = 105 kg/ha; CL = 72.84, 150.16 kg/ha) followed by burned (x&95 = 72 kg/ha; 49.57, 105.81 kg/ha), mowed (x&95 = 67 …

A Descriptive Study Of How African Americans Are Portrayed In Award Winning African American Children's Picture Books From 1996-2005, Susie Robin Ussery

Theses and Dissertations

Children learn about their world through books used in the classroom. Research about the portrayal of African Americans in children?s picture books is essential because picture books introduce some children to African American culture, and all children need to see characters like themselves in books. Since previous studies analyzed the characterizations of African Americans in children?s picture books from 1900 through 1995, the significance and purpose of this study were to add to the literature by examining children?s picture books from 1996 through 2005. The research questions were: (a)How are African Americans portrayed in the written texts of African American …

An Investigation Of Violence-Related Trauma At Two Sites In The Pickwick Basin: Dust Cave (1lu496) And The O'Neal Site (1lu61), James Harvey Turner Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Osteological evidence for violence has only in recent times been thoroughly investigated. Several kinds of traumas indicative of violence have been identified in human skeletal remains worldwide. Such traumas include scalping, embedded and/or associated projectile points, cranial fractures, parry fractures and defensive injuries, decapitation and dismemberment, and evidence of cannibalism. Analysis of traumas at Dust Cave (1LU496) and the O?Neal site (1LU61), two sites in northwestern Alabama with Middle and Late Archaic occupations, was undertaken. Violence-related traumas were observed at both sites. A highly significant difference exists in trauma patterns between the sites. Results were compared to research done on …

Red-Tailed Hawk Home Range, Habitat Use, And Activity Patterns In North-Central Puerto Rico, Ivan C. Llerandi-Roman

Theses and Dissertations

I determined abundance, movement and activity patterns of the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis jamaicensis, RTHA) in Río Abajo Forest, Puerto Rico and surrounding lands during 2003-2004. Captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots (Amazona vittata, PRPA) are scheduled for release in Rio Abajo Forest in 2006. Annual density of RTHAs (0.90 RTHAs/km2) was similar to the Caribbean National Forest (CNF; 1.29 RTHAs/ km2). RTHAs annual survival was high (0.89), and birds maintained compressed territories around the Rio Abajo Forest. Home ranges were 91% smaller than estimates reported for CNF, yet similar to those in North America. Approximately 98.3% of RTHA locations occurred outside …

Performance Of The Flat Walking Tennessee Walking Horse Yearling Before And After A 60-Day Strength Training Regime, Kirsten Michelle Holt

Theses and Dissertations

The influence of a 60-day strength training regime on the flat walking Tennessee Walking Horse (TWH) yearling performance was determined using behavioral, physiological, and biomechanical measurements. Four TWH yearlings participated in a 60-day strength training regime. Documentation was made on behavioral responses, and measurements were taken on respiratory rates and standing and flat walking kinematics. Means (SD) were determined for physiological and biomechanical variables, and paired t-tests (P=0.05) were performed. Morphometrics, kinematics, and temporal variables remained constant through training. The flat walk shared similar kinematics and temporal variables with the walk, except for the rhythm, bipedal support, head displacements, and …

Dissolution Caves Of Mississippi, Christopher Michael Moore

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to distinguish between the karst and pseudokarst caves throughout Mississippi, create an inventory and survey of representative caves and karst features, identify the geology of the rocks hosting the caves, and produce a GIS-based digital karst map. The State of Mississippi is not known for its karst features, yet there are three distinct limestone units that contain dissolution caves: 1) Paleozoic (Mississippian) Tuscumbia Formation limestone; 2) Mesozoic carbonate units; and 3) Cenozoic limestone, Marianna Formation. There are a total of 44 caves known within the state based on past documentation, however the caves listed …

Diversity In Action: Protesting Abortion In Mississippi, Jonelle Henry Husain

Theses and Dissertations

Abortion remains a controversial contemporary social issue, spawning disparate and strongly held opinions among the American public. Pro-life activists play a central role in opposing abortion, mobilizing a disinterested public to public activism, and collectively working to restrict abortion access. This study focused on pro-life activism in Mississippi, the state with the most restrictive laws governing abortion, abortion clinics, and abortion doctors. Contrary to previous studies and media portrayals that homogenize pro-life activists and public pro-life activism, I find that diversity, rather than consensus, characterizes Mississippi pro-life activists who engage in public activism and direct action to stop abortion. Specifically, …

Defining An Alternative Typology For Early Holocene Projectile Points From The Hester Site (22mo569), Northeast Mississippi: A Systematic Approach, Agnes Burris

Theses and Dissertations

There is a universally recognized need for a more refined chronological understanding of the Early Holocene in the Southeast. The Paleoindian/Early Archaic period deposits at the Hester site provide an opportunity to refine the local chronology for northeast Mississippi. Three-dimensional spatial analysis of these deposits revealed the presence of at least four distinct occupations. Attribute-level morphological analysis of projectile points excavated from these occupations indicated that base width, shoulder width, and basal indentation ratio, changed significantly through time. A paradigmatic classification system employing these attributes was used to classify the projectile points from Hester. These classes were successfully seriated indicating …

Chaucer's Scatological Art In Three Fabliaux, William Brennan Rutledge

Theses and Dissertations

Chaucer's fabliaux, particularly The Miller's Tale, The Merchant's Tale, and The Summoner's Tale, combine the crude humor associated with the genre with features of ?higher? genres, most notably the courtly romance tradition (for the first two tales), and the homiletic and scholarly debate traditions (for the last tale). The marriage of the scatology present in fabliaux with the characteristics of literary art is Chaucer's unique achievement and differentiates his tales from their analogues. This marriage occurs when characters of one class arrogate the types of discourse usually associated with another class. As a result of this discourse switching, the balancing …

Use Of Secondary Enrichment To Improve The Risk Assessment Of Salmonella In Broilers, Michael Lane Rybolt

Theses and Dissertations

Sampling in onarm production environments presents challenges that must be considered when doing hazard analysis. The sensitivity and specificity of the test used and the sample types chosen will have an impact on the food safety outcome and food safety decisions made during the interpretation of results. In this work, broiler houses were sampled for the presence of Salmonella spp. using two different sampling strategies and four different microbiological isolation procedures. The study was undertaken after complications arose during a field study evaluating the role darkling beetles play in the transmission of foodborne pathogens. It was determined that, based on …

Water Quality, Modeling, And Land Use Investigations In The Upper Pearl River Basin Of East-Central Mississippi, Mary Love Mortimer Tagert

Theses and Dissertations

Little historical water quality data is available for the Upper Pearl River Basin (UPRB), yet there are UPRB waters listed as impaired. Objectives of this research were to measure pesticide and sediment concentrations in UPRB surface waters and validate the Annualized Agricultural Nonpoint-Source (AnnAGNPS) runoff model with the measured data for a portion of the UPRB. An additional objective was to quantify effects of land use changes on UPRB surface waters from 1987 to 2002 using AnnAGNPS. Of the fifteen compounds analyzed, hexazinone was most frequently detected, in 94% of samples, followed by metolachlor, tebuthiuron, and atrazine. Metribuzin was detected …

Survival, Habitat Use, And Nest-Site Characteristics Of Wild Turkeys In Central Mississippi, Brad Douglas Holder

Theses and Dissertations

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) survival, habitat use, and nest-site characteristics were studied on Malmaison Wildlife Management Area, Mississippi, 2003-2004. Survival rates were 0.55, 0.0004, 0.26, and 0.30 for jakes, adult gobblers, juvenile hens, and adult hens, respectively for the entire study. Spring survival for all groups was 0.51 (95% CI 0.36, 0.65) and was least among seasons. Predation (65%) and harvest (21%) were major causes of mortality. Brood hens used bottomland hardwood stands, pine plantations, and old fields more than expected during the post-nesting period. Non-brood hens used bottomland hardwood stands more than expected during the pre- and post-nesting periods. …

Identification, Characterization And Anti-Fungal Activities Of Silk Proteins In Aspergillus Flavus Resistant And Susceptible Maize Inbreds, Bela Peethambaran

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to understand the mechanism of maize inbreds resistance to A. flavus by exploring the proteins that are differentially regulated in presence of pathogen. Silk has been hypothesized as one of the entry routes of fungal growth and so the proteome of silks was investigated by 1) performing a comparative proteomic study to identify silk proteins that are abundant in resistant maize inbreds and down-regulated or absent in susceptible inbreds, 2) identifying the up-regulated proteins in maize resistant and susceptible inbreds when challenged by A. flavus 3) by mapping the proteome of silk proteins in a A. flavus …

Evaluation Of The Antimicrobial Activity Of A Bifidobacteria Mix Against Escherichia Coli 0157:H7 Under Aerobic Conditions, Chenbo Wang

Theses and Dissertations

A bifidobacteria mix (nine strains) was evaluated for its effect on the growth and survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC 43890) in 11% NFDM and MRS broth under the optimum growth conditions for E. coli O157:H7 growth (37¡ãC, aerobic). Preliminary experiments were conducted to obtain the growth curves of the 9 strains of bifidobacteria and E. coli O157:H7 and confirm the inhibitory effect of acidity on E. coli O157:H7 (pH of media adjusted to 3.8). Acidapted E. coli O157:H7 showed no difference in resistance toward bifidobacteria (P>0.05) when compared to the non-acid adapted one. Escherichia coli O157:H7 did not …

Analysis Of Elementary School Library Web Sites In Southern New Jersey, Tricia L. Squire

Theses and Dissertations

Elementary school library media centers have the opportunity to utilize a Web site to promote the goals and objectives of the program, assist students with information literacy skills and encourage students to read more. Organizations such as the American Library Association and the International Association of School Librarianship provide guidelines for creating Web sites. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether or not elementary school library media centers in southern New Jersey were using these guidelines when creating Web sites.

Using a researcher designed checklist, Web sites were evaluated for information provided for all students, content for all …

Gender Role Development In Early Versus Late Adolescence, Andrea Buchma

Theses and Dissertations

Gender roles have been a subject that has been explored through the years. Previous research looked mainly on gender roles and childhood. In the present research, a different outlook of gender roles in adolescence was investigated. This research looked at a sample of 126 middle school and high school students. The students were each given a survey comprised of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and a simple gender recognition test. Test scores were compared with the variables of sex and age (early or late adolescent) through univariate analyses of variance, or ANOVA. The research found an association between gender recognition …

The Effect Of Income On Students' Behavior And Parental Involvement, Alison Hoell

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of social economic status on a child's behavior and his parental involvement. By obtaining archival files of students formerly enrolled at the Abbott center, Tiny Tots Preschool in Vineland, NJ, the researcher was able to correlate the amount of behavior problems with parental involvement and income.

The hypothesis of this study is that children of lower socio-economic status tend to have more behavior problems and less parental involvement than children of higher socio-economic status. This hypothesis was partially supported by the study. The study found that the majority of students …

Techniques Used By Elementary Library Media Specialists To Teach Caldecott Medal And Honor Award Books, Kathy Lee Simpkins

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine elementary library media specialists' perceptions of the usefulness of Caldecott Medal and Honor Award books in the elementary library media center curriculum. The study was conducted to measure the techniques elementary school library media specialists considered the most effective towards increasing student reading and reading choices. A total of 255 people responded to the 11 question survey on SurveyMonkey.com. Of these 255 responses, 250 were used in this research. The majority of respondents stated that their library programs did have written library skill curriculum guides and almost half of the 250 elementary …

Usage Of Plant Examples In Secondary School Biology Classes, Tamara L. Egner

Theses and Dissertations

Botanists have expressed concern over the dwindling recognition and emphasis of plants that currently exists in the fields of education and research. To ascertain if these claims pertain to high schools in the State of New Jersey, a survey on the frequency of using plant examples for teaching 10 biological principles was randomly distributed to secondary school biology teachers. Results from 80 respondents showed that on average, plants are used as examples in teaching 66% of these biological principles. The primary rationale cited by teachers for low or non-usage of plants was that they preferred animals as teaching examples. Underlying …

Entry Level Graphic Design Students: Influences Of Sketching On The Development Of Creativity, Elizabeth A. Becker

Theses and Dissertations

Artists and designers typically utilized sketching for brainstorming because it provides them with a means to transfer their initial ideas from their head onto paper or a computer. Sketching is regarding by research in the field of design to be an essential part of the design process and is believed to be related to creativity and innovation in design. This study explored the role sketching played in the development of graphic design student's creativity. Participants in this study were recruited from six different sections of entry-level, graphic design courses. Their experiences, perceptions of creativity, and attitudes, bout sketching in graphic …

The Needs Of Patients In A Rural/Frontier Setting With Renal Insufficiency, Nancy A. Carda

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify any needs patients with renal insufficiency living in a rural/frontier setting may have. A chart review was conducted in a rural health care facility of all patients with diagnostic code 593.9. The following questions were asked: What are the characteristics of the patients in this rural/frontier setting? What is the difference in their levels of renal insufficiency? What risk factors are related to the level of renal insufficiency? In what ways do their risk factors compare with those identified in literature? The results of this study were compared to what is stated …

Impact Of Assistive Technology Devices And Services For Students With Learning Disabilities And An Academic Need In Writing, Carol Hankins Olson

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the impact of assistive technology (AT) devices and services on 165 students (134 male, 31 female) with learning disabilities who had needs in the academic area of writing. Outcomes data collected through the Assistive Technology Infusion Project (ATIP) were analyzed to explore demographics of students in this population, relationships between various factors on writing goals, and differences in contributions of various interventions prior to and after attainment of the AT devices. Two classifications of AT devices were developed for use in this study. The first was used to determine the most common AT devices used (word prediction …

Library Access To Hispanic Books In Bridgeton, New Jersey, Donna Pettit

Theses and Dissertations

The Hispanic population is rapidly growing in Bridgeton, New Jersey. As the needs of the patrons change, hopefully the libraries are meeting those needs. The purpose of this study was to examine nine public libraries and public school libraries in Bridgeton, New Jersey to determine if they provided access to both Spanish-language and English books in their collections, books that reflect ethnic identities, backgrounds, history, and the culture of the Hispanic and specifically Mexican American population. The study surveyed nine libraries in Bridgeton using a combined bibliography of 78 award winning fiction Hispanic books. The researcher visited and checked each …

The Use Of Personal Digital Assistants In The K-8 Classrooms, Tracy A. Brosovich

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are being used in the K-8 classrooms and if so to what extent. By way of a stratified random sample, four counties in central and southern New Jersey were selected. A survey was developed and sent to the participating districts. Two hundred seventy-five surveys were mailed to eight districts, with a return rate of sixty-eight percent (68%).

Data was collected from the surveys and calculated into percentages. Although seventy-two percent (72%) of the respondents report using some form of technology on a daily basis, only three percent …

The Reading Habits Of Elementary Students And The Potential Role Of The School Library Media Specialist, Elizabeth Reilly-Stern

Theses and Dissertations

A review of current and related literature showed girls were outscoring boys on reading tests in New Jersey, in the nation and in other countries as well. Students see reading as a feminine activity. Understanding the reading habits of students, particularly male students who read less, is crucial to help students become lifelong learners. By studying reading preferences it may be possible to influence students to read more. This study was designed to determine if girls in fact circulate more books than boys, and if girls specifically circulate more fiction books. Through surveying the school library media specialists and examining …

Cathexellanea, Pir Rothenberg

Theses and Dissertations

Cathexellanea is a portmanteau word blending "cathexis," a psychoanalytical term meaning an investment of mental or emotional energy on a person, object or idea; and "miscellanea," a collection of objects or writings. One theme running through these stories concerns characters attempt to define themselves through their desires. "Bottomless" explores the idea of emotional and physical fulfillment. "Croquembouche" revolves around self-loathing and corruptibility. In "Destripado," the protagonist discovers that one way to dispel fear is to become the thing that causes it. "Ghosts" asks whether it is a past lover the protagonist longs for, or her phantoms. "Versions" deals with the …