Digital Commons Network^™

A Remote Sensing Analysis Of The Effects Of Watershed Disturbance And Riparian Integrity On Stream Fish Communities In The Red River Of The North Basin, Nicholas Kludt

Theses and Dissertations

The relationships between fish species guilds, riparian cover, and vegetation disturbances in the surrounding landscape were examined across the 11 western tributaries of the Red River of the North. Archival stream sampling data, collected from 1993-2011 by North Dakota state agencies, were analyzed relative to temporally-appropriate land-cover predictors generated from National Land Cover Database and National Agricultural Imagery Program products.

The 0-30 m riparian cover width was the most influential landscape predictor influencing fish structure. The 0-30 m riparian cover displayed interactive effects with 30-50 m riparian cover width and watershed land-cover disturbance. These riparian scales were identified by a …

An Interstate Runs Through It: The Construction Of Little Rock's Interstate 630 And The Fight To Stop It, Darcy Pumphrey

Theses and Dissertations

Completion of the first mile of Interstate 630 (I-630) occurred in 1969. However, demands from organized community groups and litigation delayed completion of the full seven-and-a-half mile route until 1985. While the freeway resistance movement in Little Rock did not stop the construction of I-630 - it did gain influence over many key decisions within the planning and construction process. Through an examination of the construction of I-630, this thesis advances the basic understanding of the elements of an organized freeway revolt and serves as a guide for other communities as they navigate their own freeway planning efforts. In order …

Tutor Assisted Vocabulary Support: Easing The Vocabulary Load For Burundian Refugees Studying For The U.S. Citizenship Test, Eleanor Anne Clark

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis was to develop vocabulary materials to supplement those already in use for emergent literate Burundian refugees preparing for the U.S. Citizenship Test. These learners study in conjunction with the International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City, Utah, and with volunteer tutors who help them study. The flashcards and supporting activities were designed to better enable tutors to teach learners highly-dense vocabulary items, as well as to provide vocabulary scaffolding support for both learners and tutors and to increase depth of vocabulary knowledge with the target vocabulary. The U.S. Citizenship Test Vocabulary Flashcards and Vocabulary Support …

Network Interdependency Modeling For Risk Assessment On Built Infrastructure Systems, Vhance V. Valencia

Theses and Dissertations

As modern infrastructures become more interconnected, the decision-making process becomes more difficult because of the increased complexity resulting from infrastructure interdependencies. Simulation and network modeling provide a way to understand system behavior as a result of interdependencies. One area within the asset management literature that is not well covered is infrastructure system decay and risks associated with that decay. This research presents an enhanced version of Haimes' input-output inoperability model (IIM) in the analysis of built infrastructure systems. Previous applications of the IIM characterized infrastructure at the national level utilizing large economic databases. This study develops a three-phased approach that …

Nísia Floresta: Setting A Foundation For Feminist Literature In Brazil, Rachel Davidson Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

Many historians and literary critics recognize the nineteenth-century Brazilian author, Nísia Floresta, as the first feminist in Brazil. "Nísia Floresta é considerada a precursora dos ideais feministas no Brasil. Desde o início de sua carreira literária, a defesa dos direitos femininos foi o tema mais recorrente em sua obra"(Castro 250). Her works, published in Brazil and also in France and Italy, influenced women across borders. This thesis will address the discourse on maternity and education found in her works Opúsculo humanitário, Direitos das mulheres e injustiças dos homens, A mulher, and Conselhos à minha filha. Focusing on gender equality and …

Analysis Of Morphology And Fauna Of Geometrinae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) Of The Caribbean Region, David M. Plotkin

Theses and Dissertations

The Geometrinae, commonly known as emerald moths, are a diverse group of Lepidoptera with over 450 Neotropical species. However, Caribbean Geometrinae have received relatively little attention compared to the Geometrinae of mainland Central and South America. Using the method of Lee and Brown (2006), whole body mounts of descaled specimens of both Caribbean and mainland Neotropical Geometrinae were prepared. Morphological variation of exo- and endoskeletal characters among species, genera, and tribes of Neotropical Geometrinae is described. A faunistic study of Caribbean Geometrinae was also conducted using material from museums and private collections. The study includes definitions of species of Caribbean …

Urban Fringe And Transportation Corridor Convection-Diffusion Model For Anthropogenically-Initiated Wildfire Ignition Prediction, Ravi Raj Sadasivuni

Theses and Dissertations

A novel approach for modeling anthropogenically-initiated wildfire ignition was developed that significantly advances the theoretical knowledge of human-wildfire interactions. Gravity interaction models that are commonly used for economic analyses associated with business competition were combined with fluid dynamics models that mimic human movement patterns to predict the probability of anthropogenically-initiated wildfire. Herein, a combined gravity interaction and fluid dynamics models is developed and validated for wildfire potential prediction against historic and current wildfire data. The study identified population centers and transportation corridors, in particular: proximity to railroads and roads; traffic volume; and density of the corridors as the most influential …

Developing A Multistage Model For Treponemal Disease Susceptibility, Sarah A (Sarah Ann) Mathena

Theses and Dissertations

Despite numerous studies, little is known about the influential factors impacting treponemal disease susceptibility. Yet, forms of treponemal disease, specifically yaws, are a major source of morbidity in the developing world. Bioarchaeological materials may assist with deficit by testing full ranges of disease expression. This study explores the relationship between treponemal disease ecology, specifically yaws, and susceptibility through six southeastern United States archaeological samples. Results show early life health experiences have a relationship to later life disease expression. However, influences of climate may only be seen at a cross-regional level. Finally, although nutrition, as evidenced by subsistence strategy, may play …

Perceptions Of Students At A Rural Mississippi Community College Regarding Employability, Cortney R. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

Research studies show that there is a skills gap in American society today. This research study examined employability perceptions of community college students at a rural community college in Mississippi. Students were asked to complete an online survey that questioned the degree of importance placed on several employability skills, as well as their self-perceived competence levels at performing those skills. Likert-scale response set type questions were used to provide responses on importance and competence levels. After sending the survey invitation, 100 usable surveys were returned and analyzed for this research study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney procedures, …

Population-Level Genetic Structure Of Acmispon Argophyllus On The Channel Islands Of California, Gregory Lawrence Wheeler

Theses and Dissertations

The California Channel Islands present an ideal system in which to study unique biogeographical patterns seen in island systems near a mainland source, where spatial barriers are likely to limit gene flow without disrupting it completely. The islands also harbor a number of endemic taxa, suggesting that isolation from the mainland may be strong for some taxa. For this study, Acmispon argophyllus, a legume species found across five of the eight islands as well as on the mainland was used to test hypotheses at three spatial scales. Northern island populations have diverged into what potentially represents a new species; populations …

An Assessment Of Human Vulnerability To Prolonged Cold In The Zeravshan Valley Of Tajikistan, R Bryson Touchstone

Theses and Dissertations

The Central Asian country of Tajikistan is the poorest of the former Soviet republics; it is also prone to a plethora of natural hazards including mass wasting, flood, and extreme temperature. This thesis seeks to characterize how vulnerable rural Tajik mountain communities are to prolonged cold. The primary focus was in Navobod, in the Zeravshan Valley of Tajikistan, where semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 households, the village leader and doctor, and school staff. The results from the interviews were compared with GIS analysis of the region. Interviews indicated that the area is highly vulnerable to the impacts of prolonged …

Black-White, Black-Nonblack, And White-Nonwhite Residential Segregation In U.S. Metropolitan And Nonmetropolitan Areas, 1990-2010, Jed Raney Pressgrove

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to examine racial residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The study uses 1990-2010 decennial census data to answer a broad theoretical question: is the historical black-white color line being replaced by a black-nonblack or white-nonwhite color line? The results show that blackwhite segregation is higher than black-nonblack and white-nonwhite segregation in metropolitan areas, nonmetropolitan areas, and the United States as a whole. A multivariate analysis reveals that population size tends to be associated with higher segregation in metropolitan areas and lower segregation in nonmetropolitan areas. As a control variable, diversity seems to …

Material Geography, Mountains, And A-Nationalism In Thurman's The Blacker The Berry, Stephanie Jean Burns

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars over the last two decades or so have become increasingly interested in methods of interpreting history, society, and literature that do not rely on nationalistic paradigms. One vein of the transnational analytic trend is interested not only in the multiplicity of cultural geographies but also in the materiality of geography. Such critical work is extremely helpful in challenging myopic nationalist readings; yet the materiality of geography used as a theoretical lens has even greater potential. Using geographical formations as a basis for literary analysis can yield a theoretical base that has nothing to do with the borders of nations …

Canadian Family Leisure, Family Functioning, And Family Satisfaction: A Family Perspective, Shaun C. Nua

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to further examine the relationship between family leisure variables and the dependent variables of family functioning and satisfaction with family life among a broad, national sample of Canadian families using the Core and Balance framework. Specifically, this study examined how both family leisure involvement (core and balance) and family leisure satisfaction contributed to the explanation of variance in family functioning and satisfaction with family life. Because the data were nested in families, this study accounted for family-level variance by incorporating mixed modeling. The sample consisted of 943 families across Canada including one parent and …

"'Picture This:' Barbara Kruger's 'Imperfect Utopia'", Allie Craver

Theses and Dissertations

California contemporary artist Barbara Kruger created the colossal, three-dimensional work "Picture This" as part of the winning outdoor park design "Imperfect Utopia" (1986-1997) held by the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Situated in the landscape outside the museum’s original building designed by Edward Durell Stone, 80-foot-tall letters inscribe Kruger’s phrase "Picture This." The letters are embedded with quotations, historical markers, cultural figures, as well as elements pertaining to North Carolina’s history and environment. This thesis proposes that "Picture This" functions as Kruger’s conceptual critique of museums; more specifically, it critiques their traditional utopian goals and simulacral stature. This …

Local Government Law Enforcement Services: Relationships Between Performance And Cost In Collective And Non-Collctive Bargaining Workforces, Joseph Casey

Theses and Dissertations

High performance organizations desire to provide services in an effective and efficient manner with positive outcomes; therefore measures of performance and cost can be utilized to gauge such success. Through comparative research and analysis of local governments that have and do not have collective bargaining for law enforcement, findings and results can determine if there is any correlation between employee workforce classification (in collective or non-collective bargaining workplaces), high performance traits, costs and high performance return on costs (HPRC) for law enforcement. A HPRC composite measure was developed and utilized to compare and contrast all of the local governments to …

Developing An Architecture Framework For Cloud-Based, Multi-User, Finite Element Pre-Processing, Jared Calvin Briggs

Theses and Dissertations

This research proposes an architecture for a cloud-based, multi-user FEA pre-processing system, where multiple engineers can access and operate on the same model in a parallel environment. A prototype is discussed and tested, the results of which show that a multi-user preprocessor, where all computing is done on a central server that is hosted on a high performance system, provides significant benefits to the analysis team. These benefits include a shortened preprocessing time, and potentially higher-quality models.

Brand Impact On Increasing Sales: Case Study “Fortesa Home”, Granit Sahiti

Theses and Dissertations

A company’s brand image or name is what identifies and characterizes it. As the brand awareness increases it is often proved by many well known brands that also the percentage of sales would increase. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the direct impact of brands on increasing sales, with a special attention to “Fortesa Home” a retail company which sells sanitary products, which will be used as a case study. A questionnaire was prepared for Fortesa’s client and potential clients in order to give the whole analysis a practical touch. The paper work will show in detail how …

A Measure Of Nephrology Nurse Perceptions Toward Advance Care Planning: Validation Of The Nephrn Perceptions Toward Advance Care Planning Instrument, Mary S. Haras

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a report of a three-phase quantitative research study that included the development and testing of an instrument to examine the perceptions of nephrology nurses toward advance care planning for persons with chronic kidney disease. Phase 1 began with the identification of the dimensions of advance care planning and creation of an item pool for the instrument. The instrument was distributed to five content experts for evaluation and comments of inclusiveness to measure perceptions toward advance care planning. In Phase 2 the item pool was pilot tested in a convenience sample of 50 nephrology nurses. Exploratory factor analysis …

Discursive Tactical Negotiations Within And Across Literacy Coaching Interactions, Carolyn S. Hunt

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, the researcher employed de Certeau's theoretical insights into cultural production in everyday life to examine how literacy coaches and teachers discursively negotiated issues of identity, power, and positioning during coaching interactions. The study also explored how literacy coaches and teachers enacted emotions within these discursive negotiations of identity, power, and positioning; and how physical, social, and ideological spaces were shaped by and reflected in coaching interactions. Data were generated during a yearlong qualitative study of literacy coaches and teachers interacting within a mid-size, suburban district in the U.S. Midwest. The researcher used a microethnographic approach to discourse …

A Measure Of Vessels: A Memoir, Barbara J. Walker

Theses and Dissertations

In ancient times, my father's family name is believed to have designated a surveyor, designer, or `measurer' of sailing vessels. For these ancestors, most of whom dwelled on the archipelago of islands just north of the Normandy coast, known today as the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, the mastery of both seafaring and the building of sea-worthy vessels were matters of survival, not sport. In crafting family stories about adventures living near, in, and on the water, I discovered this seafaring family history. Thus these memoir stories unfold in layers, as stories of emigrations and the joining of clans, family …

Hydrogeological Assessment For A Suitable Location Of A Reservoir Lake In George County, Mississippi, Corey T (Cory Tanner) Ladner

Theses and Dissertations

The construction of a reservoir lake was proposed in 2010 for George County, Mississippi, USA. The proposed reservoir would be designed to serve primarily for industrial water storage. As the preliminary portion of the reservoir project, a baseline watershed assessment was performed for the purpose of identifying a reservoir site with potential to fill a lake volume capable of providing a sufficient water supply to prevent the Pascagoula River near Graham Ferry, Mississippi from dropping below a measured 7Q10 base flow when 100 million gallons of water per day are withdrawn from the river for industrial use. The initial focus …

Changes In Host Use By Unionid Mussels Following River Channelization And Impoundment, Lee Gray Turnage

Theses and Dissertations

More than half the North American freshwater mussel species in the family Unionidae (unionids) are imperiled or extinct. Alteration of rivers is considered a major contributor to unionid population declines. Losses could occur through disruption of the reproductive cycle. Unionid reproduction requires attachment of larva (glochidia) to host fishes; therefore, changes in the host fish community could alter the reproductive potential in unionid communities. There have been few attempts to compare reproductive success before and after alteration. I examined the pattern of glochidia use on two common host fishes, Lepomis megalotis and Cyprinella venusta, before and after alteration of the …

Two Essays In Economic Education, Brent A (Brent Andrew) Evans

Theses and Dissertations

Prior researchers (Anderson et al. 1994; Ballard & Johnson 2004; Hoag & Benedict 2010) have shown that different math abilities do not equally correlate with success in economics, yet no research has specifically compared algebra and geometry skills as predictors of economics success. In the first essay, I find that students’ standardized geometry scores are a much greater predictor of success in economics than standardized algebra test scores. The study uses a rich data set that includes all Georgia public high school students who took a mandatory economics course in 2006, 2007, or 2008. Results from this study provide supporting …

Sticks, Stones, And Broken Bones: Osteological Analysis Of Human Skeletal Remains From The Bluff Creek Site 1lu59, Roger Taft Alford

Theses and Dissertations

Remains from twentyour human burials recovered from the Bluff Creek Site (1LU59) in Alabama exhibited evidence of interpersonal conflict trauma. When the victims of interpersonal conflict were placed in their approximate time period, it became apparent that frequencies of interpersonal conflict changed over time, from the Archaic (15.4%) to Woodland (6.7%) to Mississippian (45.5%) periods. These changes are explained by changes in settlement patterns and associated stress over resource competition. As Archaic hunter-gatherers became less mobile and settled in to small “hamlets”, the stress over competition for resources was reduced, causing the frequency of interpersonal conflict trauma to fall slightly …

Geographic Analysis Of Tornadogenesis From Landfalling And Nearby Tropical Cyclones In The State Of Florida, Charles Eugene Roop

Theses and Dissertations

Tropical cyclone (TC)-spawned tornadoes in Florida were analyzed to determine patterns of occurrence based on storm and geographic features. Tornadoes were determined to be associated with a landfalling or nearby TC if a tornado occurred within 800 km of the TC’s center of circulation. TC-tornadoes were analyzed for patterns based on distance and angle from TC’s center, topographic influences, population biases, and influence based on time of landfall. Most TC-Tornadoes tend to occur more often before landfall than after. It was discovered that tornadoes have occurred in different areas with respect to the bearing from the center depending on the …

On The Cusp: A School District And Two Communities Respond To An Oil Pre-Boom, Vincent Roman Genareo

Theses and Dissertations

This case study is an investigation of the attitudes, perceptions, and reactions of school staff and community members in a rural pre-boom school district. In the early stage of an oil boom, real and perceived disruptions commonly occur in the schools and communities that are affected. The preparations and responses that residents make to the changes may determine the community’s future success, so understanding the impacts in the initial pre-boom growth stage is vital. Using qualitative methods of interviews, participant observations, and document analyses, this study researched 41 participants in a rural school district and two communities. The literature review …

Examining Middle School Students' Statistical Thinking While Working In A Technological Environment, Melissa Arnold Scranton

Theses and Dissertations

Examining Middle School Students' Statistical Thinking

While Working in a Technological Environment

Melissa Arnold Scranton

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how students think in a technological environment. This was accomplished by exploring the differences in the thinking of students while they worked in a technological environment and comparing this to their work in a paper and pencil environment. The software program TinkerPlots: Dynamic Data Exploration (Konold & Miller, 2005), a construction tool that middle school students use for data analysis was the technological environment. In both environments, types of critical, creative, and statistical …

Biogeography And Evolution Of Neotropical Small Mammals, With Emphasis On Hystricognath Spiny Rats Of The Genus Proechimys (Family Echimyidae), Rafael Do Nascimento Leite

Theses and Dissertations

The Neotropical region is the most biologically diverse region on the planet. The region encompasses a variety of ecosystems and has long been the target of researchers interested in patterns of species diversity and distribution. More recently, molecular data have been incorporated into methods for reconstructing the historical relationships among geographical areas and their biotas. Molecular phylogenetics has provided insights into diversification patterns and the influence of Late Cenozoic events on the evolutionary history of the region. Nevertheless, considering the vast extent and complexity of the region, more studies are needed to fully appreciate the patterns of biogeography and the …

Parowan Valley Potting Communities: Examining Technological Style In Fremont Snake Valley Corrugated Pottery, Scott M. Ure

Theses and Dissertations

Defining the Fremont archaeological culture has challenged archaeologists for decades. There is still considerable debate about the origins of the Fremont, their eventual demise, their genetic relationship to modern Native American tribes, and myriad other issues. In nearly a century of Fremont research, socio-political, economic, and religious complexity remain elusive subjects. Examining technological style, the manifestation of socially influenced choices during each step of production as a means of passive communication, is one useful avenue to examine Fremont material culture to uncover the social patterns they may, or may not contain. I examine whether or not technological style in Fremont …