Digital Commons Network^™

An Investigation Into The Indicators Of A Successful Total Force Association, Greg E. Hoyt

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force, since adopting and subsequently developing the Total Force concept in the early 1970s, has not thoroughly outlined clear objectives by which the progress toward and realization of this strategic vision should be defined and measured. Without clear definition, direction, and method of evaluation, the ability to credibly claim any subsequent successes or failures in the pursuit of this vision become vulnerable to challenge. Indeed, the mere claim that a single, clear vision exists may be challenged. The Total Force concepts degree of success has, on multiple occasions through its history, been critiqued with the most recent instance …

Tweeting For A Cause: A Content Analysis Of Successful Charitable Nonprofits' Publishing Strategies On Twitter, Shaela Annice Hougaard

Theses and Dissertations

A study examining the content strategies within Twitter posts, from nine charitable nonprofit organizations was conducted. The content analysis was conducted to identify content strategies (relationship cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship) behind each Twitter post from these nine organizations, within a one-week period. The study also looked at levels of engagement on each tweet as well as interactivity from the organization. The results showed that these nine charitable nonprofit organizations were primarily using stewardship strategies and techniques in their posts. The study also found that relationship cultivation yielded higher levels of retweets and that the relationship cultivation and solicitation combination strategy …

Engineering Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Technology For Codon Reassignment, Biotherapeutics Production Using Just-Add-Water System, And Biosensing Endocrine Disrupting Compounds, Sayed Mohammad Salehi

Theses and Dissertations

Cell-free protein synthesis is an emerging technology that has many applications. The open nature of this system makes it a compelling technology that can be manipulated to answer many needs that are unavailable in other systems. This dissertation reports on engineering this technology for: 1) sense codon emancipation for incorporation of multiple unnatural amino acids; 2) expressing a hard-to-express anticancer biotherapeutic and introducing a just-add-water system; 3) a biosensing ligand that interacts with nuclear hormone receptors. Emancipating sense codons toward a minimized genetic code is of significant interest to science and engineering. A promising approach to sense codon emancipation is …

Dual-Detachment: The Plight Of Young Black Males Alienated From Work And School, Tšooane Molapo

Theses and Dissertations

In looking at the plight of young Black males who drop out of school or leave school without adequate skills to compete in the local and global labor markets, scholarship has overemphasized the likelihood of this population’s entrance into the juvenile justice system. Hence, many studies of these males have concentrated on their schooling experiences in the school-to-prison pipeline. While of crucial importance, prison is not the only danger for these young men. In time, some young Black males do end up in the juvenile justice system, but some remain stuck between school and employment. I term this “dual-detachment”—youth neither …

Sex Offender Policies That Spin The Revolving Door: An Exploration Of The Relationships Between Residence Restrictions, Homelessness, And Recidivism, Deanna Cann

Theses and Dissertations

Within the past two decades, a variety of specialized sex offender legislation has been implemented across the United States. Typically brought about in attempt to ebb the societal disquiet after notorious sexual assault cases are sensationalized in the media, these policies appear to be based on faulty assumptions, and lack any evidence-based foundation. In fact, empirical research suggests that policies such as sex offender registration, community notification, and residence restrictions do little to prevent sexual offending, and may actually work to increase the risk of these events through a number of collateral consequences. The current study critically examines the rationale …

Inmate Time Utilization And Well-Being, Mateja Vuk

Theses and Dissertations

Qualitative studies about prison culture and examinations of correctional recreation and programming offer a comprehensive understanding of prisons’ social dynamics, including how individuals spend their free time while incarcerated. Theoretical models and the extant research suggest that involvement in structured and prosocial activities is associated with positive behavioral and emotional outcomes in offenders. However, the majority of studies that provide the empirical evidence for these conclusions do not examine all aspects of time utilization explicitly or do not provide statistical evidence of the strength and significance of the associations. Additionally, many of these investigations are dated.

To address these gaps, …

Causes Of Satisfaction And Disatisfaction For Diversity Resident Librarians – A Mixed Methods Study Using Herzberg’S Motivation-Hygiene Theory, Jason Kelly Alston

Theses and Dissertations

Diversity residency librarian programs are post-MLIS programs aimed at providing recently graduated professionals with real work experience, with the expressed goal of recruiting and retaining a more-diverse workforce in professional librarianship.

This mixed-method study is one of the first empirical studies examining diversity residencies, which – at the time of this writing – have existed for more than 30 years. The study identifies concerns raised in the mostly anecdotal literature about diversity residencies, and 102 individuals identified as current or former diversity resident librarians participated in the quantitative portion of the study. In the quantitative portion of this study, there …

Tradition And Progress: California Fire Technology Directors Beliefs And Values, Rodney A. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the basic assumptions, beliefs, and occupational values of California Fire Technology Directors as they influence and socialize the next generation of firefighters entering the fire service. Definitions of industry culture, occupational culture, and organizational culture were applied to the fire service as well as the influence that heritage, traditions, values, meaning, and context play in the socialization process. Research methodology included emic and etic data collection techniques that documented the opinions and observations of the study group. Data from the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) along with descriptive data collected during an ethnographic interview provides a window …

Best Practices And Strategies Used By Church Leaders To Mitigate And Prevent Burnout Among Church Volunteers, Katie Donihoo

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore successful strategies implemented by church leaders to mitigate and prevent church volunteer burnout. Volunteer training in the church must be set up for success relationally to create long-term sustainability. Burnout among volunteers and church leadership is common but effective training can help to prevent and mitigate burnout. The insights gleaned from the literature for preventing burnout can be incorporated into volunteer training programs within the church in order to provide long-term sustainability for volunteers. Armed with the findings of this study regarding insights gleaned from successful burnout mitigation and prevention programs used …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Relationship Among Social Institutions And Juvenile Arrests In Virginia, Linh Thi T. Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations

The United States has unusually high rates of violence among developed nations, including the victimization of and perpetration by youth. Using Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT) as the theoretical framework, this study analyzes the relationships between social institutions and crime and the interactive relationships among the institutions in a sample of Virginia localities. Multivariate analyses are conducted to produce additive and multiplicative models, and simple slope analyses are conducted to clarify interaction/moderation effects. Findings yield mixed support for IAT. Localities with higher levels of monthly welfare per recipient (a measure of polity) have lower juvenile violent crime arrest rates, and welfare …

Undocumented Students In Higher Education: A Case Study Exploring Street-Level Bureaucracy In Academic Advising, Fai Howard

Theses and Dissertations

Immigration is arguably among the most divisive global and national issues at present. In the U.S., undocumented persons (the DREAMers) who arrived to the U.S. as children have been the central focus of legislation and debate. As of 2013, the undocumented population has increased from less than a million in 1980, then reaching 12.2 million in 2006, to an estimated population of 11.3 million (Passel, Cohn, Krogstand, & Gonzalez-Barerra, 2014) just a few short years ago. For the numerous undocumented students who have excelled academically and socially, and make positive contributions to their communities, the goal of obtaining a college …

Assessing The Implementation Of Campus Safety Policies In Virginia Community Colleges: An Analysis Of The Forces At Play In Higher Education Institutional-Level Policymaking, Steven T. Keener

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which community colleges have implemented major post-Virginia Tech campus safety recommendations. In addition to gaining a comprehensive overview of the safety policies and practices in place, this study assessed if campus safety policy implementation levels at the community colleges correlated with institutional characteristics, and the internal and external forces that helped drive the implementation of these policies. Focusing specifically upon the Virginia Community College System, data on the policies and practices in place at each of the 23 Virginia community colleges were collected from institutional websites and through follow-up …

Framing Marijuana: A Study Of How Us Newspapers Frame Marijuana Legalization Stories And Framing Effects Of Marijuana Stories, Hwalbin Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The current study was initially designed to look at how the issue of marijuana legalization was presented in U.S. newspapers and how news frames could influence the audiences’ attitudes or behavioral intentions. To investigate these questions, two different types of research methods were employed: content analysis and experiment. Using framing theory as a theoretical framework, this study found that marijuana legalization has been largely described as a legislation issue or a law enforcement issue, and medical benefit and medical risk were most frequently mentioned attributes to support and oppose marijuana legalization. Findings indicated that news frame could influence the public’s …

Cooperative Wideband Spectrum Sensing Based On Joint Sparsity, Ghazaleh Jowkar

Theses and Dissertations

COOPERATIVE WIDEBAND SPECTRUM SENSING BASED ON JOINT SPARSITY

By Ghazaleh Jowkar, Master of Science

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University 2017

Major Director: Dr. Ruixin Niu, Associate Professor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this thesis, the problem of wideband spectrum sensing in cognitive radio (CR) networks using sub-Nyquist sampling and sparse signal processing techniques is investigated. To mitigate multi-path fading, it is assumed that a group of spatially dispersed SUs collaborate for wideband spectrum sensing, to determine whether or not …

Accurate Acoustic Ranging System Using Android Smartphones, Mohammadbagher Fotouhi

Theses and Dissertations

ACCURATE ACOUSTIC RANGING SYSTEM USING ANDROID SMARTPHONES

By Mohammadbagher Fotouhi, Master of Science

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University 2017

Major Director: Dr. Ruixin Niu, Associate Professor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

In this thesis, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of an android ranging system, a high-accuracy acoustic-based ranging system which allows two android mobile phones to learn their physical distance from each other.

In this system we propose a practical solution for accurate ranging based on acoustic communication …

Stigma And Restoration Of Civil Rights To Felons, Kimberly Paige Pithey

Theses and Dissertations

Millions of people in the United States are banned from basic civil rights including participation in voting, jury duty, applying for government assistance, and owning a firearm because they have had a felony conviction. There is limited research on attitudes regarding the restoration of civil rights to felons. This thesis uses Goffman’s theory of stigma to examine whether public support for the restoration of rights to felons is associated with knowledge of felony convictions and whether an individual knows someone with a felony conviction. This study used an online survey of college undergraduates (N = 362) to explore two hypotheses …

Evaluation Of Multicarrier Air Interfaces In The Presence Of Interference For L-Band And C-Band Air-Ground Communications, Hosseinali Jamal

Theses and Dissertations

The use of aeronautical vehicles and systems is continuously growing, and this means current aeronautical communication systems, particularly those operating in the very high frequency (VHF) aviation band, will suffer from severe congestion in some regions of the world. For example, it is estimated that air-to-ground (AG) communication traffic density will at least double by 2035 over that in 2012, based on the most-likely growth scenario for Europe. This traffic growth (worldwide) has led civil aviation authorities such as the FAA in the USA, and EuroControl in Europe, to jointly explore development of future communication infrastructures (FCI). According to international …

The Impact Of Small Group Intervention Focusing On Operations With Rational Numbers On Students’ Performance In The Florida Algebra I End-Of-Course Examination, Evelyn Dopico

Theses and Dissertations

In Florida, passing the Algebra I end-of-course examination (EOCE) is a graduation requirement. The test measures knowledge of basic algebra. In spring 2015, the Department of Education introduced a different version of the test. For the first two administrations of the new test, the failure rate for 9th-grade students in the state was almost 50%. In contrast, the failure rate for students in the school where this study was implemented exceeded 70%. The purpose of this study was to determine the outcome of small group intervention focusing on operations with rational numbers of high school students’ performance on the Algebra …

America Reads-Mississippi/Americorps Reading Program's Impact On Mississippi Community College Attendance, Charity Yarbrough

Theses and Dissertations

Since the inception of AmeriCorps programs, reading, education and civic engagement has been emphasized in a large portion of the United States. Members enlist to serve schools and communities for 1 year, possibly 2. Upon completion of a member’s year(s) of service an education award is given which can be used to attend a community college, university or repay student loans. This study showed how AmeriCorps/America Reads programs partnered with community colleges and universities which recruited members to volunteer at school sites and community centers tutoring students in classrooms to improve reading, grades, engage in community service activities, use education …

An Examination Of How Ratings Of Airlines Are Effected By Different Types Of Information: A Mediation Analysis, Abdullah Selim Ozyurek

Theses and Dissertations

Many dynamics directly or indirectly influence the decision-making process. An individual’s demographic features, such as gender, country of origin, and emotions are some of the dynamics. In the aviation domain, air passengers purchase their air travel tickets under those dynamics. The purpose of this study was to determine if the airline type, gender of participants, and participants’ country of origin had an effect on ratings of an individual’s perception of safety and willingness to fly, and which emotions had a mediating effect on this relationship. The study included Lufthansa Airlines and Turkish Airlines from Europe. The affect was the participants’ …

Submerged Jump Remediation At Low-Head Dams: The Multiple Staggered Deflector Design, Ronald Francis Mcghin

Theses and Dissertations

Low-head dams are capable of creating dangerous counter-currents just downstream from the structure. These dangerous counter-currents are known as submerged hydraulic jumps and are responsible for hundreds of fatalities at numerous low-head dams across the United States. The counter-current creates high upstream-directed surface velocities across the width of the channel, making it nearly impossible for an individual to escape. This submerged jump can occur during a range of upstream and downstream conditions. Effective, safe and low-cost remediation options must be explored in order to prevent further fatalities at these structures. This document explores such a remediation option: the Multiple Staggered …

Optimizing Border Security With Stochastic And Deterministic Strategies, Gabriel A. Rueda

Theses and Dissertations

International trade and border security have always been linked together, and so has the need to find ways to improve security decisions. The United States and bordering countries benefit from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but amongst the positive effects of NAFTA there is a looming drug threat that effects the bi-national supply chains. In 2015 Customs and Border Protections (CBP) processed over 72,000 trucks, rail, and sea containers a day. CBP also seized 3.4 million pounds of narcotics, the majority of them at the ports of entry. With unknown threats using commercial vehicles to transport their illicit …

Building Exposure Study In The State Of Florida And Application To The Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model, Joshua Michalski

Theses and Dissertations

Modeling hurricane events with models such as the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model (FPHLM) is essential for insurance and reinsurance companies to estimate projected losses. Additionally, the models can be used by public officials to estimate and mitigate damages while also developing public safety policies to reduce the amount of damage and loss of life during a catastrophic event. The FPHLM combines hurricane event simulation and building vulnerability models to predict insurance portfolios losses. Before vulnerability functions are applied to insurance portfolios to determine total losses, these functions are weighted based upon building characteristics statistics representative of a given building …

Analysis Of The Fm Radio Spectrum For Secondary Licensing Of Low-Power Short-Range Cognitive Internet-Of-Things Devices Via Cognitive Radio, Derek Thomas Otermat

Theses and Dissertations

The number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices is predicated to reach 200 billion by the year 2020. This rapid growth is introducing a new class of low-power short-range wireless devices that require the use of radio spectrum for the exchange of information. To offset this extraneous demand for radio spectrum, the low-power short-range IoT devices need to utilize vacant spectrum through the use of Cognitive Radio (CR). The analysis presented in this dissertation indicates that the FM radio spectrum is underutilized in areas of the continental United States that have a population of 100,000 or less. These locations have …

Can Noncompliant Behavior Explain Racial/Ethnic Disparities In The Use Of Force By The Nypd? An Econometric Analysis Of New York's Stop-And-Frisk, Omari-Khalid Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

This paper seeks to analyze spatiotemporal variations in NYPD policing patterns in an attempt to identify the causal mechanism(s) driving the observed racial/ethnic disparities; specifically, it addresses questions of how changing neighborhood demographics influence the decision-making of NYPD officers/precincts as it relates to their controversial Stop-and-Frisk policy.

Optimization Models And Algorithms For Vulnerability Analysis And Mitigation Planning Of Pyro-Terrorism, Eghbal Rashidi

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, an important homeland security problem is studied. With the focus on wildfire and pyro-terrorism management. We begin the dissertation by studying the vulnerability of landscapes to pyro-terrorism. We develop a maximal covering based optimization model to investigate the impact of a pyro-terror attack on landscapes based on the ignition locations of fires. We use three test case landscapes for experimentation. We compare the impact of a pyro-terror wildfire with the impacts of naturally-caused wildfires with randomly located ignition points. Our results indicate that a pyro-terror attack, on average, has more than twice the impact on landscapes than …

A Novel Microextraction Method For Determining The Presence Of Pentachlorophenol In An Ongoing In-Situ Groundwater Remediation, Julianna Nicole Stratton

Theses and Dissertations

Pentachlorophenol (penta) is a pollutant of concern worldwide. This study looks at a site that has been under remediation for the last 16 years due to penta contamination. The site has been air- and bio-sparged, phytoremediated and undergone in-situ chemical oxidation treatment in attempts to clean the ground water of penta. This thesis explores a novel microextraction method that has the promise of being more sensitive using less sample and fewer hazardous chemicals than conventional methods. Groundwater samples were extracted for phenolic compounds using a novel modified liquid microextraction protocol. Comparing our results with monitoring information from 2014, our method …

Value Based Methodology To Evaluate Sensors For Bridge Structural Health Monitoring Systems, Jefferson Santos De Oliveira

Theses and Dissertations

Structural health monitoring (SHM) systems have become important tools in the transportation industry to help monitor the behavior and health of civil structures. Today, there is a real concern about the health of bridges because these structures are aging, and various failure events have contributed to increase that concern. Consequently, the topic of improving the effectiveness and appropriate use of SHM systems have become the focus of various government agencies and researchers, both in industry and academia. In this context, this thesis work was developed to understand the general components of bridge SHM systems, and present a methodology to help …

Examining Student Leader Involvement Patterns Related To Academic Success, Stephanie Reiley

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the desirable limits of Astin’s Involvement Theory. Astin (1993) reports that involvement on campus is positively related to student success, however, in other portions of his work, he reports that there are certain limitations on the theory of involvement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement patterns and academic impact of highly involved students at Rowan University, in Glassboro, New Jersey in the spring 2015 semester. The target population for this survey was current Resident Assistants, Orientation Staff, and members of the Student Government Association. The instrument to assess students’ patterns and levels of …

Assessing Self-Authorship Among Athletic Training Students, Jeffrey G. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and development of self-authorship among athletic training students. A cross-sectional, survey design was used and students enrolled in Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) accredited professional athletic training degree programs were included as participants. Systematic sampling was used to recruit participants from the target population. Participants were recruited through batch email addresses of non-certified student members of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) membership database.

The quantitative measure of self-authorship described by Creamer, Baxter Magolda, and Yue (2010), referred to as the Career Decision Making Survey-Self Authorship (CDMS-SA), …