Digital Commons Network^™

Relationships Between Student Attendance And Test Scores On The Virginia Standards Of Learning Tests., Jeffrey Cassell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between student attendance and student test scores on a criterion-referenced test, using test scores of all 5^th graders in Virginia who participated in the 2005-2006 Standards of Learning tests in reading and mathematics. Data collection for this study was performed with the cooperation of the Virginia Department of Education using a state database of student testing information. Pearson correlation coefficients were determined for the overall student population and for the subgroups of economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, limited English proficient, white, black, and Hispanic. The results of this study indicate that there is a …

The Status Of Public Relations In Russia., Inga Lvovna Ragozina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the status of public relations in the fledgling democratic Russian Federation. The purpose was to determine: whether public relations practitioners in Russia practice Grunig and Hunt's (1984) press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical models of public relations; how public relations has contributed to the political and economic transformation in Russia; and how the former communist propaganda has affected contemporary public relations.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 10 Russian public relations practitioners. The findings revealed that the 4 models of public relations are practiced in Russia; communist propaganda affected contemporary public relations; and, the field …

Examining Significant Differences Of Gunshot Residue Patterns Using Same Make And Model Of Firearms In Forensic Distance Determination Tests., Heather Lewey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In many cases of crimes involving a firearm, police investigators need to know how far the firearm was held from the victim when it was discharged. Knowing this distance, vital questions regarding the re-construction of the crime scene can be known. Often, the original firearm used in commission of a suspected crime is not available for testing or is damaged. Crime laboratories require the original firearm in order to conduct distance determination tests. However, no empirical research has ever been conducted to determine if same make and model firearms produce different results in distance determination testing. It was the purpose …

A Dual-Agent Approach For Securing Routing Protocols, Brian Lee Gaines

Theses and Dissertations

Ad hoc routing inherently serves two separate and conflicting divisions of interest: the needs of the user or individual and the needs of the network or community. These interests should be secured differently. The proposed research is a dual-agent approach for securing ad hoc routing protocols. This approach assumes a physical division of tasks into user agent tasks and tasks performed by a trustworthy network agent. The research, motivated by the need to reduce the tasks of the network agent, investigates strategies for an optimal division of labor while promoting the faithful execution of the routing protocol. This investigation employs …

A Simple Two-Equation Turbulence Model For Transition-Sensitive Cfd Simulations Of Missile Nose-Cone Geometries, Joseph Matthew Jones

Theses and Dissertations

This study reports the development and validation of a modified two-equation eddy-viscosity turbulence model for computational fluid dynamics prediction of transitional and turbulent flows. The existing terms of the standard k-w model have been modified to include transitional flow effects, within the framework of Reynolds-averaged, eddy-viscosity turbulence modeling. The new model has been implemented into the commercially available flow solver FLUENT and the Mississippi State University SimCenter developed flow solver U2NCLE. Test cases included flow over a flat plate, a 2-D circular cylinder in a crossflow, a 3-D cylindrical body and three conical geometries, which represent the nose-cones of aerodynamic …

Sediment Budget Template Applied To Aberdeen Pool, Jeremy A. Sharp

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this work is to create a sediment budget template (SBT) with Aberdeen Pool on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway as the demonstration site. The first task is to define the sediment behavior for the system in question. USGS data are used for sediment concentrations and flows. The USGS data are the basis for the Power Curve Program which defines the sediment behavior in terms of a power function. The second program, Tier 1 Program, uses the power curve coefficients along with the bankfull discharge to define the sediment fluxes. Thirdly, the Tier 2 Program uses power curve coefficients with …

The Effects Of Hurricane Katrina On The Structure, Performance, Capacity, And Future Of The Lumber Industry, Thomas Eric Mcconnell

Theses and Dissertations

This investigation focuses on the effects of hurricane Katrina on the structure, performance, capacity, and future of the lumber industry in the impacted area. The basis of the examination is a survey of both hardwood and softwood lumber mills in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. Total response rate was 42.4%. Results support the hypothesis that the storm did have a significant and negative effect on the commerce of responding facilities. Contribuing factors, such as raw materials supply and procurement, physical damage tothe mill and resulting variations to operation, productivity and quality issues, as well as human resources, were impacted in differing …

The New Guideline For Goodwill Impairment, Nancy Jewel Swanson

Theses and Dissertations

Goodwill, for financial accounting purposes, is an intangible asset on the balance sheet that represents the excess of the amount paid for an acquired entity over the net fair value of the assets acquired. The Financial Accounting Standards Board has recently issued a new mandate. This new guideline eliminates annual amortization of goodwill and requires annual valuation for potential goodwill impairment and consequent writedown. Determining the amount of impairment requires management estimation, thus, allowing managerial discretion in developing the impairment amounts. Managerial discretion may then be used to manage earnings. Earnings management occurs when managers exercise their professional judgment in …

Proteomic Analysis Of Listeria Monocytogenes, Sana Mujahid

Theses and Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes is a deadly, Gram-positive foodborne pathogen that is ubiquitous in the environment. The bacterium expresses a number of virulence and stress adaptation proteins that support its pathogenic capabilities. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was used to map L. monocytogenes surface proteins, which play a central role in virulence, and to examine protein expression by L. monocytogenes grown on ready-to-eat meat, an important source of Listeria infections. A novel method for solubilization of surface proteins from L. monocytogenes for 2-DE was developed. Additionally, the unique proteome expressed by L. monocytogenes grown on a meat matrix was uncovered. The developed solubilization …

Purification And Structural Analysis Of Newcastle Disease Virus V Protein And Flowering Locus T (Ft) Protein, Swapna Jayapalan

Theses and Dissertations

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is one of the paramyxovirus that has been studied at length since this virus infects the birds of all species. NDV is highly virulent in chickens and results in a high mortality rate because the V protein of NDV is found to inhibit the avian immune response system. No drugs are available for treating NDV therefore, determining the structure of V protein would help in developing a drug that can inactivate the V protein, thereby increasing the host immune response against viral infection. The research here is focused on purification and initial structural analysis of the …

Reading Instruction And Long Term Changes In Reading Test Scores, Harriet Elizabeth Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) reading scores of a cohort of eighth grade students in an east central Mississippi school to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT reading scale scores between students taught by their learning style and those taught by a basal approach. Research in learning styles has demonstrated that the process of assessing and matching students’ learning styles with activities or styles of the teacher results in significant increases on standardized tests of reading achievement. Students who prefer a conventional setting (difficult classes in the …

Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowner Participation In Incentive Programs And Regeneration Behavior, Xing Sun

Theses and Dissertations

Nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners have been major players in increasing forest productivity and improving forest health. Understanding what factors influence landowner participation in government programs, and furthermore, what factors determinate how quickly after harvest landowners regenerate, is critical for developing policies to improve landowner participation in government assistance programs and timely regeneration of harvested lands. Two studies were conducted to investigate these issues. The necessary data were obtained through a 2006 telephone survey of randomly selected Mississippi NIPF landowners. Factors considered included an array of land, ownership, management, and demographic characteristics. In the first study, a two-step landowner behavior …

Occurrence Of Diseases And Insect Pests In Select Soybean (Glycine Max (L.) Merr.) And Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench) Rotations In Mississippi, Sergio Tomas Pichardo

Theses and Dissertations

Field and greenhouse studies were conducted during 2004 through 2006 at the Rodney R. Foil Plant Science Research Center, Starkville, MS. Six sorghum and soybean rotation treatments were tested to determine their effect on plant pathogen, insect, and nematode diversity and density levels. Treatments included 1) continuous sorghum, 2) continuous soybean, 3) sorghum-soybean-sorghum rotation, 4) soybean-sorghum-soybean rotation, 5) sorghum-soybean-soybean rotation, and 6) soybean-sorghum-sorghum rotation. Several nematode and insect species were identified during the study, but were always below economic thresholds. Six insect species were identified on soybean during each growing season and used as the indicator species for this study. …

Knowledge, Efforts, And Associated Expenses Of Complying With Stormwater Phase Ii Regulations By Community Leaders In Small Municipal Storm Sewer Systems (Ms4s) Of Mississippi, Britt Adam Hubbard

Theses and Dissertations

In March 2003, many communities in Mississippi fell under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) regulations and were required to develop Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs). This study surveyed those in charge of SWPPPs in Mississippi’s regulated communities to determine the knowledge, efforts, and associated expenses, of complying with Stormwater Phase II regulations as well as what attempts regulated communities made to include urban forestry in their SWPPPs. While results indicated that all respondents were compliant with Stormwater Phase II regulations, regulated communities can improve efforts in several areas to best mitigate stormwater runoff pollution (e.g., public education and urban …

Movement And Habitat Use Of Selected Nongame Fishes In A Minnesota Lake, Michael David Habrat

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic vegetation provides important habitats for fish, but these habitats are increasingly being altered anthropogenically. My research evaluated the movement and habitat use of three small rare fish species, the blackchin shiner Notropis heterodon (BCS), blacknose shiner Notropis heterolepis (BNS), and banded killifish Fundulus diaphanous, in a Minnesota lake. BCS and BNS traveled farther in spring than summer, but selection of habitat based upon macrophyte biovolume did not explain these differences. All three fish species traveled long distances (> 1,800 m) and were capable of reaching all available habitats in Square Lake. Macrophyte species richness and prey (zooplankton) abundance were …

Demonstration Of Scale-Down Dynamic Light Scattering And Determination Of Osmotic Second Virial Coefficients For Proteins, Arun Kumar Parupudi

Theses and Dissertations

Protein aggregation is a phenomenon that plays a major role in protein crystallization and in protein formulation. In protein crystallization, aggregation is the prerequisite step; however, in protein formulation it has to be suppressed to assure therapeutic efficiency of the product. Light scattering techniques are the most promising methods to study the hydrodynamic properties of macromolecular solutions, which directly measures protein aggregation. Unfortunately, the normal dynamic light scattering technique is regarded as expensive because of the amount of protein used for these experiments. In order to address this problem, a scale down dynamic light scattering device has been designed. The …

Design And Structural Analysis Of Sofa Frames, Li Dai

Theses and Dissertations

This project’s goals are to evaluate the structure and strength design of Schnadig three-seat sofa frames, summarize current available information on engineering design, derive cyclic schedules for durability evaluation of frame components, and improve the design to meet product performance requirement specified by Schnadig. The target goal of medium or above acceptance level of General Service Administration (GSA) performance test was expected for the improved design. The design procedures and testing results in the study are also applicable to other frames, and can be used as a guideline for product engineering and reengineering. In this study, the mechanical and strength …

Effects Of Prescribed Burning And Herbicide (Imazapyr) On The Abundance And Diversity Of Selected Invertebrate Communities In Thinned Pine Plantations Of Mississippi, Raymond Bruce Iglay

Theses and Dissertations

Prescribed fire and herbicides are 2 silviculture tools used by forest managers to control hardwood competition in pine (Pinus spp.) forests. I tested effects of prescribed burning and herbicides on selected invertebrate communities, including carabid beetles, and compared 2 invertebrate sampling approaches in thinned, intensively managed pine stands in Kemper County, Mississippi. I used 6 replicate stands containing 4, 10-ha treatment plots each that were randomly assigned treatments of burn only, herbicide only, burn/herbicide, and control. I suction-sampled invertebrate communities and pitfall trapped carabid beetles to examine treatment responses. Direct effects of burning and overall vegetation response influenced communities most …

Effects Of Soil Region, Litter Size, And Gender On Morphometrics Of White-Tailed Deer Fawns, Amy Castle Blaylock

Theses and Dissertations

Previous research documented that white-tailed deer body mass and antler size varied across physiographic regions of Mississippi. Deer from regions with greater soil fertility had greater body mass and antler size; however, this information is known only for individuals 6 months of age and older. I monitored birth mass and skeletal size of fawns produced by bred, adult, female white-tailed deer transplanted from the Delta, Thin Loess (Loess), and Lower Coastal Plain (LCP) soil regions to fawn in the Mississippi State University Rusty Dawkins Memorial Deer Unit. I evaluated the effect of soil region of origin, litter size, and fawn …

Enhancing Reading Comprehension Rates: Comparing Following Along And Not Following Along During Listening-While-Reading Interventions In Middle School And Junior High School Students With Disabilities, Constance Elizabeth Mcdaniel Hoskyn

Theses and Dissertations

A multielement brief experimental analysis was used to improve and extend previous research to compare the impact of listening while reading while following along (LWFA) and listening while reading while not following along (LWNFA) interventions on oral reading comprehension rate (ORCR), reading comprehension levels, and reading fluency in students with reading disabilities. The collected data for each of the eight middle school and junior high special education students who were participants in this study included: (a) words read correct per minute (WPM), (b) errors per minute (EPM), (c) comprehension questions answered correct per passage, and (d) ORCR. The students ranged …

An Investigation Into The Techniques Of Neutralization Theory And Their Effects On Compulsive Consumption Behavior, Collin Z. Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

Due to societal and economic costs caused by compulsive consumption behavior, specifically problem drinking and overeating, a search has been launched for a cognitive explanation for the ‘deviant’ behaviors and the motivations that cause these behaviors to continue. This dissertation attempted to develop a better understanding of continued compulsive consumption behavior by investigating consumers’ use of the techniques of neutralization theory. Based on methodological concerns in neutralization research, the development of reliable and valid measures of the five techniques of neutralization theory were described and used to examine their moderation of compulsive consumption behavior and its relationship with social norm …

Anglican Church Policy, Eighteenth Century Conflict, And The American Episcopate, Kenneth Ray Elliott

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how leaders in the Church of England sought to reorganize the colonial church at critical moments, in the late 1740s, the early 1760s and the mid 1770s, by installing one or two resident bishops when the British government moved to bring the colonies into closer economic and political alignment with England. Examining Anglican attempts to bring bishops to the American colonies within the context of the Anglo-American world moves beyond the current literature and provides insight into the difficulties British political and ecclesiastical authorities had managing the colonies more efficiently. Even though the Church of England sustained …

Treatment Acceptabilty Of Teachers Of Adolescents By Level Of Intervention Intrusiveness And Type Of Disorder, Sarah E. Graves

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the treatment acceptability ratings of teachers of adolescents on three different types of commonly used interventions: (a) positive verbal praise, (b) token economy with response cost and extinction, and (c) psychotropic medication. Ratings of treatment acceptability were also assessed according to type of disorder (i.e., externalizing or internalizing). The participants were 101 teachers of adolescents recruited from a midwestern public school district. Participants were asked to read two case studies presented in a counterbalanced format. One case study focused on a youth who displayed symptoms related to an internalizing disorder (Major …

Use Of Corn Forage For Grazing Lactating Dairy Cows, Brandon Jermaine Mcclenton

Theses and Dissertations

Two lactation trials were used to investigate corn grazing as a management tool for dairies. Control (n = 18) cows, housed in free-stall barns were allowed ad libitum access to TMR while Grazing (n = 18 to 36) cows were limited TMR down to 70% of that in Controls and allowed 24-h access to corn plots. By wk 3, Grazing cows consumed 7.9 +/- 1.5 kg/hd/d of standing corn. By wk 7, the crop had matured and Grazing cows consumed 11.42 kg/hd/d of corn grain. Intake of TMR by Controls was 20.07 +/- 0.46 kg DM/hd/d, 19.78% greater than Grazing …

Students' Perceptions Of College Technology Programs And Acquired Technology Skills, Ling Ling Yen

Theses and Dissertations

Students, the nation’s potential workforce, must acquire the needed entry-level technology skills demanded in the work environment. Business leaders question whether students are graduating from technology programs with appropriate and adequate technology skills. The purpose of this study was to determine how two-year and four-year college students assess their college technology programs and how they perceive the adequacy of the technology skills they had acquired in meeting workplace needs. A secondary purpose was to determine if differences existed based on demographic characteristics of participants. A survey research design was used in this study. The survey instrument consisted of three sections: …

Influence Of Habitat Associations And Distance From Low-Order Streams On Amphibian And Reptile Communities On Public Lands In East-Central Mississippi, Sarah Louise Gallagher

Theses and Dissertations

This project evaluated the influence of habitat parameters and distance from low-order streams on herpetofauna communities, in addition to evaluating the efficacy of 2 sampling methods. Amphibians were associated with mature hardwood forests with high density of large, highly decayed woody debris. Reptiles were associated with mixed pine-hardwood forests, woody debris, and vertical canopy structure. Overall, woody debris was an important habitat feature for amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians were detected in greater abundance and species richness near the stream. Reptiles were similar in abundance and species richness as distance increased from low-order streams. I recommend a SMZ width ¡Ý50 m …

Integrated Management Tactics For The Control Of Cogongrass [Imperata Cylindrica (L.) Beauv.], Matthew Thomas Myers

Theses and Dissertations

Cogongrass has become a major problem in many parts of the southern United States for several years. Hundreds of studies have been conducted upon this species with varying results. Management of cogongrass can be grouped into five major areas of control: preventive, cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical. Each of these methods provides a certain level of control, but an integrated management strategy is the key to success. Three field studies were conducted from 2004 to 2006 in southern Mississippi to evaluate the most effective integrated management programs for cogongrass control. Results indicated that foliage removal either by fire or mowing …

A Correlational Study Of Adoption Of Instructional Technology By Higher Education Faculty And Their Social Communications Network, Amy Huff Berryhill

Theses and Dissertations

Colleges and universities continue to make huge financial investments in instructional technology for the classroom. Mississippi State University faculty, assigned to teach in technology enhanced classrooms, are expected by administration, as well as students, to incorporate the technology into their instruction. This study examines whether faculty consider themselves adopters or nonopters of the instructional technology provided in the Technology Classrooms and if relationships exist between this adoption status and demographics, personal social network, and training source. The data was gathered from faculty assigned to teach in the Technology Classrooms at Mississippi State University using an online survey. Demographic data was …

The Young Lady's Consent, Christopher O. Kidder

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This play is a translation and adaptation of a Spanish play originally written in 1806 by Leandro Fernández de Moratín, El sí de las niñas. Because that play was not available to English-speaking actors, I translated the work directly from the original Spanish. The resulting manuscript was not the finished product of this play, however. Through a series of workshops with actors trained in a physical method of theatre I devised in order to modernize classic works to a more modern audience's tastes, the script morphed and grew into the play that follows.

Regulation Of The Lactoperoxidase System In The Airway, Miryam A. Fragoso

Open Access Dissertations

The lactoperoxidase (LPO) antimicrobial system has been shown to play an important role in maintaining sterile conditions in several tissues including the mammary gland, the salivary gland, and the airway. The LPO system in the airway consists of the enzyme LPO and its substrates hydrogen peroxide and an anion. LPO catalyzes the oxidation of a halide or pseudohalide ion for example SCN-or I- by hydrogen peroxide producing a product, OSCN- or OI- which have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. In order to have a functional antimicrobial system all the components need to be present at appropriate concentrations. The LPO system …