Digital Commons Network^™

On The Velocities Of Flows Consisting Of Cyclically Monotone Maps, A. Tudorascu

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rank-Based Attachment Leads To Power Law Graphs, Jeannette Janssen, Paweł Prałat

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

We investigate the degree distribution resulting from graph generation models based on rank-based attachment. In rank-based attachment, all vertices are ranked according to a ranking scheme. The link probability of a given vertex is proportional to its rank raised to the power ―α, for some α ∈ (0, 1). Through a rigorous analysis, we show that rank-based attachment models lead to graphs with a power law degree distribution with exponent 1 + 1/α whenever vertices are ranked according to their degree, their age, or a randomly chosen fitness value. We also investigate the case where the ranking is based on …

Out Of Philanthropy And Into Social Enterprise? Probably Not, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Association Between Serum Γ-Glutamyltransferase And Chronic Kidney Disease Among Us Adults, Srinivas Teppala, Anoop Shankar, Jialiang Li, Tien Yin Wong, Alan Ducatman

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dem Development From Ground-Based Lidar Data: A Method To Remove Non-Surface Objects, Maneesh Sharma, Ginger B. Paige, Scott N. Miller

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Topography and land cover characteristics can have significant effects on infiltration, runoff, and erosion processes on watersheds. The ability to model the timing and routing of surface water and erosion is affected by the resolution of the digital elevation model (DEM). High resolution ground-based Light Detecting and Ranging (LiDAR) technology can be used to collect detailed topographic and land cover characteristic data. In this study, a method was developed to remove vegetation from ground-based LiDAR data to create high resolution DEMs. Research was conducted on intensively studied rainfall–runoff plots on the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in Southeast Arizona. LiDAR …

Thresholds And Tolerance Of Physical Pain Among Young Adults Who Self-Injure, Katrina Mccoy, William Fremouw, Daniel W. Mcneil

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Prevalence rates of nonsuicidal self-injury among college students range from 17% to 38%. Research indicates that individuals with borderline personality disorder who self-injure sometimes report an absence of pain during self-injury. Furthermore, self-injury in the absence of pain has been associated with more frequent suicide attempts. The present study examined pain thresholds and tolerance among 44 college students (11 who engaged in self-injury and 33 who did not). Pain thresholds and tolerance were measured using an algometer pressure device that was used to produce pain in previous laboratory research. Participants who engaged in self-injury had a higher pain tolerance than …

Change Detection Accuracy And Image Properties: A Study Using Simulated Data, Abdullah Almutairi, Timothy A. Warner

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Simulated data were used to investigate the relationships between image properties and change detection accuracy in a systematic manner. The image properties examined were class separability, radiometric normalization and image spectral band-to-band correlation. The change detection methods evaluated were post-classification comparison, direct classification of multidate imagery, image differencing, principal component analysis, and change vector analysis. The simulated data experiments showed that the relative accuracy of the change detection methods varied with changes in image properties, thus confirming the hypothesis that caution should be used in generalizing from studies that use only a single image pair. In most cases, direct classification …

Spatially Heterogeneous Estimates Of Fire Frequency In Ponderosa Pine Forests Of Washington, Usa, James T. Kernan, Amy E. Hessl

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Many fire history studies have evaluated the temporal nature of fire regimes using fire interval statistics calculated from fire scars. More recently, researchers have begun to evaluate the spatial properties of past fires as well. In this paper, we describe a technique for investigating spatio-temporal variability using a geographic information system (GIS). We used a dataset of fire-scarred trees collected from four sites in eastern Washington, USA, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson) forests. The patterns of past fires recorded by individual trees (points) were converted to two-dimensional representations of fire with inverse distance weighting (IDW) in a GIS. …

Visualization And Assessment Of Arterial Progression Quality Using High Resolution Signal Event Data And Measured Travel Time, Christopher M. Day, Ross Haseman, Hiromal Premachandra, Thomas M. Brennan Jr, Jason S. Wasson, James R. Sturdevant, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Watermark: A Journal Of The Arts - Vol. 19 - 2010, University Of Massachusetts Boston

The Watermark: A Journal of the Arts (1993-2014)

No abstract provided.

Assia Djebar And The Algerian Woman: From Silence To Song, Mary Maher

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the work of Assia Djebar in terms of its context, content, and objectives. Djebar's writing is lyrical and captivating, yet its grounding in experience gives her words a quality of truth and wisdom. To fully understand the function of her work and the significance of its content, the context in which Djebar writes is momentous. Outlining a brief history of the Algerian woman's experience gives a practical understanding of the individual and collective struggles of Algerian women. The violent and unique participation of women in the Algerian War of Independence and their subsequent insignificance under the patriarchal …

Development Of A Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer For Lead-Free Gunshot Residue Analysis, Ryan Alexander Gregg

Honors Theses

Research has demonstrated that Laser‐Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) can be used as an effective method of screening for the common elemental components in gunshot residue. Barium (Ba), lead (Pb), and antimony (Sb) make up the primer cap of most ammunition involved in forensic gunshot residue analysis. Recently, ammunition manufacturers have started producing and popularizing ammunition with zinc (Zn), titanium (Ti), and gadolinium (Gd) primer components that are non‐toxic to the environment. This paper discusses the development of the Ole Miss Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry's first LIBS instrument for forensic analysis of lead‐free using Gd as a tracer element for …

Developing The Techniques For Raman, Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (Sers), And Fluorescence Spectroscopies Of Organic Molecules In Isolation, Jonathan Wolfe

Honors Theses

The nature of matter and light has been a subject of philosophical debate since antiquity. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, much of the scientific community believed that most of the significant principles that govern the natural world had been discovered. Classical physics was able to explain complex phenomena such as planetary motions, elasticity, and hydrodynamics. The field of thermodynamics had been developed nearly to completion by James Joule, Sadi Carnot, Josiah Gibbs, et al. The magnetic and electronic nature of light had been demonstrated by James Clerk Maxwell's famous equations. In the neighboring field of chemistry, a …

Revenue Diversification In Health And Human Services Nonprofits., Hannah Sayle Flint

Honors Theses

The nonprofit sector is increasingly growing and becoming more important to the United States society and economy. Concurrent with this growth, nonprofits have assumed a larger role in mitigating societal issues and are increasingly being relied upon to provide services that have traditionally been supplied by the government or in some cases not addressed at all. The recent economic recession has highlighted just how vulnerable many of these nonprofit organizations are to fluctuations in the economic cycle. The negative impact the current economic recession has had on the nonprofit sector suggests that the traditional nonprofit revenue model must be reevaluated. …

Magdalene: A New Magazine For Young Christian Women, Katie Nicole Eubanks

Honors Theses

This thesis, a launch plan and prototype issue for a new print magazine, is the product of two semesters of research and design. Research included: finding U.S. Census Bureau demographics for the potential audience of the magazine; searching newsstands. web sites and published lists of magazines for potential competition; analyzing the competition via their web sites and printed publications; reading Dr. Husni's books Selling Content and Magazine Publishing in the Century; traveling to Birmingham, Alabama, to meet with industry insiders at Southern Living and Hoffman Media; presenting the magazine concept to Spin founder Bob Guccione Jr. and other magazine experts …

I'M Not A Math Person: An Examination Of How Parents And Peers Affect The Ways In Which Students Engage With Mathematics, Samantha Jean Grey

Honors Theses

Culture plays an important role in influencing the ways in which students engage '^ith mathematics. This study sought to examine the ways in which the culture of the home influences the mathematics identities that students bring to the classroom. The researcher recruited participants from a college algebra class taught at a public university. The researcher interviewed four participants from the sample to collect their narratives for analysis. The results of this study indicate that parents and peers influence students’ mathematics identities in powerful and unexpected ways, especially when there is disagreement between the explicit and implicit messages that they communicate …

Newspaper Coverage And Its Effect On Public Opinion: An Analysis Of Media Coverage: Sonia Sotomayor's Nomination And Confirmation To The United States Supreme Court, Courtney Ann Jackson

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Sixteenth Section Land In Public School Funding: A Search For Equality For Chickasaw School Districts, Jr. Dennis Pickens

Honors Theses

This thesis concerns the current public actionof Dr. Rick Eiam) schooi funding mechanisms in Mississippi that reiate to sixteenth s and. As a resuit of the U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785, the surveyed and divided i townships, each with 36 square mile sections, used for the upkeep of the pubiic schoois within a township. Since Mississippi’s founding, sixteenth section iand has served as a source of revenue for the upkeep of public most schools in the state have sixteenth section land country has been The sixteenth section of each township has historically been schools in Mississippi. While as a source …

Greater Frequency Of Sorority Meal Consumption Results In Higher Food Group Intake And Lower Body Mass Indices In Sorority Members, Blair Stevens Harris

Honors Theses

College women are at increased risk of developing poor eating habits and disorders due to a higher frequency of dieting and obesity; therefore, due to the large number of women who are active in college sororities, these subgroups warrant significant attention concerning their nutritional knowledge and behaviors. Research points to a need to study sorority women’s eating patterns and diets in relationship to MyPyramid national recommendations for daily food consumption. The purpose of this study was to determine sorority members' frequency of meal consumption versus meals offered at University of Mississippi sorority houses and to identify resulting health outcomes in …

An Epidemiologic Study Comparing The Health Environment Of Honduras And The United States., Martha Magee Mangum

Honors Theses

The content of this project investigates the deficit that exists within the area of healthcare in the Central American country of Honduras. It is a descriptive epidemiologic study, describing and comparing the demographics, health statistics, and healthcare system infrastructure of Honduras and the United States in hopes of bridging the gap between the statistics found through research and a firsthand experience in the country of Honduras.

Effects Of Estrogen On Recovery Of Spatial Function After Cerebellar Lesion, Gerald William Stinson Jr.

Honors Theses

The traditional view of cerebellar processing has been that it plays a role in motor planning and function, now the cerebellum is also believed to be involved in spatial learning and cognition. Like the cerebellum’s involvement in cognition the role of estrogen in cerebellar functioning has only recently been investigated. The cerebellum normally has low levels of estrogen but aromatase activity is upregulated after brain injury, increasing estrogen levels. This upregulation after injury suggests that estrogen could be involved in neuroprotection. This study uses male zebra finches to investigate the role of the cerebellum in spatial function and the possible …

Statistical Analysis Of Precipitation And Inundation Effects On Trees In Different Flooding Regimes., Lucy Katherine Weber

Honors Theses

Although wetland trees show a relationship between growth and precipitation that can be used to reconstruct past climates they also show a relationship between growth and inundation which may be less helpful to climate modelers. Although inundation is directly related to precipitation in open stream channels, this may not be the case in impounded streams or in lake-side swamps or off-channel wetlands. In order to distinguish precipitation and inundation effects on growth, the effects of fluctuations in precipitation and inundation on bald cypress located at different elevations along lake side swamp were examined. Upland trees were more influenced by variation …

A Little Unwell: Madness In The World Of Tennessee Williams, Sarah Lynn Dickey

Honors Theses

Tennessee Williams is a prolific playwright and an American literary icon. He is second only to Shakespeare in the amount of scholarly analyses of his work. Although I am writing my thesis in a crowded field, I am pursuing a fresh topic by studying madness in Williams' works, specifically the subcategories of Eccentrics/Acutes and Chronics - a construct put forth in the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. By applying Cuckoo's Nest and other texts involving madness to Tennessee Williams’ plays, I will explore the character of the mad individual, the impact of society upon the …

The Polarizing Effects Of Inflammatory Language In Political Blogs, Holly Sarah Hosford

Honors Theses

The Internet, as an unregulated and anonymous outlet, sometimes fosters uncivil political interaction, in which political debates escalate to hate speech or attacks on a social group. There is much debate on whether the political blogosphere will foster a purer democracy or create a more politically polarized society. In order to make conclusions about the societal effects of uncivil political dialogue, I examined the effects of Inflammatory political language on readers of weblogs and other online posts. I created and distributed five versions of an online survey, with each survey containing a different version of mock political blog comments. Each …

“¡Que Se Vayan Todos!” :Opportunity Structures, Social Movement Mobilization, And The Argentine Piquetero Movement, Daniel Palmer Hester

Honors Theses

The emergence of the Piquetero Movement in Argentina during the 1990s and early 2000s is the result of changing economic, political, and social processes at both the macro (national) and micro (local) levels. With Carlos Menem’s election to the presidency, Argentina began a state-led project for national economic development and modernization. The opening of the economy to foreign investment and the reductions of state interference in the national economy transformed the national economy. However, the long-term economic and social costs of these reforms saw the growth of widespread unemployment among the working class, a dismantling of state assistance networks, and …

Attitudes Toward Gay Marriage: A Comparison Of Competing Explanatory Models, Khyshboo Bharat Patel

Honors Theses

For my thesis, I conducted a study to investigate the nature of attitudes toward same-sex marriage. Throughout this work, I will cover the relevant information on the past and present of same-sex marriage, as well as a review of research done in the area of polling about it. The main focus of my research was to find out the underlying factors of opinions on homosexual marriage. Using polling data fi’om the 2009 General Social Survey, I was able to put together a series of regression analyses that tested the dependent variable, opinions about allowing same-sex marriage, with various independent variable, …

The Importance Of The United States Role In Cold War Latin American Military Coups: Brazil, Chile, And Argentina, Thomas Allan Weldy

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Electronic Supervision And The Importance Of Evidence Based Practices, Matthew De Michele, Brian Payne

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This article proves readers with a brief introduction to evidence-based practices and the integrated model developed by NIC and CJI. Evidence-based principles provide some direction for agencies considering using electronic monitoring or other electronic supervision tools in their jurisdictions. Deciding to place any offender on electronic supervision requires an adequate risk assessment to determine the individual's risk and criminogenic need factors. The assessment is a foundation for the rest of the supervision period. Forgoing adequate assessment would be like building a building on a faulty foundation. The building will ultimately collapse and fail to provide safety.

Challenging Eu Solidarity? : German-Russian Relations, Jessica Ann Beck

Honors Theses

JESSICA ANN BECK: Challenging EU Solidarity? : German-Russian Relations (Under the direction of Dr. Matthew Loveless)

The European Union and its ability to function as a unified actor in the international sphere will be analyzed in this thesis. When the 27 member states of the EU act as one, this institution clearly has tremendous power to adjust international politics in its favor. In addressing the EU’s ability to act in a unified manner in the international environment, this thesis will analyze how bilateral relations affect unity in EU foreign policy. Often, the actions of individual nations are blamed for the …

Moving Through Europe: An Assessment Of The Magnitude And Economic Effects Of Intra-European Union Labor Migration Following The 2004 Enlargement, Tyler Daniel Craft

Honors Theses

MOVING THROUGH EUROPE: An assessment ofthe magnitude and economic effects ofintra-European Union labor migration following the 2004 enlargement (Under the direction ofDr. Chiarella Esposito)

This paper examines two basic questions regarding international labor migration within the European Union following the EU’s expansion in 2004 to ten countries of Central and Eastern Europe. First, to what extent is intra-European Union labor migration occurring? Second, what are the macroeconomic effects ofintra-EU migration on the European Union’s overall economy? The paper establishes a political-economy context for labor migration in the EU before examining the two questions. The paper also includes an overview oflabor …