Digital Commons Network^™

The Maturation Of Pulse: The Rhythmic Evolution From Swing To Bebop, Sam Weber

Masters Theses

The musical style that came to prominence in US in the 1940s, known as bebop, is a style that is remembered and discussed in terms of its harmonic characteristics and its notable soloists. This is the view that is taken in most scholarly writing on the music and also the view that is taught to most students of jazz today. However, there is arguably an equally if not more profound evolution in the rhythmic language of this music which is almost totally un-discussed. By digitally analyzing recordings, tracing musical and personal influence, and by examining related technological developments, it becomes …

Mechanics Of Interaction, Ryota Takemura

Theses

My work focuses on the senses that we take for granted when we experience art. We often disregard how our bodies work in relation to living our daily lives. In my piece, the Mechanics of Interaction, I highlight the experience of intertwined senses, in particular sight, touch, and sound. My thesis sculpture, the Mechanics of Interaction, is based on an attempt to avoid a purely visual experience of art. I try to redirect the audience away from the hierarchy of senses where sight is privileged. Many artworks tend to accentuate the combination of vision and thought as an "expression." Sight …

Quantifying Rates Of Autocompaction In The Pearl River Marsh, Louisiana, Jeremiah Nicholas Prouhet

Master's Theses

Annual rates of shallow autocompaction (< 1 m) were calculated in the upper ~one meter of sediment from six cores of a transect in the Pearl River Marsh (PRM), Louisiana, in order to determine the most significant sedimentary property controlling this process. Compaction-free wedge cores were sub-sampled at one centimeter intervals to collect the following data: age control, using 137Cs and 210Pb, and sedimentary variables, specifically, particulate organic carbon, bulk density, median grain size, porosity, and water content. An upper and an underlying sedimentary unit (named the 137Cs and 210Pb units) were defined between radiometric datum levels, and their sedimentary properties were statistically tested for significant differences using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Rates of autocompaction were calculated from the model of Williams (2003), and both rates of autocompaction and sedimentation were tested for significant differences between the upper and lower sedimentary units.

The upper unit in the six cores generally had lower bulk density, higher water content, higher porosity, and higher particulate organic carbon than the underlying unit, but with some interesting exceptions. Additionally, annual autocompaction and sedimentation rates were greatest in the overlying unit at stations PR02 (0.39 ± 0.05 cm/y) and PR05 (0.42 ± 0.03 cm/y) and greatest in the underlying unit at stations PR02 (0.22 ± 0.08 cm/y) and PR03 (0.18 ± 0.06 cm/y). Based on Spearman correlations, rates of autocompaction were most strongly correlated to and influenced by rates of sedimentation rather …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of A Function-Based Intervention To A Non-Function-Based Intervention To Address Problem Behaviors In Preschoolers, Katherine Marie Bellone

Master's Theses

Problem behaviors occur frequently among preschool children in classrooms, impeding academic development. Past methods employed for development of behavioral interventions include functional assessment and use of evidence-based practices. The current investigation sought to empirically compare the effectiveness of both function-based and non-function-based interventions to increase appropriate engagement and decrease occurrence of problem behaviors. Participants included three preschool children, two attending pre-kindergarten classrooms at an elementary school and one at a Head Start Center. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior was used as the function-based intervention and was compared to a token economy intervention in an Alternating Treatments Design. Results indicated that …

The Use Of Computed Tomography To Measure Biogenic Structures In Recently Hypoxic And Normoxic Sediments On The Louisiana Continental Shelf, Valerie Ann Hartman

Master's Theses

Over the past 60 years, seasonal hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico has occurred with increased severity and over a greater area. To determine if biogenic structures in the northern Gulf of Mexico vary in response to hypoxic stress, the seafloor on the continental shelf of Louisiana was analyzed during the spring and fall of 2009 at four provinces of similar sediment type that differ in recent history of bottom water oxygen concentration. Subcores were analyzed by computed tomography (CT) to determine the number, diameter, length, volume, surface area, and depth of biogenic burrow structures in sediments where biogenic …

State Super-Maximum Security Policies: An Examination Of Admission Characteristics, Classification Reviews, Mental Health Amenities, And Inmate Privileges, Harry Daniel Butler

Master's Theses

Super-maximum security prisons have flourished within a political environment that endorses tougher criminal sanctions. This punitive evolution has created new problems for correctional agencies attempting to control the “worst of the worst” inmates. Federal courts and researchers have examined the detrimental effects supermax isolation has on inmates’ mental health. This analysis examines forty-two state supermax policies to determine how states admit inmates to supermax custody, the classification review process, the management of inmates with mental illnesses, and the availability of privileges for supermax inmates. Drawing on the concept of the McDonaldization of Justice (Ritzer, 1993), particular attention is given to …

The Effects Of Check In/Check Out On Levels Of Problem Behavior And Academic Engagement In Elementary School Students, Leila Mullooly Miller

Master's Theses

Previous studies have largely evaluated the effects of check in/ check out (CICO) using office discipline referrals (ODRs). However, ODRs are not always reliable measures of student behavior, and direct observation is known to be an accurate tool for behavioral measurement. Due to this, the current study used direct observations to evaluate the effects of CICO on levels of problem behavior and academic engagement for a group of elementary school students. One second, one fourth, and one sixth grade student served as participants. Results indicate CICO is effective in decreasing problem behavior and increasing academic engagement. Data from teacher ratings …

Consequences Of Contact: An Evaluation Of Childhood Health Patterns Using Enamel Hypoplasias Among The Colonial Maya Of Tipu, Amanda R. Harvey

Master's Theses

Located in western Belize, Tipu was occupied from 1541-1704. This Colonial Maya population from a Spanish visita mission church was analyzed to investigate health disturbances associated with European contact. Dental defect called enamel hypoplasias were scored to assess childhood health. Standard methods of scoring (Buikstra and Ubelaker 1994) were employed to assess frequency, severity, and type of episode in the permanent anterior dentition. For analysis, 325 individuals were placed into age groups of subadults (6-17 years), younger adults (18-35 years), and older adults (36-50+ years). The population was also considered for differences by sex and tooth type.

Results showed a …

Shady Grove Site (22qu525) Quitman County, Mississippi: Analysis Of Demographics And Mortuary Practices, Stacy Ann Scott

Master's Theses

The Mississippian Period (A.D. 1000-1500) is distinguished by reliance on stable agriculture, sedentary ranked populations, and production of prestige goods. Sociopolitical structure was based on kinship, wealth, and power, and can be revealed through the local mortuary programs. This thesis explores the mortuary practices observed at an ossuary at Shady Grove (22QU525), a small mounded center in Quitman County dating to the Early Mississippian Period, based on demographics, burial mode, cemetery location, and associated grave goods.

The Burial 43 ossuary, excavated in 2010 contained stacked bundle burials of at least 78 individuals. All age groups and both sexes were present. …

Jackson, Mississippi, Contested: The Allied Struggle For Civil Rights And Human Dignity, Matthew David Monroe

Master's Theses

Utilizing monthly reports and correspondence of civil rights organizations, in addition to newspaper coverage, oral histories, and memoirs, this study shows that a grassroots, community-driven movement mobilized in Mississippi’s capital to challenge institutionalized discrimination. Yet, racial identity did not dictate exclusively how White and Black Mississippians responded to the unfolding Civil Rights Movement. Conflicting and shifting motivations shaped the nature, extent, and pace by which Blacks and Whites challenged or protected status quo discrimination. The Jackson Movement began as early as 1955 and sustained protest activity into the 1960s. By the summer of 1965, Jackson’s Black community secured most of …

Family, Feud, And The Conduct Of War In Anglo-Saxon England, Elnathan Barnett

Master's Theses

Anglo-Saxon society was built around the concept of feud, and it is clear from history, law, and literature that the twin concerns of family and vengeance remained pillars of Anglo-Saxon society and consciousness throughout the period. Given constant warfare and the cultural and social importance of feuding, it would appear logical that warfare was essentially feud writ large, that conflicts pitted one kin group against another and vengeance for the dead was a major, if not the only, reason for making war. However, royal families often fought among themselves, while wars waged to avenge a death are conspicuous by their …

Chemical, Biological, And Preliminary In Vitro Studies Of Novel Vanadium(Iv) Complexes With Schiff Bases And Thiosemicarbazone Ligands, Nerissa Abigail Lewis

Master's Theses

9-Anthraldehyde-N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone (MeATSC), potassium (E)-2-(2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propanoate (K[(Sal-L-tryp)] and 2-(2-hydroxybenzylamino)-3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propanoic acid (the reduced Schiff base) were prepared using known synthetic procedures. Two novel thiosemicarbazone ligands, (E)-N-ethyl-2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)hydrazinecarbothioamide (N-Ethhymethohcarbthio) and (E)-N-ethyl-2-(1-(thiazol-2-yl)ethylidene)hydrazinecarbothioamide (acetylethTSC), were also prepared. All ligands were characterized by FT IR and electrochemistry. N-Ethhymethohcarbthio were characterized by elemental analysis whereas the reduced Schiff base and K[(Sal-L-tryp)] were characterized by ESI MS. X-ray crystallography was also used to characterize acetylethTSC. The ligands were then reacted with [VO(Sal-L-tryp)(H2O)] (1) (Sal-L-tryp = N-salicylidene-L-tryptophanate) to produce the …

Measuring Physical Activity In Youth Settings: Considerations For Instrument Selection, Benjamin Hickerson

Journal of Youth Development

Increasing physical activity participation has become one of the primary strategies for prevention of early-onset health conditions including obesity and Type II diabetes. Youth programs including summer camps and after-school programs are premium providers of physical activity opportunities, but researchers and administrators of these programs must be able to effectively collect and interpret physical activity data to make program adjustments and communicate results. This article reviews existing methods for physical activity measurement including self-reports and objective instruments and makes suggestions for their applicability. Pedometers are covered in-depth as they may be the method of choice in many youth settings. These …

Phytoplankton Abundance And Species Composition In Relation To Environmental Paramenters In Coastal Mississippi Waters, Luz Karime Molina

Master's Theses

Phytoplankton pigments from Coastal Mississippi waters were measured to determine the spatial and temporal distributions and composition of phytoplankton communities. Concentration of phytoplankton pigments were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and the compositional changes in phytoplankton communities were determined with CHEMTAX 1.95. Surface water was collected for two years (September 2007-November 2009) at three sampling sites on a monthly basis. The stations were located at the Bay of St. Louis (station 1), the Mississippi Sound (station 4) and the Mississippi Bight (station 8), following a salinity gradient. A time series of the observations documented the variability of different …

Continuous Analysis Of Photocatalytic Activity In Thin-Films And Coatings, Steven Michael Allee

Master's Theses

Materials that undergo photocatalytic reactions create evolved gases due to ultraviolet light decomposition. Current methods of measuring these gases typically result in destruction of the sample. A test fixture was developed to measure evolved gases in a nondestructive manner through the utilization of a flow-through sensor array system. Preliminary testing indicates responsive measurements down to parts-per-billion sensitivity for some gases and will be compared with mass spectrometry measurements. Further development of this process could lead to the ability to measure photocatalytic reaction gases on a continuous basis without interruption of the process or destruction of materials introduced to the system.

A Study Of The Early American Author Judith Sargent Murray, Her Role In Early American Print Culture And Her Misappropriation By Twentieth-Century Feminism, Robert Allen Fowler

Master's Theses

In 1798, Judith Sargent Murray published a three-volume collection of one hundred miscellaneous essays on topics ranging from social politesse to women’s education to international politics. Her diligence, forethought and manipulation of pseudonyms in the print-hungry post-Revolutionary America create a unique place for her in the history of American letters. However, in the twentieth century, modern feminism has attempted to claim Murray as one of their own, choosing between one and four examples of her work as proof of her forward-looking philosophy, while ignoring significant pieces of those same works as well as much of her oeuvre as a whole …

Motivating Factors Influencing Spectator Attendance At Professional Soccer Events In Brazil, Rafael Andreis

Master's Theses

In Brazil, soccer is regarded so highly that Brazilians often refer to their country as o pais do futebol, or the country of football ("Natal Brazil", 2006). Brazil national soccer teams won five of the nineteen World Cup tournaments, a record that is so far unmatched by any other country. Brazil boasts 102 million soccer fans who attend games in the country's 300 soccer stadiums, which, combined, have more than five million seats (Helal et al., 2006; Fifa.com, 2010). However, while the importance of soccer in Brazil is unquestionable, the monetization of professional soccer in Brazil is currently far from …

High Temperature Thermodynamic Properties Of Znte(S), Robert F. Brebrick

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

We have gathered the partial pressure, Knudsen cell, and emf measurements on ZnTe(s) from which the Gibbs energy of formation can be calculated. Published partial pressures of diatomic tellurium have been adjusted to take account of a subsequently published third law analysis of tellurium. The equation used to calculate the total pressure from the rate of mass loss from an extensive set of Knudsen cell measurements has been corrected to give a 5% increase in total pressure and the Gibbs energy of formation has been recalculated. A high temperature heat capacity for ZnTe(s) has been selected from the published data. …

Expanding A Model Of Female Heterosexual Coercion: Are Sexually Coercive Women Hyperfeminine?, Elizabeth Anne Schatzel-Murphy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The present study aimed to replicate a preliminary model of female heterosexual coercion and subsequently expand the model with gender- and race-related variables. The preliminary model, which specified sexual compulsivity, sexual dominance, sociosexuality, and prior sexual abuse, as predictors of female heterosexual coercion, was sufficiently replicated with a racially diverse sample of college women. The model was then successfully expanded by adding rape myth acceptance and hyperfemininity to the model. Hyperfemininity was found to be a core predictor of female heterosexual coercion, challenging the notion that sexual coercion is an inherently "masculine" behavior. Actual minority status, perceived minority status, and …

Precisely Serializable Snapshot Isolation, Stephen Anthony Revilak

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Snapshot Isolation (SI) is a method of database concurrency control that uses timestamps and multiversioning, in preference to pessimistic locking. Since its introduction in 1995, SI has become a popular isolation level, and has been implemented in a variety of database systems: Oracle, Postgres, Microsoft SQL Server, and others. Despite the benefits that SI offers, one of the things it cannot provide is serializability. Past approaches for serializable SI have focused on avoiding dangerous structures (or essential dangerous structures). Dangerous structures are patterns of transaction dependencies that indicate the potential for a non-serializable execution; however, the presence of dangerous structures …

The Ecology Of Cognitive Training And Aging, Anya Potter

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Older individuals represent the fastest growing portion of the population in the United States, and are threatened by the loss of mobility and independence. The present study examined the relationship of a computer-based training program, specifically Posit Science Cortex^TM with InSight DriveSharp^TM, and performance on neuropsychological measures and an on-road driving paradigm in a normal aging sample. Participants, ranging in ages 60-75 and randomly assigned to the treatment group, completed the DriveSharp^TM as did, subsequently, a wait-list control group. Identical neuropsychological and on-road assessments were conducted at each visit. Neuropsychological assessment of visual attention included the …

The Role Of Home Environments In Residential Adjustment Decision Making In Later Life, Kimberly Joy Stoeckel

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Using the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study, this research explored the multi-faceted influence of the accessibility of housing environments on the occurrence and characteristics of residential adjustments made by older adults aged 70 or older. A range of housing adjustment outcomes were examined, including home modifications and relocation into age-segregated senior housing. Analysis of the accessibility gains following relocation was also included in the empirical analyses.

The Ecological Theory of Aging (Lawton & Nahemow, 1973) provided the conceptual framework for the research. The longitudinal design of the HRS empirically advanced understanding of the key theoretical constructs by sensitizing the …

The Social Negotiation Of Ambiguous In-Between Stigmatized Identities: Investigating Identity Processes In Multiracial And Bisexual People, Vali Dagmar Kahn

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

To date, most bisexual and multiracial identity models in psychology capture a largely internal developmental process (Collins, 2000; Kich, 1992; Weinberg, Williams & Pryor, 1994). However, individuals learn to manage their socially stigmatized identities in social interactions (Goffman, 1963). While the demands to socially negotiate stigmatized identity affect all minority peoples, individuals with in-between ambiguous stigmatized identities, such as multiracial and bisexual people, must negotiate also being situated at the margins of their own reference groups (e.g. heterosexual and gay/lesbian). Using a comparative grounded theory approach, this study explored the question: How do experiences of socially negotiating an in-between ambiguous …

An Emptying Village: Transformations In Architecture And Spatial Organization At Streamstown Village, Co. Galway, Meagan K. Conway

Graduate Masters Theses

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Ireland was a country of instability. The population rose rapidly, and traditional farming practices shifted to accommodate the rapidly changing population in addition to incorporating and almost entirely depending on a new crop, the potato. A spattering of famine years culminating in the Great Famine of 1847-1850 created an unstable environment for rural Irish farmers and factored into massive depopulation of the western counties. Abandonment of the western counties created dozens of empty villages across the landscape, the majority of which are comprised of stone structures located in farmland and in varying degrees of …

Prehabilitation Before Total Knee Arthroplasty Increases Strength And Function In Older Adults With Severe Osteoarthritis, Ann M. Swank, Joseph B. Kachelman, Wendy Bibeau, Peter M. Quesada, John Nyland, Arthur Malkani, Robert V. Topp

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Preparing for the stress of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgery by exercise training (prehabilitation) may improve strength and function before surgery and, if effective, has the potential to contribute to postoperative recovery. Subjects with severe osteoarthritis (OA), pain intractable to medicine and scheduled for TKA were randomized into a usual care (UC) group (n = 36) or usual care and exercise (UC + EX) group (n = 35). The UC group maintained normal daily activities before their TKA. The UC + EX group performed a comprehensive prehabilitation program that included resistance training using bands, flexibility, and step training at least …

The Effect Of Acceptance Training On Psychological And Physical Health Outcomes In Elders With Chronic Conditions, Patricia Mcdonald, Jaclene Zauszniewski, Abir K. Bekhet, Laura Dehelian, Diana L. Morris

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

This pilot trial investigated the short and long-term effects of Acceptance Training (ACT) intervention on acceptance, perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression in elders with chronic conditions living in retirement communities (RCs). The ACT intervention combined Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with music, relaxation, and guided imagery during six weekly 2-hour sessions. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 African-American and 46 White elders across four data collection points in six randomly selected RCs using well-established measures of perceived health, functional status, anxiety, and depression, and a measure of acceptance of chronic conditions adapted from a previous measure of acceptance of …

Bottom Topography Mapping Via Nonlinear Data Assimilation, Edward D. Zaron, Marie-Aude Pradal, Patrick D. Miller, Alan F. Blumberg, Nickitas Georgas, Wei Li, Julia Muccino Cornuelle

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A variational data assimilation method is described for bottom topography mapping in rivers and estuaries using remotely sensed observations of water surface currents. The velocity field and bottom topography are related by the vertically integrated momentum and continuity equations, leading to a nonlinear inverse problem for bottom topography, which is solved using a Picard iteration strategy combined with a nonlinear line search. An illustration of the method is shown for Haverstraw Bay, in the Hudson River, where the known bottom topography is well reconstructed. Once the topography has been estimated, currents and water levels may be forecast. The method makes …

Rethinking Merger Efficiencies, Daniel A. Crane

Articles

The two leading merger systems-those of the United States and the European Union-treat the potential benefits and risks of mergers asymmetrically. Both systems require considerably greater proof of efficiencies than they do of potential harms if the efficiencies are to offset concerns over the accumulation or exercise of market power The implicit asymmetry principle has important systemic effects for merger control. It not only stands in the way of some socially desirable mergers but also may indirectly facilitate the clearance of some socially undesirable mergers. Neither system explicitly justifies this asymmetry, and none of the plausible justifications are normatively supportable. …

Influence Of Detritus Levels And Organic Pollution On Interspecific Resource Competition, Oviposition Behavior, And Larval Survival Of Two Tire-Inhabiting Mosquito Species (Diptera: Culicidae), David Wayne Allgood

Master's Theses

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are vectors of disease in the adult stage, but understanding the factors affecting distributions of the immature stages is important to the understanding and control of adult populations. Discarded automobile tires comprise important larval mosquito habitats. The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus) are two medically important species commonly found in tires, but factors affecting their larval distributions in tires have not been studied, nor have their interspecific interactions. I investigated the effects of chemicals associated with organic pollution on oviposition preferences and larval survival of both …

Tick Infestations And Their Consequences For Migratory Songbirds During Spring Stopover, Johnny Michael Sellers Jr.

Master's Theses

Migratory birds face a number of challenges during their seasonal movement from tropical/sub-tropical Central and South America to more temperate North America. Maintaining health during migration is of particular concern. This study seeks to understand how haematophageous ectoparasites, such as ticks (Ixodida), impact host body condition as they feed on passerines during migration. We hypothesized that foraging location would impact tick acquisition by migrants and that tick burdens during migration would negatively impact body condition. We surveyed 2,064 birds during spring 2009 and 2010 and found that 2.4% of the surveyed birds were infested with one or more …