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Effects Of Instream Habitat Restoration On Macroinvertebrate And Fish Communities In A Small Midwestern Stream, Manisha Pant

Masters Theses

Although millions of dollars are spent annually on stream habitat restoration, the biological responses to these restorations are rarely monitored. I assessed the impact of habitat enhancement on fish and macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity in a small Midwestern stream. Fish and macroinvertebrate communities were sampled annually in two restored and two unrestored sites beginning two years before and continuing four years after restoration. Habitat heterogeneity increased in the restored sites following the restoration, but there were no significant changes in most macroinvertebrate and fish community indices. Macroinvertebrate composition was significantly different between spring and fall, but in general, assemblages within …

Does Parent Management Of Past Childhood Sibling Aggression Predict Young Adult Emotion Regulation? A Retrospective Study, Joseph P. Berry

Masters Theses

Childhood sibling aggression and its influence on an individual's ability to regulate emotions later in life have not been extensively studied at this point in time. Prior research indicates that repeatedly being the victim of childhood aggression can lead to concurrent social, psychological, and emotional difficulties (Crick, Bigbee, & Howes, 1996). This study used a retrospective approach to explore whether 139 college students' experiences of overt and relational childhood sibling aggression are related to current difficulties with emotion regulation in young adulthood. Overt sibling aggression or relational sibling aggression in childhood predicted difficulties in current emotion regulation. Beliefs about the …

Exploring The Relationship Between Self-Reported Religiosity And Alcohol Usage Among Undergraduate Students, Angelica Maria Bradley

Masters Theses

Alcohol usage is one of the greatest high-risk behaviors that institutions face today. In this study, 166 undergraduates were surveyed to explore the relationship between their religiosity and alcohol usage. The data revealed that religious students drink less than unsure or spiritual students, supporting the Social Identity Theory, which suggests that a group a student most identifies with influences them the greatest. The study also suggests that we should seek to understand this relationship, which can lead to a better understanding of why students use alcohol, and therefore, a step closer to helping them succeed where it matters most.

Grief, Loss And Stress Burden Among Spouse Caregivers Of The Person With Young-Onset Dementia, Sharbari Ganguly

Masters Theses

The effects of young/early-onset dementia are devastating not only for the person who has been diagnosed with young/early-onset dementia, but also for their primary caregivers (de Vugt & Verhey, 2013). The major aim of this study is to focus on the level of grief, loss, and stress burden that are associated with the partner or the spouse caregivers of someone with young-onset dementia. This study has used a previously unanalyzed set of data consisting of 55 partner or spouse young-onset dementia caregivers. Three instruments were used for data collection including the Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory (MMCGI), the Zarit Burden Interview …

Sexual And Political Affairs: Representation Of Women In American News Media, Melissa Beal

Masters Theses

Explores representations in American news media of women who have been involved sexually with male politicians and women who are politicians through a critical rhetorical lens. Through the use of poststructural feminism, the term "mistress" is problematized. Attention is given to the news media's focus on women's bodies as sites of dangerous sexual temptations as well as the media's constant attention to women's physical features, which reduces women to objects. It is shown that similar coverage regarding bodies is not given to men. Also discusses the news media's frequent interrogation of women's minds. Explores aspects of confession and apology through …

Methods Development In Biological Mass Spectrometry: Application In Glycoproteomics, Sanja Trajkovic

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Proteomics refers to global characterization of the full set of proteins present in a biological sample. Various analytical disciplines contribute to proteomics but mass spectrometry became method of choice for analysis of complex protein samples.

Mass spectrometry allows for high throughput analysis of the proteome but, moreover, it has the ability to acquire higher-order information such as post-translational modifications (PTM). Glycosylation is the most abundant PTM on eukaryotic proteins.

This dissertation will focus on method development for structural proteomics that will be utilized to explain the glycoproteome of obligate intracellular protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii as a model system.

Optimization of …

Assessing Social Problem Solving And Frustration Tolerance In Early Elementary Students, Catherine G. Wang

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Due to the current national discourse on the social and emotional well-being of our youth, the examination of student progress and development in the area of social and emotional skills is a critical area of study. To date, limited research on social and emotional skill development in schools has been conducted. In addition, there is little documented research on the direct assessment of student skills in the specific social and emotional learning competencies. With the emergence of a new assessment tool from Rush NeuroBehavioral Center (RNBC), schools are now able to gather performance based student assessment data in key areas …

Assessing Social And Emotional Skill Development In Early Elementary Students, David K. Rongey

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Due to the current national discourse on the social and emotional well-being of our students, the examination of student progress and development in the area of social and emotional skills is a critical area of study. To date, limited research has been conducted in this area. For example, there is little documented research on the direct assessment of student skills in the specific social and emotional learning competencies. With the emergence of a new assessment tool from Rush NeuroBehavioral Center (RNBC), schools are now able to gather performance based student assessment data in key areas of social emotional skill development. …

"Unseen And Unheard" : Representations Of Mental Illness In Contemporary American Immigrant Literature, Ellen D. Stuart

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Focusing on two novels, Wendy Law-Yone's The Coffin Tree and Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, this analysis employs a framework drawn from research on mental health, which recognizes the cumulative impact of the immigrant's experiences through the process of migration on his/her development of mental illness by dividing migration into three stages: pre-migration, peri-migration, and post-migration. Because each stage carries its own set of factors potentially increasing the immigrant's vulnerability to mental illness, the experiences of the individual characters during the stages of migration are examined, as are their experiences of specific mental illnesses. Reading immigrant …

A (Re)Conception Of The City : Commercialization, Domestication, And Resistance In New York City From Melville To Mckay, James Baltrum

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation characterizes the historical changes that shaped nineteenth and twentieth century New York City by examining how Herman Melville, Stephen Crane, Edith Wharton, John Dos Passos, and Claude McKay expressed these changes in their literary works. I employ the ideological principles of scholars such as Henri Lefebvre, who viewed physical spaces including the modern city as socially constructed products, and the methodology of writers such as Michel Foucault, whose genealogical approach prompts an open-ended and multi-faceted analysis. Consequently, my argument shows how various economic, social, cultural, political, and technological developments worked with and against each other to shape (and …

Altering Shyness Mindset : Enhancing Treatment For Social Performance Anxiety, Michael J. Gillen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The current study looked to extend previous research on the meta-cognitive variable of shyness mindset. The objectives were to demonstrate the ability to promote an incremental view of shyness in a clinical population, provide evidence for this change's ability to enhance the reduction of social performance anxiety symptoms via exposure therapy, and elucidate the possible mechanisms involved. Participants were recruited from an intensive outpatient program for the treatment of anxiety disorders, and assigned to either receive an intervention designed to alter shyness mindset, or treatment as usual. Results indicated that shyness mindset was malleable in a clinical population. The effect …

Exploring Faculty Beliefs Regarding Teaching African American Freshmen To Interpret Social Cues At A Minority-Serving Institution, Concetta A. Williams

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Through the use of critical qualitative methodology, this dissertation explored faculty beliefs at an urban, minority-serving institution regarding the ability of African American first-time, full-time freshmen to interpret social cues in higher education contexts. Specifically, this study examined [1] faculty-student interaction as a process of socialization for students and [2] how faculty members teach students to interpret or read social cues as they relate to higher education contexts. The definition of literacy is considered in broad terms as a transaction between a reader and either the spoken word or a given context (verbal and nonverbal).||This examination found that participants: [1] …

Exploring The Link Between Attribution Biases And Aggressive Behavior Among Adolescents : Are Parents' Attributions And Management Of Peers Contributing Factors?, Haeli Gerardy

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The current thesis project investigated two parental influences on adolescents' hostile intent attributions and aggression - mothers' hostile intent attributions regarding adolescents' peers and management of peer relationships. Consistent with the small literature on parent-child concordance of hostile attributions, mothers' instrumental hostile intent attributions (IHIAs) were related in a positive fashion to adolescents' hostile attributions about peers in the same scenarios. Findings were the first among a sample of mothers and adolescents older than fifth grade. There was some evidence for an interactive effect of mothers' instrumental hostile attributions on higher levels of boys', but not girls', overt aggression. Mothers' …

Characterization Of The Native Microbial Communities In The Karst Aquifer Of Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, Anni Moore

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The karst aquifer in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, serves the population as their only drinking water source, and is extremely vulnerable to pollution from sewage and agricultural practices. Because the native microbes are expected to handle this organic pollution load, this study was conducted in order to characterize the phylogenetic and metagenomic composition of these communities as well as microbe-mineral interaction in this virtually metal-free water. Three karst sinkholes and an abandoned drinking water well at a hotel territory were sampled at fresh, saline, and fresh-saline water interface during dry and rainy seasons. The phylogenetic analysis showed an overall high microbial …

The Games Men Play : How Community College Men Use Video Games To Construct Masculinity, Eric J. Niemi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Employing a critical discourse analysis as a methodology, the study provides information into the intersection of male student development, video games, and two-year higher education institutions. Using a sample of 13 participants, this research study examines how male students at two year higher education instructions use video games to construct their masculinity. This study provides evidence that college men construct multiple definitions of masculinity by playing video games. Further, the benefits explored include academic and workplace strategies for success. Finally, opportunities for two year institutions to further engage this student population is included.

Integrating Spirituality And Religion With Counselors-In-Training In Practicum : A Look At Competence And Comfort Level, Nikki Renee Ruffin

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In the past 20 years, the counseling profession has increased the amount of research and focus on integrating spirituality and religion into applied practice, curriculum, and supervision. In the last few years, some have argued that spirituality is the fifth force in the counseling field. The purpose of this study was to (a) explore counseling students' exposure to religious and spiritual issues in counseling (SRIC) practica and their comfort with addressing SRIC with clients, (b) explore counseling students' exposure to an intervention of SRIC practica and their perceived competence with addressing SRIC with clients, and (c) assess the impact of …

Sensing And Analysis Of Angular Vibrations Of Tremor, Divya Uppuluri

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Tremor is defined as the unintentional involuntary muscle movements involving rhythmic oscillations of any part of body like legs, hands, arms and limbs. This thesis deals with the most common tremor that occurs in hands. Tremor is not life threatening but greatly affects quality of life. The main purpose of this research is to identify a feedback control technique for the suppression of Essential Tremor. Tremor can be defined as the nonlinear and non stationary phenomenon which is the most common movement disorder affecting more than 4% of elderly people. In this research, a tremor is simulated using a stepper …

Using Sample Validation In Auditing, A. Ochigbo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A state government agency wants to determine if a sample verification procedure, used in auditing accounts to detect fraudulent charges, reduces the error of estimating the unknown mean amount of fraud per transaction. The procedure consists of checking whether the covariates of an audit variable, whose mean is known, is within a 100(1-alpha) % confidence interval computed on the observed sample. In this study we use computer based simulations to explore the effect that the procedure has on the error in estimating the mean. We concentrate on the bivariate normal distribution and on a normal bivariate normal mixture. Numerical results …

Reforming Consumer-Insurer Dispute Resolution In The Auto Insurance Industry, Cassandra Roeder

Student Award Winning Papers

No abstract provided.

A Gut Gone To Pot: A Case Of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Due To K2, A Synthetic Cannabinoid., Anene Ukaigwe, Paras Karmacharya, Anthony A. Donato

Reading Hospital Internal Medicine Residency

Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) was first described in 2004. Due to its novelty, CHS is often unrecognized by clinicians leading to expensive workup of these patients with cyclical symptoms. It may take up to 9 years to diagnose CHS. CHS is characterized by cyclical nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, and an unusual compulsion to take hot showers in the presence of chronic use of cannabinoids. Cannabicyclohexanol is a synthetic cannabinoid, popularly known as K2 spice. It is a popular marijuana alternative among teenagers and young adults since it is readily available as herbal incense. Unlike marijuana, many users know that …

Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Nanocomposite Coating Applications : Formulation, Characterization, And Evaluation, Tsehaye Eyassu

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Nanotechnology applications in coatings have shown significant growth in recent years. Systematic incorporation of nano-sized inorganic materials into polymer coating enhances optical, electrical, thermal and mechanical properties significantly. The present dissertation will focus on formulation, characterization and evaluation of inorganic/organic hybrid nanocomposite coatings for heat dissipation, corrosion inhibition and ultraviolet (UV) and near infrared (NIR) cut applications. In addition, the dissertation will cover synthesis, characterization and dispersion of functional inorganic fillers.||In the first project, we investigated factors that can affect the "Molecular Fan" cooling performance and efficiency. The investigated factors and conditions include types of nanomaterials, size, loading amount, coating …

Examination Of Middle School Students' Perceptions Of Including Democratic Practices In An Environmental Service-Learning Project, Eileen Anne Stocco

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to gather data on middle school students' perceptions of including democratic practices in an environmental service-learning project. The study explored students' perceptions of their inclusion in helping plan curriculum and student participation in civic engagement. Seventh grade students' perceptions of the personal benefits gained due to their participation in the environmental service-learning project were explored. Additionally, the study investigated students' perceptions of benefits to the local community due to students' participation in the project.||Utilizing democratic practices in the classroom plays a critical role in supporting a democratic education; therefore, students were provided with …

Lagrangian Approach To Minimize Makespan Of Non-Identical Parallel Batch Processing Machines, Nurul Mubinah Binti Suhaimi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Batch Processing Machines (BPMs) are commonly used in electronics manufacturing, semi-conductor manufacturing, and metal-working - to name a few. Scheduling these machines are not an easy task; practical considerations and the exponential number of decision variables involved impede schedulers (or decision makers) from making good decisions. This research focuses on minimizing the makespan of a set of non-identical parallel batch processing machines. In order to schedule jobs on these machines, two decisions are to be made. The first decision is to group jobs to form batches such that the machine capacity is not exceeded. The second decision is to sequence …

Measuring Efficiencies In U.S. Hospital Mergers, Sandhya Radhakrishnan

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Using non-parametric approaches, this study investigates the technical efficiencies of U.S. hospitals that have undergone horizontal mergers. Past studies have shown that hospital prices, hospital costs, quality of care provided, and consumer welfare are affected by these mergers. Theoretical studies on mergers propose potential gains from mergers. The results from these studies provide conflicting reports on the efficiencies of the merged hospitals. Hospitals merge in the anticipation of increasing market power by reducing operational expenses and expansion of services. However, many of these merged hospitals have filed for bankruptcy and have shut down in the years following the merger. This …

Mindfulness Meditation In First-Year Composition : Effects On Attention, Metacognition, And Apprehension, Kristin Demint

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Amid ever-growing interest in cognition and learning and demands for pedagogy that channels the attention of increasingly distracted and disengaged learners, this thesis explored the effects of a mindfulness meditation practice on students' attentional control, metacognition, and writing apprehension. Students practiced the instructor-led meditation as a class for five minutes each class session, completing periodic surveys about their experiences and writing weekly timed essays. The repeated mindfulness practice allowed students to become familiar with their mental habits and challenged students to work through mental frustrations as they arose. The weekly writing session following the mindfulness practice allowed them to both …

Addressing Public Health Risks Of Persistent Pollutants Through Nutritional Modulation And Biomimetic Nanocomposite Remediation Platforms, Bradley J. Newsome

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Due to their relative chemical stability and ubiquity in the environment, chlorinated organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pose significant health risks and enduring remediation challenges. Engineered nanoparticles (NPs) provide a novel platform for sensing/remediation of these toxicants, in addition to the growing use of NPs in many industrial and biomedical applications, but there remains concern for their potential long-term health effects. Research highlighted herein also represents a transdisciplinary approach to address human health challenges associated with exposure to PCBs and NPs. The objectives of this dissertation research are two-fold, 1) to develop effective methods for capture/sensing and remediation …

One-Directional Normally-On Vertical Silicon Carbide (3c-Sic) Mesfet On Silicon (Si) Substrate, Ramana Thakkallapally

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The main objective of this thesis is to design a one-directional normally-on vertical 3C-SiC MESFET on silicon substrate. The 3C-SiC material has higher carrier mobility, high saturation velocity and high critical breakdown field compared to traditional silicon devices. Epitaxial layer of 3C-SiC can be easily grown on the large area of silicon wafer. Vertical MESFET occupies less than 33% of the area compared to lateral MESFET with same dimensions, and this increases the integration density and reduces the cost. The drain current of vertical 3C-SiC MESFET is 100% higher than lateral structure MESFET with same dimensions. Vertical 3C-SiC MESFETs can …

Outside University Walls : Alexandra David-Neel's Influence In Developing The Field Of Buddhist Studies, Mary Michele

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Alexandra David-Neel (1868-1969) was a Frenchwoman who is known primarily as an adventurer, explorer, and travel writer because she walked across the Himalayan Mountains into the city of Lhasa in 1924 when foreigners were prohibited from entering Tibet. She returned to Europe to write about her experiences in two famous books: My Journey to Lhasa (1993) and Magic and Mystery in Tibet (1971).||David-Neel wrote twenty more books about mystical, philosophical, sociological, political, and historical themes (published on five continents) that reflect discourses that changed over time within different cultures. The discourses about Orientalism and colonialism along with feminist and gender …

Parental And Adolescent Characteristics Predicting Adolescent Disclosure To Parents Across Various Social Domains, Michael Patrick Flores

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The current study examined associations between adolescents' externalizing problem behaviors (EPBs), maternal and paternal parenting characteristics (i.e., parental warmth), and adolescents' disclosure of behavior to their mother- and father-figures across several specific social domains (i.e., personal, multifaceted, moral/conventional, electronic) in order to provide a better understanding of the forces behind adolescent's decisions to disclose. Complete data were collected from 170 ninth and tenth-grade students from a suburban Chicago high school. Based on actual reported experiences disclosing to parents, three social domains that have been previously considered were identified as was an unexpected social domain which was labeled the "electronic" domain. …

Putting Your Car Where Your Mouth Is: Diets And Carbon Emissions, Sarah Rehkamp, Azzeddine Azzam, Christopher Rand Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

In an effort to broaden the focus of sustainability research from work on sustainable production that aims to influence farmer decisions when producing food, to research about sustainable consumption that aims to influence consumer decisions when buying food, we embarked on a research project that looks at environmental and health impacts of dietary choices. In this article, results from some initial work on the environmental impact are reported. Specifically, the energy efficiencies and consequent carbon emissions of the average United States, Japanese, Mediterranean, French and Nordic diets are compared. To put the results in perspective, the carbon emissions were converted …