Digital Commons Network^™

An Assessment Of Enrollment Management At Community Colleges In Mississippi, Jamilah Ruffin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which enrollment management exists within the 15 community colleges in Mississippi. This study also obtained specific information on enrollment management implementation, as well as the benefits and barriers to that implementation. Analysis of the data collected in this study indicated the five major findings. First, enrollment management concepts and practices have been implemented to some extent within the 13 community colleges surveyed. This was evident by the use of the word “enrollment” within several of the titles of participants that were surveyed. Another enrollment practice revealed was the enrollment …

Testing Local Municipality Hiring Procedures And Local Forms Of Government: Are Search Engines And Social Media Sites Used To Collect Supplemental Information About Applicants?, Joseph Wayne Denton

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between the government and the governed is transforming into a digital collaboration of operations. The level of intensity for this collaboration between government and citizens have fallen behind that of the private sector. Web 2.0 tools, otherwise known as social media, internet search engines, and e-Government are now a stimulant for citizens to become informed about their government actions and to also interact with government in order to provide input to elected officials and appointed officials from citizens to the government concerning public policy making and other public concerns. This research seeks to examine the question of whether …

The Effects Of Literacy Interventions On Reading Scores For Low-Achieving Students, Angela Jayroe Mulkana

Theses and Dissertations

As America’s schools strive to educate a diverse population of students, some of these students, who are identified as low-achieving, find school to be difficult. The need to improve low-achieving students’ reading skills has been the focus and concern of educators for many years. This study, which utilized a causal comparative research design, investigated third and fourth grade students’ literacy achievement scores for participation or non-participation in the Students Reading Enrichment Program (SREP), which is an in-school and/or after-school program, in the Jenkins School District (JSD). The SREP provides low-achieving students the opportunity to work in small groups with interventionists, …

The Effects Of Stress On Physiology And Meat Quality In Cultured Channel Catfish, Mike Ciaramella

Theses and Dissertations

Stress during fish culture can impact growth, physiology and fillet quality. Maintenance of high quality seafood is important to ensure the production of a highly marketable product. The present study assessed how sequential stressors affect the physical, physiological, sensory and quality characteristics of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fillets. Temperature (25°C or 33°C) and dissolved oxygen (DO, ~2 mg/L or >5 mg/L) were maintained for four weeks, followed by socking and transport stress for a total of 12 treatments. After each stage of stress (environment, socking and transport), physical (length, weight and feed consumption), physiological (hematocrit, plasma cortisol, pH, glucose, lactate, …

The Evaluation Of Adsorbents For The Removal Of Aflatoxin M1 From Contaminated Milk, Erika D. Womack

Theses and Dissertations

Taking precautions to restrain aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) from milk is critical, particularly due to the health and economic impact AFM1 imposes. The predominant post-harvest means of reducing AFM1 in milk includes the addition of sequestering agents to feed to diminish the bioavailability of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), the parent compound of AFM1 found in contaminated feed. Still, residual AFM1 has been found in the milk. Using sequestering agents added to raw milk, we found that activated carbon was the most effective binder to reduce AFM1 contamination. The combination of 0.75% granular activated carbon (GAC) and a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min …

Modeling Susceptibility Of Forests To Hurricane Damage Based On Forest Ownership, Age, And Type, Rida Sadeq Sherif

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the severity of wind damage created by Hurricane Katrina in southeast Mississippi to determine how the disturbance was influenced by fragmentation based on different forest ownership groups (Non-corporate private forest, corporate private forest and public forest). MODIS-NDVI percent change products were coupled with ownership, rainfall, and Landsat based thematic maps depicting forest age and forest types using GIS techniques to examine potential contributing factors to possible damage for the study area. Multiple linear and binary logistic regression methods were used to explain the relationship between severity of damage and forest age, forest type, ownership, and rainfall. Results …

Morphological And Physiological Characterization Of Sweetpotato Roots After Skinning, Nestor Bonilla Bird

Theses and Dissertations

Sweetpotato is an important staple crop, and a supplementary source of nutrients; minerals, carbohydrates, and vitamins, for the food industry. Quality of sweetpotatoes depends on cultivar, preharvest management practices, and harvest equipment causing skinning. Information on morph-physiological characteristics of storage roots is needed for preharvest management decisions, cultivar selection, and application of harvest aids and harvesting procedures for postharvest storage durability of sweetpotatoes. Also, devices to measure skinning properties of storage roots are needed. This research was conducted to measure skin toughness of various sweetpotato cultivars. The number of skin layers was determined using fluorescent microscopy, and lignin content was …

The Impact Of Athletic Participation On At-Risk High School Students, Anthony D. Blevins

Theses and Dissertations

The need to lessen the dropout rate for America’s high schools necessitated a search for answers by examining the impact of athletic participation on at-risk high school students. Research supports the contention that benefits athletics for students at-risk of dropping out. However, the majority of empirical research on athletic participation has been conducted on athletes and non-athletes, leaving a gap in regard to at-risk students. The study provides a comparison between athletic participation and non-participation with at-risk students. The goal of this study was to share the findings of an investigation of the impact of athletic participation on at-risk high …

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index And The Geographical Variability In Wildfire Size And Frequency In Eight Natural Areas Of The United States, Michael Tobit Gray

Theses and Dissertations

A continental-scale study of historic wildfire data within and across ecoregion provinces was conducted and geographical gradients in seasonal measures of wildfire size and frequency were observed. In the conterminous United States, western ecoregion provinces show north-south gradients in duration of season (short-to-long) and peak of season (early-to-late). Across the continent a gradient of unimodal to bimodal seasonal distributions of wildfire size and frequency was shown: western ecoregions have a single summer fire season and eastern regions have spring and late-summer fire seasons separated by an intervening dip in wildfire activity. From the ecoregion provinces with the highest wildfire frequency, …

The Relationship Between School Counselor Beliefs Regarding The Asca National Model Components And Implementation Of A Comprehensive School Counseling Program, Rachael Gwin Ammons

Theses and Dissertations

The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) created the American School Counseling National Model to guide best practices in the school setting. Professional school counselors are encouraged to implement this model in order to increase student achievement and personal/social growth through a comprehensive school counseling program. Although this is the recommended model for school counselors, many districts have failed to implement it. This study examined the relationship among beliefs, various demographic variables, and program implementation to determine the combination of variables that would best explain the variance in program implementation. Data collected through the School Counseling Program Implementation Scale (SCPIS) and …

The Role Of Endocannabinoids In Atherosclerosis, Anberitha Tyiona Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease leads in morbidity and mortality in Western societies with no known cure. NADPH oxidase (Nox) contributes to atherosclerosis through the indirect activation of macrophages leading to the internalization of oxidized low density lipoproteins (oxLDL). Chronic inflammation in activated macrophages contributes to atherosclerosis. Because macrophages are positioned at the cross-roads of lipid metabolism in vessel walls, they are important in the cellular pathology of atherosclerosis. Components of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system are vital to atherosclerotic development, since the eCB system has been found to play an important role in the amelioration of atherosclerosis. The eCB system has several components, …

Thermodynamic Studies Of Zn2+ Binding To Glutathione, Madhubhashini Lakdusinghe

Theses and Dissertations

Glutathione is one of the most abundant organic compounds found in many biological systems. It is a non-protein tripeptide of Glutamic acid, Cysteine and Glycine. Due to its stability, high cellular concentrations and structural features like gammaglutamyl linkage and sulfhydryl group, glutathione involves with many biological pathways including: cellular defense against xenobiotics and naturally occurring deleterious compounds, like free radicals, metal sequestering, and maintaining cellular sulfhydryl status. Glutathione has been broadly studied however the literature associated with Zn2+ coordination is not clear. This study is focused on collecting thermodynamic data of glutathione binding to Zn2+ metal ions using calorimetric technique. …

Towards A Genome Sequence Of The Brown Spot Needle Blight Pathogen (Mycosphaerella Dearnessii) Infecting Longleaf Pine, Benjamin Douglas Bartlett

Theses and Dissertations

A major disease damaging seedlings of Pinus palustris is caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella dearnessii. Population structure of this pathogen was studied in a population in Mississippi. High genetic diversity (0.65) was measured using microsatellite markers and coincides with the high number of vegetative compatibly groups observed. A 30 Mb genome sequence for a single isolate of M. dearnessii was assembled, representing 65% of the estimated genome size. Nearly all (93%) of the core set of genes present in eukaryotes were detected from a total of 10,996 predicted genes. A total of 853 enzymatic associations were identified along with several …

Upgrading Distilled Bio-Oil With Syngas To Liquid Hydrocarbons, Yan Luo

Theses and Dissertations

Future predicted shortages in fossil fuel resources and environmental regulations from fossil fuel combustion have led to great research interest in developing alternatives to fossil fuels. Biomass-derived bio-oils will have the potential to replace conventional transportation fuels because of their sustainability and environmental advantages. However, the presence of high percentages of chemical oxygenates cause negative properties such as high water content, low volatility, lower heating value, corrosiveness, immiscibility with fossil fuels and instability during storage and transportation. Moreover, polymerization, esterification, condensation and other reactions occur between these highly reactive oxygenates in bio-oil (Diebold 2000). These negative properties hinder both bio-oil …

Utilization Of Bioscreen To Calculate Retardation Factor Of Petroleum Contaminants, And Biodegradation Rate For A Site In Montpelier, Indiana, Brittany M. Garner

Theses and Dissertations

In March 1994, a report was issued to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management after Jim Allen Maintenance, Inc. found levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) exceeding the level appropriate for action (100 parts per million) during an underground storage tank closure report assessment. Creek Run L.L.C Environmental Engineering was contracted by Jay Petroleum to complete an initial site characterization. Through quarterly monitoring of benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and methyl tert-butyl ether for 11 years, Creek Run L.L.C determined that biodegradation was occurring. Upon using BIOSCREEN, a contaminant transport modeling software that simulates natural attenuation over time, it was determined …

Utilization Of Canopy Reflectance To Predict Yield Response Of Corn And Cotton To Varying Nitrogen Rates, Totsanat Rattanakaew

Theses and Dissertations

Fertilizer N is one of the most costly inputs in corn (Zea mays L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production and is a strong yield determining factor. Variable rate N fertilization has the potential to improve resource use efficiency, profitability, and help to minimize adverse environmental impacts. Vegetation indices (VIs) may be useful for in-season crop health monitoring to assist in fertilizer N management and yield prediction. This research determined the utility of aerial imagery in detecting corn and cotton response to varying N supply using five selected VIs. The VIs derived from aerial images, chlorophyll readings and tissue N …

Verticillium Dahliae Causes The Fungal Wilting Disease Of Cotton Plants Grown On The Mississippi State North Farm, Fahad Mohammedsaleh Albukhari

Theses and Dissertations

The emergence and spread of Verticillium wilt were observed in cotton plants at the R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center at Mississippi State during the late summer in 2013 and 2014. Several fungi with different morphology and growth characteristics were isolated from diseased cotton plants. Genomic DNA was extracted from the isolated fungal species and used in molecular typing via PCR amplification and DNA sequencing analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. A total of five fungal genera were identified, and Verticillium sp. was the most frequently isolated genus. The isolated Verticillium strains could be Verticillium dahliae, Verticillium …

Willingness Of Mississippi's Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners To Manage Forests For Ecosystem Services, Edward Mutandwa

Theses and Dissertations

Private forest land in Mississippi provides a wide range of ecosystem services. This study examined nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowner familiarity with ecosystem services and conservation programs and quantified the proportion of forest land they were interested in managing for ecosystem services as well as determined compensation levels required for implementing forest management strategies featuring management restriction to facilitate production of multiple ecosystem services. The data collection process was based on a structured questionnaire administered to 2,025 NIPF landowners in Mississippi. Findings indicated that landowner familiarity with conservation programs was low. However, they were familiar with ecosystem services found in …

Recovery Of Phytophthora Ramorum And Other Phytophthora Spp. In A Forest Adjacent To A Mississippi Ornamental Plant Nursery, Devin Sterling Bily

Theses and Dissertations

The movement of the exotic and destructive plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum into unquarantined areas via the plant nursery trade provides a potential outlet for transmission into eastern United States forests. A two-year survey of Phytophthora species in a forest adjacent to an ornamental plant nursery in Mississippi isolated P. ramorum 20 times from water and once from vegetation, with an additional detection of 14 Phytophthora species and one provisional species. Isolates were recovered from soil, water, and vegetation using baiting and filtering techniques, and verified by their DNA through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) followed by genomic sequencing. This study confirms …

Forest Management Under The Uncertainties Of Carbon Life Cycle, Zhuo Ning

Theses and Dissertations

Forests play an important role in mitigating climate change. It can not only provide carbon sequestration in standing forests and long-life forest products, but can also reduce carbon release by bioenergy’s substitution of fossil fuel. Therefore, a comprehensive impact from forest carbon on landowners’ forest management decisions should be analyzed when considering those uncertainties in carbon life cycle. The first part of the dissertation is a meta-analysis review, in which important factors that can influence the estimation of harvesting rotations under carbon sequestration are summarized and analyzed. It concludes that some issues as natural disturbances and forest bioenergy deserve more …

Design, Synthesis, And Testing Of Bis-Corannulene Receptors For Fullerenes Based On Klärner’S Tethers, Peumie Luckshika Abeyratne Kuragama

Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of the new allotropic forms of elemental carbon (e.g. fullerenes and carbon nanotubes) introduced a novel motif in supramolecular chemistry based on dispersion interactions of curved networks of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms. Buckybowls, the curve-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, appear to be ideal candidates for molecular receptors to recognize fullerenes. Corannulene, the smallest and the best studied buckybowl, has been recognized as one of the important pincers in developing molecular receptors for fullerenes. The main goal of our research is to synthesize corannulene-based molecular receptors for fullerenes with high binding affinities with the use of the pincers preorganized on …

Detection Of Flavobacterium Columnare In Tissues And Pond Water Using Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Gordon Derek Gibbs

Theses and Dissertations

Flavobacterium columnare, a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium, is the causative agent of columnaris disease in a variety of fish hosts but is of particular significance to the catfish industry located in the southeastern United States. Columnaris infections are a leading cause of mortalities in catfish ponds, occurring alone or in conjunction with other diseases. Typical diagnostic methods for columnaris infections involve the use of selective media following the observation of gross signs of disease. A real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to estimate the quantity of bacteria present in environmental and tissue samples was developed and validated. The genetic variability seen in …

Malaria Parasitemia And Prevalence In The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus Bicolor), Kayla Marie Fast

Theses and Dissertations

Haemosporidians, including the avian malaria parasites, are a diverse group of blood parasites that infect terrestrial vertebrates worldwide. There is variability in parasite prevalence (presence) and parasitemia (infection intensity); infections range from virtually inconsequential to lethal. Prevalence and parasitemia of avian malaria in the Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) were determined (n=81). The genera Plasmodium and Parahaemoproteus were detected and quantified from bird blood using microscopy, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and quantitative PCR (qPCR). Thirteen lineages of malaria parasites were found. Sequence data from the parasite’s mitochondrial cytochrome b gene indicate that prevalence is 69.1% (Plasmodium-89.3%; Parahaemoprotues-7.1%; double infection-3.6%). Parasitemia was …

Disciples, Exorcists, And The Power Of God: Reading Acts 19:1-20 As A Literary Unit, Matthew R. Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have read Acts 19:1-20 as a combination of stories serving different thematic interests. This has led to much confusion over several details in the text, and readings that follow this pattern miss the larger point Luke is making in this section. Acts 19:1-20 serves as the final scene in a three-part contest between believers and magicians (Acts 8:4-25; 13:4-12; 19:1-20). When one takes Acts 19:1-7 as a part of the larger narrative structure in 19:1-20, one can read the Ephesian disciples as the literary foils of the sons of Sceva. This reading highlights Luke’s overall message about magic in …

Chimes: December 11, 2015, Calvin College

Chimes

Michael Le Roy: A Retrospective by Anna Delph

ISIS, Terrorism & Refugees by Juliana Ludema

Airband Cancelled by Morgan Anderson

Basketball bounces MIAA foes by Mark Peless

Holiday tradition remains stable by Amelia Sterenberg

Theology, grammar and learning to write sentences by Eckhart Chan

The Pathway To A Senior Housing Officer, A Latino Man’S Journey, Javier Gutierrez

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study presents my experience as a Latino male entering the field of residential life and working my way to a senior level housing officer position. My personal account is situated in the context of the greater societal issues of how identity and mentorship are significant in a successful path into residential life. The significance of this study results from the low number of Latinos obtaining and moving up the ranks in residential life. The number of Latinos in the United States is increasing and the number of Latino students entering higher education is growing. Staffs working in student affairs …

Student Self-Regulated Learning Through Use Of The Linguafolio® Online In A Beginning Middle School El Class, Melissa Rose Davey

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative mixed methods case study explores how LinguaFolio® Online is an appropriate strategy for increasing self-regulated learning in a beginning ESL class. Five participants in a middle school beginning ESL class used LinguaFolio® Online over eight weeks in order to report on learning and submit evidence exemplars. All participants used LinguaFolio® Online for various user interactions concerning self-regulation and self-assessment. Participants completed a pre- and post-survey so that perceptions could be compared before and after use of LinguaFolio® Online. The results of this study specify two important trends; first, regular use of the selfassessment lists contained within LinguaFolio® Online …

Assessing Remedial Course Transitional Intervention Effectiveness For First Generation College Students, John Nathan Day

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

First generation college students experience a more challenging transition to collegiate success than their peers. As institutions feel the pressure to fulfill their enrollment goals, the doors of opportunity are being widened which includes an increase in first generation college students This study focuses on how the remedial course intervention affects student confidence levels in key college success indicators after their first semester of college level coursework. A survey is used to determine variations between first generation students who were exposed to this form of intervention, and those who were not. The findings point to a need for expanded conversation …

Meeting Minutes, Wku University Senate

Faculty Senate

Meeting regarding budget, student evaluation of faculty, Confucius Institute, add/drop policy, India Project, SACS review, Student Government Association, curriculum committee, Colonnade Plan, open records and summer/winter compensation.

Pollinator Stewardship Council V. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 800 F.3d 1176 (9th Cir. 2015), Hallie Bishop

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.