Digital Commons Network^™

An Unprecedented Research Project Into The Alcohol Retention Variation Of Flavored Spirits, Armanda Fae Mcfadden

Online Theses and Dissertations

Accurate determination of alcohol by volume (ABV) is necessary, but previously used techniques are proving inaccurate with new flavored spirits. Specifically, control experiments showed that increasing concentrations of sugar led to increasingly inaccurate ABV determination. We hypothesize the intermolecular forces present in these beverages are significantly altered by the presence of sugar, which in turn leads to the observed inaccuracies in ABV measured through distillation. We used additives such as NaCl and NaOH to strategically and systematically vary intermolecular interactions and the influences of these additives on ABV were tested through distillation, densitometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Given …

Biotic Assessment Of Two Central Kentucky Streams: Examining The Effects Of Wastewater Treatment And Anthropogenic Disturbance, Daniel John Ratterman

Online Theses and Dissertations

Globally, anthropogenic disturbance has altered many aquatic habitats, including lotic waters. Flowing, fresh water sustains life on Earth yet suffers the resulting waste products. Native, locally adapted ecosystems integrate or eliminate the byproducts of life. However an increase of human population, poor agricultural practices, accelerated overland runoff, a non-point source of pollution, and wastewater treatment plants (WTP), a point source of pollution, have all placed a strain on the world’s flowing, fresh, waters. The de-commissioning of two WTPs in the Kentucky River basin, and the commissioning of a new WTP in an adjacent watershed, provided an opportunity to examine the …

Factors That Affect Developmental Education In Rural Appalachia, Erin Leigh Reasor

Online Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation depicts the lives of ten students who are enrolled in developmental education courses at a rural community college in Appalachian Mountains. They share their home life, life experiences and struggles faced; however, they want to better themselves and that motivation keeps them going. This study is important study due to the fact little qualitative research has been conducted in the past reflecting the lives of the Appalachian student. Also, this dissertation provides a historical background of developmental education and how it plays an essential role in community colleges. The problem is that students are coming to college unprepared …

Assessing The Impact Of First-Year Experience Courses On Student Success In Community And Technical Colleges, Luv'tesha L. Robertson

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact first-year experience courses have on first-year student performance when enrolled in these courses at public community and technical colleges in Kentucky. The target population for this research study was composed of freshman students participating in the course compared to students not participating in the same course in the same public community and technical colleges across the Bluegrass Region. Roughly 2,000 students were selected from the 2014-2015 fall academic year for this quantitative research study.

This study will aim to determine the effect of a first-year experience course on student performance and outcomes of first-year, at-risk …

An Evaluation Of The College Readiness Of Graduating English Language Learners In Utah Public Schools., Lizette L. Rogers

Online Theses and Dissertations

The linguistic diversity that began with immigration in the early 20th century continues today. The impact of this growing population is directly affecting the economy and workforce in our nation. This dissertation focused on the college readiness of graduating English language learner (ELL) students in one western mountain state. The variables of gender, language proficiency levels, and free or reduced lunch status were studied, seeking to understand if those variables were independent of ELL students being college ready. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the ACT test scores for 668 English language learner graduates. A Chi-Square test for independence was …

Self Dual Codes And The Indecomposable Building Blocks, Nathan John Russell

Online Theses and Dissertations

Just like prime numbers are to integers, indecomposable codes are to self dual codes. This paper gives an explicit listing of the first few families of binary self dual codes, up to length 16. Binary self dual codes that are decomposable are given as a composition of indecomposable codes. The indecomposable codes are explicitly listed with generator matrices. The complete classifying process is outlined.

Stakeholders' Knowledge Impacting The Academic And Social-Emotional Needs Of Twice-Exceptional Students In Kentucky, Katrina Ann Sexton

Online Theses and Dissertations

Decades worth of studies have documented the role of teacher training in identifying children with exceptional needs. Yet, none have investigated the differences between teacher training, teacher knowledge, and teacher roles in relation to the identification of twice-exceptional (2E) children. There is a need to understand the factors that affect teachers’ knowledge and abilities to identify 2E students, specifically during the early formative years [primary and middle grades] when identification commonly occurs. Supported by the Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory, Autonomous Learner Model (ALM), and Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM), the purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if teacher education …

A Vegetation-Based Index Of Biotic Integrity For Wetlands Of Kentucky, Noelle Newman Smith

Online Theses and Dissertations

Wetland ecosystems have experienced severe declines across the United States, prompting efforts to assess the status of remaining wetlands and regulate their development. The Clean Water Act and the policy of “No Net Loss” have resulted in a system of permitting and mitigation for impacts to wetlands. Professional judgments of wetland quality are inherent in regulatory decisions related to preservation and mitigation, but many states, and until recently including Kentucky, have no standard, quantifiable means of assessing wetlands to guide the decision process. A rapid assessment method has recently been developed for Kentucky, but there is no intensive assessment method …

The Association Between Achievement On Kentucky’S College Readiness Assessments And The Intervention Delivery Method Provided To Underprepared Twelfth Grade Mathematics Students, Barbara Darlene Spurlock

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this retrospective quantitative study was to determine if there was an association between achievement on Kentucky’s college readiness assessments and intervention delivery methods: (1) face-to-face tutoring only; (2) online/digital tutoring only; or (3) blended learning tutoring provided to underprepared twelfth grade mathematics students. Data used for this study were provided voluntarily from four Kentucky districts representing six high schools. Descriptive statistics and Chi Square statistical significance research methods were used to determine the association between assessments and intervention instructional delivery models. Bivariate correlations were used to determine a weak correlation between Kentucky’s three college readiness assessments (ACT, …

An Elliptic Exploration, David Curtis Swart

Online Theses and Dissertations

In this paper I will be giving an introduction to an interesting kind of equation called elliptic curves, and how they can be used to protect our national security through Cryptology. We will explore the unique operation for adding points on elliptic curves and the group structure that it creates, as well as the ECC method, which stands among the RSA and AES methods as one of the modern day's most secure systems of cryptography. In addition, I will also introduce several algorithms and methods that are useful for working with ECC such as Schoof's Algorithm, and I will also …

Best Practices In Tutoring Services And The Impact Of Required Tutoring On High-Risk Students, Lara Kristin Vance

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the best practices in tutoring high-risk, first-year students. The study was conducted in three phases. First, the study investigated the tutoring practices at two four-year universities with similar admissions standards as Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) but with higher retention rates: Austin Peay State University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The qualitative and quantitative results of that phase of the study revealed five best practices.

The second phase of the study focused on the extent to which EKU’s tutoring practices align with the best practices found in phase one. The data revealed that, at least to …

The Imperativeness Of The Inclusion Of Multiple Intelligences In Safety Training, Melissa Diers-Sarasin

Online Theses and Dissertations

Many organizations are increasingly becoming aware that effective safety training is a key element in their success. Employers are now forced to face the challenges of holistically evaluating safety programs to ensure their multigenerational workforce comprehends, utilizes, and values the safety training provided to them. These expectations are brought about by regulations and the need to control expenditures directly related to safety training and performance. Now more than ever, it is imperative that multiple intelligences are incorporated into safety education and training programs. This article examines key elements of multiple intelligences, the significance of their incorporation in safety education and …

Low-Dimensional Reality-Based Algebras, Rachel Victoria Barber

Online Theses and Dissertations

In this paper we introduce the definition of a reality-based algebra (RBA) as well as a subclass of reality-based algebras, table algebras. Using sesquilinear forms, we prove that a reality-based algebra is semisimple. We look at a specific reality-based algebra of dimension 5 and provide formulas for the structure constants of this algebra. We determine by looking at these structure constants and setting conditions on specific structural components when this particular reality-based algebra is a table algebra. In fact, this will be a noncommutative table algebra of dimension 5.

Graduation Rates Of Career And Technical Education (Cte) Concentrators In Kentucky: A Comparative Study, Seve L. Bennett

Online Theses and Dissertations

This research was driven by the desire to determine if graduation rates of high school students in Kentucky are significantly affected when they decide to concentrate on a Career and Technical Education (CTE) career pathway. To clarify, the research questions that prompted this study seek to find out if 12th grade CTE concentrator students in programs of study at (16) randomly chosen Area Technology Centers (ATCs) across the state had different graduation rates than those 12th grade students not engaged in CTE career pathways in (16) corresponding high schools for the 2012 – 2013 school year. The study also compared …

Anonymity, Cybercrime, And The Connection To Cryptocurrency, Jesse D. Bray

Online Theses and Dissertations

Cybercrime currently poses a significant threat to the infrastructure of the United States. It can exploit vulnerabilities within the Critical Infrastructure or (CI) systems that are increasingly interconnected. Although the increased interconnectedness allows for easier and more efficient communication it creates vulnerabilities that did not exist ten years ago. A lack of a standardized definition of cybercrime has made it increasingly difficult to create policy that will allow for more efficient interagency cooperation and concrete laws regarding cybercrime. Cybercrime thrives on the anonymity of the Internet with the use of specific browsers, The Onion Router for example, to access information …

The Monochromatic Column Problem: The Prime Case, Loran Elizabeth Crowell

Online Theses and Dissertations

Let p1, p2, . . . , pn be pairwise coprime positive integers and let P = p1p2 · · · pn. Let 0,1,...,m−1 be a sequence of m different colors. Let A be an n×mP matrix of colors in which row i consists of blocks of pi consecutive entries of the same color, with colors 0 through m − 1 repeated cyclically. The Monochromatic Column problem is to determine the number of columns of A in which every entry is the same color. A partial solution for the case when m is prime is given.

Wetland Condition Matters: Amphibian Richness And Abundance Change Across Wetland Condition Gradient, Kari Dupler

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the past century, Kentucky has lost more than 80% of its wetlands, and because state-wide monitoring was historically minimal, this number is likely underestimated. The Kentucky Division of Water, with Eastern Kentucky University and a technical working group, developed a rapid wetland assessment method (i.e. KY-WRAM) to assess wetland quality and aid in establishing mitigation levels and long-term monitoring. Validation of the KY-WRAM’s ability to reflect wetland condition requires comparison to intensive biotic assessments of amphibian, plant, and bird communities. Wetland and amphibian surveys for the 2014 and 2015 seasons were conducted at 42 riverine wetlands in the Kentucky …

Assessing The Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Foraging Bats At Mammoth Cave National Park After The Arrival Of White-Nose Syndrome, Rachael Elizabeth Griffitts

Online Theses and Dissertations

Habitat use of bats may shift following population level impacts of White-nose Syndrome (WNS). Multiple bat species have experienced unprecedented population declines due to WNS, including federally listed Myotis sodalis (Indiana bat) and Myotis septentrionalis (northern long-eared bat). Specifically, the effect of WNS across forest landscapes is unclear in relation to prescribed fire. Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA) has employed a prescribed fire regime since 2002 and WNS was detected on MACA in 2013. Bat activity was monitored across burned and unburned sites at MACA before (2010-2012) and after the detection of WNS (2013-2016) using transects of acoustic detectors (Anabat …

A Study On $^{7}$Li + $^{120}$Sn Quasi-Elastic Scattering, Murat Aygün, Zeynep Aygün

Turkish Journal of Physics

In the present study, we reexamine quasi-elastic scattering of $^{7}$Li by $^{120}$Sn at incident energies E$_{Lab}$ = 19.5, 20.5, and 25.0 MeV. The theoretical results are obtained by using both a phenomenological model and double-folding model (DFM) within the framework of an optical model. We also investigate the role of the surface potential, which is connected to direct reactions. The agreement between the phenomenological model and the DFM is shown in comparison to each other in connection with the experimental data. This comparison provides information about the similarities and the differences between the models used during the calculations.

A Characteristic Particle Length, Mark D. Roberts

Turkish Journal of Physics

It is argued that there are characteristic intervals associated with any particle that can be derived without reference to the speed of light $c$. Such intervals are inferred from zeros of wavefunctions, which are solutions to the Schrödinger equation. The characteristic length is $\ell=\beta^2\hbar^2/(8Gm^3)$, where $\beta=3.8\dots$; this length might lead to observational effects on objects the size of a virus.

New Approach Of Modifying The Anatase To Rutile Transition Temperature In Tio2 Photocatalysts, Ciara Byrne, Rachel Fagan, Steven Hinder, Declan Mccormack, Suresh Pillai

Articles

In pure synthetic titanium dioxide, the anatase to rutile phase transition usually occurs between the temperatures of 600 °C and 700 °C. The phase transition temperature can be altered by various methods, including modifying the precursor or by adding dopant or modifier to the TiO2 sample. In an attempt to investigate the phase transition using aromatic carboxylic acids, the current study examines the impact of increasing concentrations of benzoic acid (1 : 0, 1 : 1, 1 : 4 and 1 : 8 molar ratio TiO2 : benzoic acid) on anatase to rutile transition. The samples were characterised using Raman …

Tessellations: An Artistic And Mathematical Look At The Work Of Maurits Cornelis Escher, Emily E. Bachmeier

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the mathematics of tessellations and their artistic potential. Whenever I have seen tessellations, I always admire them. It is baffling how such complicated shapes can be repeated infinitely on the plane. This research aimed to increase the amount of tessellation information and activities available to secondary mathematics teachers by connecting the tessellations of Maurits Cornelis Escher with their underlying mathematics in order to use them for teaching secondary mathematics. The overarching premise of this study was to create something that would also be beneficial in my career as a secondary …

Work With Me Here: Collaborative Learning In The Legal Research Classroom, Susan Azyndar

Journal Articles

From the Article

This article seeks to contribute to this pedagogical project by seeking out links between Millennial student needs, legal workplace expectations, and thoughtful pedagogical strategies; it centers on the important legal skill of collaboration.

Using Plant-Soil Feedbacks To Predict Plant Biomass In Diverse Communities, Andrew Kulmatiski, Karen H. Beard, Josephine Grenzer, Leslie E. Forero, Justin Heavilin

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

It has become clear that plants can create soils that affect subsequent plant growth. However, because plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) are typically measured in monoculture experiments, it remains unclear to what extent PSFs affect plant growth in communities. Here we used data from a factorial PSF experiment to predict the biomass of 12 species grown in 162 plant community combinations. Five different plant growth models were parameterized with either monoculture biomass data (Null) or with PSF data (PSF) and model predictions were compared to plant growth observed in communities. For each of the five models, PSF model predictions were closer to …

Assessing Time Served, Patrick A. Woods

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

This article examines the utility of a new way of determining when increased punishment should be imposed pursuant to "three strikes" laws or other recidivist enhancements. In the past two years, Congress and the United States Sentencing Commission are each considering criminal justice reform measures that would use the length of time an offender spent incarcerated as a proxy for the seriousness of his earlier criminal conduct. While this reform seems sound at first glance, this article ultimately concludes that its incorporation into current state and federal sentencing laws must be done carefully, if at all, and that doing so …

Law, Religion, And The Purpose Of The University, John D. Inazu

Scholarship@WashULaw

This brief essay explores the relationship between law, religion, and the university. Religion asks the fundamental questions of human existence. Law is the means through which we impose our beliefs on our fellow citizens. The particulars of law and religion expose the differences among us. We respond to those differences with chaos, control, or coexistence. Coexistence requires tolerance, humility, and patience, and it requires institutions to habituate these practices within us. It is not clear that this country presently has such institutions, but if we are discover them among us, the university is one possible contender. The people, place, and …

Structure, Regulation, And Inhibition Of The Quorum-Sensing Signal Integrator Luxo, Hande Boyanci, Tayyab Shah, Amanda Hurley, Robert Fairman

Biology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Montana K-8 Teacher Preparation In Stem, Jeanette Murnane

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The goal of this thesis is to find out how K-8 teacher education programs in Montana can

be improved to better prepare teachers to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts. While research has been done on what types of courses best prepare teachers for the classroom, my study focuses on how well Montana colleges and universities prepare K-8 certified teachers to teach STEM concepts. A survey was sent out to K-8 certified teachers across Montana to determine how well new teachers can utilize the technology available in their classrooms and what concepts within Common Core Math and Next …

Missoula’S Homeless Children: Effects Of Homelessness On Mental, Emotional And Social Health, Sarah L. Shapiro

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Missoula’s Homeless Children: Effects of Homelessness on Mental, Emotional and Social Health

The mental, emotional, and social health of children are greatly affected by being homeless. Being homeless as a child could effect a person’s coping skills and lead to mental health issues that increase the likelihood of substance abuse , suicide attempts, or adult homelessness. The purpose of this research project is to explore the negative effects of homelessness on Missoula children, and to identify services that could be useful in combating those effects. Methods for this project, included two data collection strategies. First, a literature review was completed …

An Architecture Of Movement: The New Headquarters For Usa Dance, Bethany Robertson

Architecture Theses and Projects

By providing a headquarters for the national ballroom dance organization in the United States, this project will provide a practice, performance, and interaction space for all levels of dancers. Furthermore, this building can also provide a social space both inside and out not only for the dancers who use the building, but for the local residents.