Digital Commons Network^™

Magnetoresistance Anisotropy And Transport Properties Of Tungsten Ditelluride, Laxman Raju Thoutam

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The quest for the materials showing high magnetoresistance values is ongoing and scientists come up with new methods and materials to harness their vast potential in modern electronic and sensing applications. Extreme large magnetoresistance (XMR) was recently discovered in tungsten ditelluride (WTe₂), triggering extensive research on this material regarding the electronic properties and the origin of XMR. WTe₂ being a layered compound with metal layers sandwiched between adjacent insulating chalcogenides layers is considered to be electronically two dimensional (2D), but the findings of this dissertation reveal interesting three dimensional (3D) electronic properties with a small temperature dependent mass anisotropy. The …

Managing An Information Explosion : Civilian Administration And The Army Of Louis Xiv, 1661-1701, Robert Fulton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the operations of the civilian administration of the War Department in early modern France during the reign of Louis XIV. Specifically, it analyzes the documents that represent a wide variety of information which circulated within the War Department's administrative networks. I connect these sources to the work of a new group of civilian agents, the premier commis, and utilize them to infer in what manner they were able to effectively manage a rapidly increasing volume of information materials and to influence state development in a profound manner. This examination found all of these sources to be increasing …

Mass Mobilization And The Breakdown Of Democratic Regimes : Egypt And Indonesia In A Comparative Perspective, Testriono

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Why do elite conflicts in new democratic countries produce divergent political outcomes? Under what conditions do elite conflicts lead to the survival or the breakdown of democracy? Previous studies emphasize structural, institutional, and elite factors in explaining democratic breakdown, while overlooking popular mobilization as a factor. In proposing the interaction of two variables, elite conflict and mass mobilization, this thesis argues the divergent levels of the embeddedness of mass mobilization in elite conflict during political crisis result in either the survival or the breakdown of democratic regimes. I examine Egypt and Indonesia because they underwent severe elite conflict but had …

Media's Influence On Attitudes Towards Gay Men, Anna Rossi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis research examines the importance of media in influencing public perceptions. There is little empirical evidence that negative portrayals of gay characters in movies and television shows cause individuals to have negative attitudes towards gay men. I further the research in this field by measuring participants' views on gays, directly showing them a stereotypical or non-stereotypical clip depicting gay men, and then again measuring their attitudes towards gays. I evaluate the claim that the quality of portrayals of gays in movies and television shows influence the viewer's acceptance of gays by conducting an experiment and using a comparison of …

Methionine Aminopeptidase As A Target For The Discovery Of Novel Antibacterial Agents, Congling Chen

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The rise of antibiotic resistance has been an increasingly critical global health issue. Compounding this issue is the fact that the approval of new antibiotics has dramatically decreased over the past three decades. One validated target for the discovery of new antibacterial agents is methionine aminopeptidase (MetAp). MetAp is a metallo-protein that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the N-terminal methionine residue from nascent proteins, a key step required for certain post-translational modifications. Studies have demonstrated that knock-out mutations of the MetAp gene leads to decreased cell viability or even cell death, which strengthens MetAp as a viable target for antibiotic discovery …

Millennial High School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Danielson Framework For Teaching As An Evaluation Tool : A Mixed-Methods Approach, Amy Sipovic

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigated how high school teachers born between the years 1982 and 1994 perceived the Danielson Framework for Teaching as an evaluation tool. Using Strauss and Howe's (1991) Generational Theory as a framework, the study examined what themes Millennial high school teachers used to describe the Danielson Framework for Teaching as an evaluation tool, their perceived strengths and weaknesses of the Danielson Framework for Teaching, whether Millennial high school teachers viewed the Danielson Framework for Teaching as a valid and reliable evaluation instrument, how their experiential knowledge influenced their views of the Danielson Framework for Teaching, and …

Minimizing Total Number Of Tardy Jobs On A Single Batch Processing Machine By Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure With Path Relinking, Panteha Alipour

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Batch processing machines are commonly used in metal working, chemical processing, and electronics manufacturing -- to name a few. Scheduling these machines optimally is a hard task; the number of decision variables used in the mathematical formulations grow exponentially. Consequently, commercial solvers used to solve the formulations require prohibitively long run times. Schedulers struggle to make good decisions due to the complexity of the problem. This research considers the problem of scheduling a single batch-processing machine such that the total number of tardy jobs is minimized. The machine can simultaneously process several jobs as a batch as long as the …

Molecular Analysis Of The Pil Loci Of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, Jenny Wachter

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Piliation is an essential virulence factor for the obligate human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae. PilE polypeptide is the major protein subunit in the pilus organelle and engages in extensive antigenic variation due to recombination between pilE and a pilS locus. pilS were so-named as they are believed to be transcriptionally silent, in contrast to the pilE locus. Despite the importance of pilE in pathogenesis, little is known regarding its regulation. Therefore, through small transcriptome analysis, we have identified a trans-encoded sRNA that was demonstrated to up-regulate expression of pilE. Furthermore, through small transcriptome analysis, in conjunction with analysis of pilS recombinants, …

Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism In Bangladesh : An Svar Approach, Mainul Islam Chowdhury

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the impact of monetary policy shocks on real and nominal variables in Bangladesh using monthly data for the floating exchange rate period from June 2003 to June 2015. Structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models and impulse response functions were used to identify the impact of domestic monetary policy shocks on output, interest rate, inflation and nominal exchange rate. Results from the baseline model suggest that a contractionary monetary policy shock leads to a rise in domestic interest rate and an appreciation of domestic currency. In response to the shock both output and inflation fell but the shock had …

Moving Beyond Personal Responsibility : A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Digital Citizenship Curricula, Kristen Mattison

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation analyzes how the concept of "digital citizenship" is conceptualized and furthered through three freely available curricula intended for use with high school students: NetSmartz, Digital Citizenship in Schools, and Common Sense Media. By employing a critical discourse analysis and examining the influence of sentence structure, collocational patterns, connotation, structural opposition, images and other tools used to craft and forward messages, I determined that the discoursed concept of "digital citizenship" aligns with traditional frameworks of citizenship education in schools, namely that of the personally responsible citizen. Much of the curricular documents are designed through a deficit perspective, making assumptions …

Assembly And Degradation Of A Trimeric Membrane Protein Acrb, Qian Chai

Theses and Dissertations--Chemistry

Multidrug efflux pumps are membrane proteins that actively transport foreign objects out of cells. The active efflux of these pumps is a critical self-defense mechanism that enables the survival of bacteria under hostile environments. Efflux pump AcrB is a member of the Resistance-Nodulation-Division (RND) super family. In E. coli, it associates with periplasmic protein AcrA and outer membrane channel TolC to extrude a variety of noxious compounds out of cell from both the cytoplasm and the periplasm. My dissertation research focused on two aspects of this multidrug efflux pump: the oligomerization process during the biogenesis of AcrB and its …

Optimum Structure Of Cell Components For A Membrane-Less Iron-Ion/Hydrogen Redox Flow Battery, Jayanth Kolli

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The redox flow battery (RFB) stores energy in the form of oxidized and reduced electro-active chemical species which are stored externally to the battery cell, allowing the RFB to have benefits of decoupled control and design of energy and power. Therefore, the RFB is getting intensive attention as one of the most promising and cost-effective systems to store large amounts of energy typically from renewable resources. However, even with the big benefits of the RFB system, the full application of RFB could not be achieved due to the challenging issues such as high system cost and safety issues associated with …

Ortho-Hydroxychalcone : A Molecular Switch And Metal Sensing Fluorophore, Theodore Litberg

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Flavanone and its ortho-hydroxychalcone isomer can be interconverted by changes in pH, making an attractive molecular switch scaffold. The ortho-hydroxychalcone, being an extended aromatic system, can also be utilized as a fluorophore with metal binding capacity. The scaffold can also be dramatically changed from previous studies by exchanging the acetophenone and benzaldehyde derived rings for hetero and extended aromatic rings to determine their effect on the midpoint pH. A variety of methoxy-/fluoro-substituted and hetero-/extended aromatic chalcones were screened in methanol and pH 13.50 buffer to determine if the scaffolds were fluorescent. From a possible 32 chalcones in the two conditions, …

Paleofluid System Structure In The Monterrey Salient Of The Sierra Madre Oriental, Northeastern Mexico, Joshua William Zodarecky

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This project investigates the paleofluid system in a thinly tapering orogenic wedge, and assesses paleofluid system heterogeneity using geochemical analyses of veins and host rock. My goal is to determine the characteristics of paleofluids within a fold-dominated orogenic belt, and to use the spatial, structural and stratigraphic distribution of paleofluid types to assess whether the paleofluid system was compartmentalized within individual folds. Regional structural geometry was characterized by combining geologic maps, digital elevation data, aerial photo interpretation, and cross section balancing and restoration to create new cross sections though the Monterrey Salient. The chemistry, temperature and distribution of paleofluids were …

Parametric Study Of A Fuel Cell Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Powertrain, Krishnateja Yadlapati

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (FC PHEVs) have the potential to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions while providing similar or increased range and fuel economy compared to traditional vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles also potentially provide a method to manage excess power production from intermittent renewable electricity sources. The performance of the FC PHEV depends on the component specifications and control strategy utilized. This thesis focuses on a parametric simulation study to determine the fuel economy for various parameters and drive cycles such as urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS), the highway fuel economy test cycle (HWFET), and SAE J1711. …

Parent Education And Involvement Program As A Support For Hispanic Immigrant Preschool Parents, Luilia E. Palermo

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate Hispanic immigrant preschool parents' educational beliefs and practices while participating in a parent education and involvement program (PEIP) in a United States school. Parent involvement practices have been a hallmark of Head Start programs since the early 1970s. More recently, PEIP has spread to other early childhood programs such as Preschool for All in the State of Illinois as a program requirement. However, not much knowledge exists regarding Hispanic immigrant preschool parents' educational beliefs and practices while participating in a parent education and involvement program. The study findings indicate that Hispanic immigrant …

Parental Stress And Boundary Turbulence : An Investigation Of Parents' Disclosure Of Children With An Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis, L. Bryan Wilcher

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study uses communication privacy management theory (i.e., CPM, Petronio, 2002) as a framework to understand the communication that occurs between parents who have a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis and people outside of the parental dyad. The study focused on the foundations of privacy rules and boundary turbulence for parents of children who have an ASD diagnosis. Overall, the results indicated a great deal of support for the application of CPM in this context. Parents were able to articulate why and when they share information about their children's autism spectrum diagnoses. The results support the investigation …

Peroxygenase Activity Of Cytochrome C Peroxidase, Heather A. Kilheeney

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Heme enzymes catalyze the oxidation of a wide variety of substrates utilizing either molecular oxygen or hydrogen peroxide as oxidants. There is some interest in utilizing heme enzymes in the synthetic laboratory to introduce oxygen functionalities into organic structures due to their specificity and low levels of side reactions. The most versatile oxygenation catalysts are a group of monooxygenases called the cytochrome P450s. However, the cytochrome P450s are not ideal synthetic catalysts since the monooxygenase reaction is quite complex, requiring a co-factor, either NADH or NADPH, and an additional enzyme called P450 reductase. In addition, the cytochrome P450 reactions are …

Persisters And Completers In A Community College Academic Program, Mary Blumenberg Reaves

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the completion, persistence, and academic performance of a cohort of developmental education students at a local community college as defined by specific outcomes, demonstrated by existing student data, over a period of ten years. The study targeted first-time, full-time entering students identified with academic skill deficiencies in reading, writing, and mathematics as evidenced by the student's individual scores on placement tests. This longitudinal ex post facto study focused on first-time, full-time entering freshmen extraordinarily academically underprepared. The study measured and compared the students' completion of a degree or certificate, persistence, and academic …

Phenomenological Studies Of Minimal Extensions Of Standard Model, Nilanjana Kumar

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have confirmed the existence of the Higgs boson, the last missing piece of the Standard Model, making this era a great time to look for beyond Standard Model physics, which can explain the deficiencies in the Standard Model. The research described here is highly motivated by supersymmetry, which appears as an extension of the Standard Model. The phenomenological consequences of that are of great importance and have been reflected in this research. In the first project, the prospects for LHC discovery of a narrow resonance that decays to two …

Physiological Response To Loving Kindness Meditation In College Women Reporting High And Low Levels Of Fear Of Self-Compassion, Lynsey Renee Miron

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Growing evidence supports the clinical utility of self-compassion training to target negative self-evaluation and associated distress. However, some individuals report strong fear and resistance toward self-compassion training, a phenomenon known as fear of self-compassion. The current study utilized an experimental design to examine whether cultivating self-compassion is fear-inducing for college women (N = 50) reporting high and low levels of fear of self-compassion by examining physiological indicators of affect in response to a guided self-compassion exercise. It was hypothesized that engagement with the self-compassion exercise would reveal differential physiological responding between high and low fear of self-compassion groups, where individuals …

Potent Legacies : The Transformation Of Irish American Politics, 1815-1840, Mathieu W. Billings

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores what "politics" meant to Irish and Irish American Catholic laborers between 1815 and 1840. Historians have long remembered emigrants of the Emerald Isle for their political acumen during the 19th century---principally their skills in winning municipal office and mastering "machine" politics. They have not agreed, however, about when, where, and how the Irish achieved such mastery. Many scholars have argued that they obtained their political educations in Ireland under the tutelage of Daniel O'Connell, whose mass movement in the 1820s brought about Catholic Emancipation. Others have claimed that, for emigrant laborers in particular, their educations came later, …

Appeals Court Declines To Consider Immigrant’S Claim He’S Bisexual, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

The Funny Thing About Forced Arbitration And The Cfpb, Joanne Doroshow

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Lesbian Co-Parent Victory In Kentucky, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Servants Of Two Masters? The Feigned Hysteria Over Activist-Paid Directors, Yaron Nili

Faculty Scholarship

Directors of U.S. public firms have been paid for their directorship exclusively by the company in which they serve. Recently, however, activist investors have asked shareholders to elect director-candidates who received a lucrative compensation package from the activist in addition to their compensation arrangement with the company. Incumbent managers and their defenders, such as Wachtell, Lipton, have sharply condemned this practice, terming it a ‘Golden Leash’ that subjects the nominated director to the activist’s control. I explain why these critics are mistaken. Activist-paid directors can be expected to improve corporate performance at poorly performing firms, and the cost of such …

Immigration, Yun Unknown, Andrea Unknown, Andy Unknown

Social Justice Research

Immigration Podcasts:

• Immigration Podcast 1
• Immigration Podcast 2
• Immigration Podcast 3

Impact Of War, Jacob Bulger, Stephanie Spolar, Darby Gain

Social Justice Research

Impact of War Podcasts:

• Impact of War
• Impact of War: The Cost of War
• Impact of War: Final

Incarceration Incentives In The Decarceration Era, Avlana K. Eisenberg

Vanderbilt Law Review

After forty years of skyrocketing incarceration rates, there are signs that a new "decarceration era" may be dawning; the prison population has leveled off and even slightly declined. Yet, while each branch of government has taken steps to reduce the prison population, the preceding decades of mass incarceration have empowered interest groups that contributed to the expansion of the prison industry and are now invested in its continued growth. These groups, which include public correctional officers and private prison management, resist decarceration-era policies, and they remain a substantial obstacle to reform. This Article scrutinizes the incentives of these industry stakeholders …

The Great Balancing Act: The Effect Of The America Invents Act On The Division Of Power Between The Patent And Trademark Office And The Federal Circuit, Samiyyah R. Ali

Vanderbilt Law Review

The United States Constitution grants Congress the power "(t)o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts" by entering into a bargain that drives patent policy: Congress grants a patent to the inventor for a limited time, in exchange for the benefit to society of the invention. The Constitution empowered Congress with broad authority, and Congress has, as in many areas of the law, created several entities that shape patent policy. Despite Congress's creation of the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO"), tasked with the regulation of patent applications and grants, courts-specifically semi-specialized appellate courts-have driven patent policy for …