Digital Commons Network^™

Displacement Measurement Using A Laser Doppler Vibrometer Mounted On An Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Piyush Garg

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The railroad network in the united states is one of the best in the world, handling around 40 percent of all US freight movement. To maintain the serviceability and cost-effective operation of the railway infrastructure, regular monitoring is essential. Bridges are a critical part of the railway infrastructure and their timely maintenance and repair are important. Measuring transverse bridge displacement under train loading can assist to determine the bridge condition. The traditional methods available for transverse displacement measurement include Linear Variable Differential Transducers (LVDT). However, irregular terrain, remote and inaccessible locations, and the height of railroad bridges make implementation of …

A Right To Record: An Analysis Of The Legal Issues Surrounding Cell Phone Videos Of Police Violence, Katherine E. Milburn

Theses

Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society, increasing the likelihood of being caught on camera. On July 17th, 2014, a cell phone video of Staten Island police officers wrongfully killing Eric Garner reignited a national controversy on the nature of police violence, and set off a wave of citizen-surveillance through cell phones. By reviewing prior 1st and 4th Amendment court cases, I argue that citizens do indeed have a right to record on-duty police officers, and police do not have the right to conduct a warrantless search or seizure of a phone. Although a case involving citizen-surveillance of law enforcement …

Expectations, Skepticism, And Language Barrier: A Brief Journey, Anna Yang

Staff publications, research, and presentations

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Funds Of Knowledge In School Gardens, Danitza Hill

Education

Incorporating "funds of knowledge" with schoolyard gardening enriches a child's experience by interacting with their families, local community organizations, school faculty, and other children. A garden community is a social setting and the relationships established by working together cultivate a long-lasting commitment to education. Children are excited to learn, willing to participate, and take ownership of acquiring life skills that are fundamental to pass on from generation to generation. Incorporating "funds of knowledge" provides a venue for those inherited skill sets to be incorporated into the mainstream curriculum of the classroom. The small, yet emblematic, group of children that participated …

How To Guide: Implementing Place Based Learning Into The Classroom, Elisha Howard

Education

New teachers to rural Alaska may have a difficult time integrating place-based education into their classroom while still using the mandated curriculum provided by their school district. Teachers may also have a hard time relating to their students because they are new to the community and culture. There are limited resources to help teachers learn how to implement place-based education into the curriculum given. Therefore, a how-to guide would be helpful to rural Alaska teachers. This how-to guide will include: Part I. Before Instruction, Part II. Adapting Instruction, Part III. Finding Resources, and Part IV. After the Lessons: Assessments.

Translanguaging In Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: Theory To Practice, Madison N. Visser

Education

A new model for second-language learning, translanguaging, is emerging in recent years as an antithesis to the immersion model of language education. Translanguaging views language as a system and encourages the use of all of students' languages and language learning resources in the classroom. Translanguaging stands in stark contrast to the language-separation underpinning of the immersion model of language education. While there exists a growing quantity of research on the theoretical foundations of translanguaging, there is a very limited amount of published application of translanguaging principles to curriculum, especially in the linguistically diverse classroom. This project investigates translanguaging inside these …

Elim's Cultural Values: Reaffirming And Implementing Indigenous Values In Education, Samantha C. Marchant

Education

The curriculum project Elim's Cultural Values: Reaffirming and Implementing Indigenous Values in Education was brought to light through community-based participatory action research. Through informal interviews, survey analysis and discussions with local residents of Elim, Alaska; Elim's Cultural Values were identified and implemented into local curriculum. The Indigenous values of the community of Elim are a combination of both Yup'ik and Inupiaq heritage. These values have been carefully laid out into a set of forty separate lessons, (ten cultural value units) in which educators in the local school can implement culturally relevant lessons that connect with the Bering Strait School District …

The Perimeters Of Familial Affection: Examples With The Metamorphosis, The Sooterkin, And "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings", Summer Dorr

English

This literary analysis--of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Tom Gilling's The Sooterkin, and Gabriel García Márquez's "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"-- asserts that unconditional love is not possible without a supernatural impartation, because all humans have their limitations. To further this claim, I dissect the most sacred of interpersonal dynamics, society's subgroups--the family. The four guiding perimeters of affection are societal influence--its opinion of a person; money, financial prospect; communication aptitude, whether verbal and physical speech that is understood or enjoyed; and, lastly, aesthetics: are they nondescript or pleasant to the eye? These variables determine how long a person …

Culturally Responsive Teaching And Student Self-Efficacy In Alaskan Middle Schools, Scott Christian

Counseling

Culturally responsive teaching may provide practices and dispositions which support closing the achievement gap between minority and Caucasian student populations. For this research, culturally responsive teaching can be considered as teaching practices that address students' specific cultural characteristics. These characteristics include common practices such as language, values and traditions but also include concepts such as communication, learning styles, and relationship norms. The research also presents a definition of culturally responsive teaching that extends beyond curriculum and instruction to focus on student teacher relationships, empathy, and the teacher as learner. This research explores the beliefs and practices around Culturally Responsive Teaching …

Sense Of Place In Military Children's New Community And School Environment, Myriam C. Imhoff

Education

Relocation, or permanent change of station (PCS) is one of the constants of the military lifestyle. Thus, every two to three years, dependent children of enlisted military are uprooted from a place and forced to call a new place home. The goal of this research project is to provide a resource for teachers who have transient military children in their classroom and help them develop a sense of place in their new community and school environment. Scholarly literature on geographic mobility, stress and coping, education, sense of place, and place attachment as well as existing educational resources for military families …

Assessing Receptivity To Empirically Supported Treatments In Rape Crisis Centers, Tonya Edmond, Rachel Voth Schrag

Social Work Faculty Publications & Presentations-Archive

Survivors of sexual violence are at risk for PTSD, depression, and anxiety. There are several empirically supported treatments (EST) that are effective for addressing these trauma symptoms; however, uptake of these ESTs among Rape Crisis Center (RCC) counselors is low. This research project sought to determine counselors’ attitudes toward evidence-based practices (EBPs); their perceptions of the intervention characteristics of three specific ESTs: Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy; and differences in attitudes and perceptions based on agency setting (urban/rural) and counselor education. The Consolidated Framework for Advancing Implementation Science (CFIR) was used …

Natural Histories Of Yup'ik Memoirs, Caroline R. Crecelius

Anthropology

This thesis explores how cultural knowledge is committed to textual form and circulated within and outside of linguistically marginalized communities. Working within a Central Yup'ik context, I have focused my research on collections of Yup'ik elders' memoirs housed within the Alaska Native Language Archive. Published Yup'ik elders' memoirs offer rich descriptions of Yup'ik cultural histories, epistemologies and statements about language, the expression and inclusion of which varies based on the interactional contexts, participant frameworks and funding institutions through which they were produced. This study incorporates both Indigenous and non-Indigenous theoretical frameworks related to the process of entextualization, or text creation, …

Bringing Twygs To Life: Pace Based Lessons In An Adult Esl Classroom, Erica Harris

Linguistics

English grammar is a daunting subject for language learners and teachers alike. Traditionally, grammar is taught in an explicit manner in a teacher-fronted classroom. Rules are given and explained to students, who then practice with drills and example problems. As an alternative approach to teaching grammar, this project incorporates the PACE model (Presentation, Attention, Co-Construction, Extension) and task-based language teaching (TBLT). This method of teaching is a departure from traditional explicit-style teaching, and focuses more on the learner's role in the classroom than on the teacher's role. The PACE model uses stories to teach grammar, in this case English prepositions. …

Baseline Data Of Bird Populations In The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Mexico: A Citizen Science Approach, Teresa S. Anderson

Natural Resources

This project tested the viability of converting a local environmental education group, "Eco Chavos" into a team of citizen scientists. In rural biosphere reserves in Mexico, with few resources and large resident populations, community-based biological inventory and monitoring has the potential to increase the impact of Mexican biosphere reserves by generating scientific information and engaging local residents in hands-on environmental education. To test this, I formed a citizen science birding group and trained them in bird identification, survey techniques, data collection, and data management. The project began in January 2016 and in December 2016 I stopped mentoring the program and …

Afterparty, Patrick M. Werle

Creative Writing Programs

Afterparty is built on the question, “Can one overcome the past?”...I think. While the work flows on a loose timeline, I do not intend the manuscript to be a story. As the poems drift in and out of time periods; childhood, adolescence, fatherhood, I hope that this is also a collection that can be opened in the middle or paged through and still be successful. Of course, as the artist, I would love for people to take the journey beginning to end. And I also believe that poetry collections should be able to have a reader jump in at any …

Language Abilities In Single- And Dual- Language Learners With Autism Or Other Developmental Disorders, Yael Dai

Master's Theses

Parents and providers worry that exposure to two languages will impair language acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental delays (DD). However, limited research to date suggests that language milestones and abilities are unaffected. The current study explored language abilities in toddlers with ASD or DD exposed to one versus multiple languages, prior to any intervention. Results showed slower language acquisition in ASD than DD but no main effect of language exposure group or interaction of language group by diagnosis. This study suggests that bilingual parents can communicate with their children in both languages without harm …

Factors Associated With Violence Against Women In Rural India, Jennifer Lardner

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Acceptability And Correlates Of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use For Hiv Prevention Among High-Risk Drug Users In Treatment, Pramila Karki

Master's Theses

Background

Although people who use drugs (PWUD) are a key population recommended to receive pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV, few data are available to guide PrEP delivery in this underserved group. We therefore examined the willingness to initiate PrEP, the anticipation of HIV risk reduction while on PrEP, and the acceptability of PrEP based on a number of known PrEP attributes among high-risk PWUD.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study of 400 HIV-negative, opioid dependent individuals enrolled in a methadone program and reporting recent risk behaviors, we examined independent correlates of being willing to initiate PrEP. Participants also ranked the …

Factors Influencing Maternal Involvement In Early Childhood: Exploring The Roles Of Maternal Stress And Children’S Narrative Representations Of Mothers, Rahmet Akpolat

Master's Theses

For children from low-income families, parent school involvement can be a crucial protective factor that supports children’s cognitive and emotional development. The present study seeks to explore how maternal stress in early childhood is associated with mothers’ later school involvement and whether children’s internalized positive, disciplinary and negative maternal representations act as potential mediators of this relationship. Currently, little research has been done on the contextual factors influencing parent school involvement in early childhood and this study aims to fill this gap in the literature. The data included 169 children and mothers from low-income families. Mothers completed questionnaires designed to …

Buellia Dispersa (Lichens) Used As Bio-Indicator For Air Pollution Transport: A Case Study Within The Las Vegas Valley, Nevada (Usa), Douglas B. Sims, Amanda Hudson, Ji Hye Park, Vernon F. Hodge, Heidi Porter, W. Geffrey Spaulding

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

Analyses of lichen biomass (Buellia dispersa), when compared to windrose diagrams, shows pathways of airborne pollutant transport across the Las Vegas Valley. The west and north sectors of the Las Vegas Valley contained the lowest target contaminates (e.g., Cr, Cu, Co, Pb, Ni) and the highest NO3− while the east....

Psychometric Testing Of The Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Questionnaire And The Healthy Eating And Physical Activity Behavior Recall Questionnaire For Children, Jane Lassetter Phd, Rn, Christopher I. Macintosh, Mary Williams, Martha Driessnack, Gaye Ray, Jonathan Wisco

Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties for two related questionnaires: the Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children (HEPASEQ-C) and theHealthy Eating and PhysicalActivity Behavior RecallQuestionnaire for Children (HEPABRQ-C). Design andMethods: HEPASEQ-C and HEPABRQ-C were administered to 517 participating children with 492 completing. Data were analyzed to evaluate for reliability and validity of the questionnaires. Results: Content validity was established through a 10-person expert panel. For the HEPASEQC, item content validity index (CVI) ranged from 0.80 to 1.00. The CVI for the total questionnaire was 1.0. AllHEPASEQ-C items loaded on …

Empowering Refugees Through Self-Education, Ayanna Osborne

Master's Projects and Capstones

This project focuses on how to create easier access to education in refugee camps. This is discussed through the ideas of self-directed learning and cooperative learning. As well, the current need for education is explored. Several case studies are provided demonstrating that people without a formal education have successfully been able to seek information and teach themselves. As well, studies are discussed in which individuals have been shown to efficiently seek information and teach one another.

My website provided is still under construction as of 01/2018. It will be completed by the end of the year. Anyone is welcome to …

Hydrological, Sedimentological, And Meteorological Observations And Analysis On The Sagavanirktok River, H. Toniolo, E.K. Youcha, K.D. Tape, R. Paturi, J. Homan, A. Bondurant, I. Ladines, J. Laurio, D. Vas, J. Keech, T. Tschetter, E. Lamesjerant

WERC Project Reports

The Dalton Highway near Deadhorse was closed twice during late March and early April 2015 because of extensive overflow from the Sagavanirktok River that flowed over the highway. That spring, researchers from the Water and Environmental Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) monitored the river conditions during breakup, which was characterized by unprecedented flooding that overtopped and consequently destroyed several sections of the Dalton Highway near Deadhorse. The UAF research team has monitored breakup conditions at the Sagavanirktok River since that time. Given the magnitude of the 2015 flooding, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company started a long-term …

Improved Communication For Safer Patient Care: The Implementation Of Sbar, Amanda Dowden

Master's Projects and Capstones

This Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) quality improvement project aims to improve the consistency of intradepartmental communication between Urgent Care Center (UCC) staff, through standardized SBAR patient hand-offs. The aim is to improve; (1) the consistency and clarity of patient hand-offs, (2) staff experience and satisfaction with communication during hand-offs, and (3) prevent adverse patient outcomes resulting from poor communication. As a safety net hospital, traditionally serving a predominately underserved, and underinsured, multicultural demographic, the UCC is designed to alleviate the Emergency Department (ED) of non-emergent patient encounters, providing a cost effective alternative, whilst adhering to Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor …

Evaluation Of Effectiveness And Cost-Benefits Of Woolen Roadside Reclamation Products, Rob Ament, Eli Cuelho, Monica Pokorny, Stuart Jennings

CESTiCC Project Reports

This research project developed three types of products for study: woolen erosion control blankets (ECBs), wool incorporated into wood fiber compost at a 40:1 ratio (compost to wool, by weight), and wool incorporated into silt fence. The project, supported by Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) and the Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates, compared the wool products’ performance to roadside reclamation products commonly used for revegetating cut slopes: straw/coconut (coir) ECB, wood fiber compost and woven plastic silt fence. Three versions of wool silt fence were developed by the project, yet, even more versions are needed to arrive …

Using Social Narratives To Improve The Healthcare Experiences Of Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Margaret Spindel

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often experience significant emotional stress when they visit a healthcare provider. The focus of this research project was to explore the use of social narratives to help reduce stress associated with this environment. Social narratives are short stories designed to walk a child through a potential situation that they will encounter, that they may not be familiar with, or that they are not currently handling properly. As part of an initial literature review, evidence for the need for additional intervention in the healthcare setting for children with ASD was established. Continuing literature review then …

Navigating Culture: An Exploration Of Domestic Violence And Abuse Resource Provision To The Harrisonburg Iraqi Refugee Community, Kaitlin Michelle Holland

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

There are currently 22.5 million refugees worldwide who have been displaced from their home countries due to war, conflict, or persecution. Of this total, only 1% are recommended for resettlement each year. In recent years, many of these resettled refugees have come from Iraq, fleeing conflict stemming from the Iraq war and ISIS. Upon resettlement, refugees face significant acculturation difficulties that can negatively affect mental health. Additionally, experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can also negatively affect physical and mental health. I researched how the refugee migration experience and domestic violence and abuse affect mental health as well as what …

Postcard, 10th Annual Holizaar At Studio@620 In St. Petersburg, Florida, Studio At 620

Postcard Collection

A promotional postcard for the 10th Annual Holizaar, a holiday art market held at Studio@620. The event features nearly 30 vendors offering a variety of items, including art, jewelry, clothing, succulents, and organic bath and body supplies. The market provides unique gift options for attendees.

2017 Fall - Commencement Program, Office Of The Registrar, East Tennessee State University

ETSU Commencement Ceremonies and Programs

No abstract provided.

Pathological Personality Traits And Neuropsychological Function, Rui Tang

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Traditional categorical diagnosis in DSM-5 has received widespread criticism due to its extreme heterogeneity, poor diagnostic reliability, poor validity and high comorbidity. The alternative trait model introduced the domain of psychoticism, which captures the trait of positive schizotypy. Positive schizotypy has been linked to vulnerability to schizophrenia spectrum disorders, which has shown several areas of neuropsychological dysfunction. Considerable evidence has demonstrated that the dimensional model has superior reliability and validity and ties to important clinical constructs such as neuropsychological function. Little research has tied the dimensional model of personality pathology to neuropsychological domains including processing speed and executive function. The …