Digital Commons Network^™

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

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Human Dimensions Of Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus Horridus) Management In Connecticut, Lindsay Keener-Eck

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

Analysis Of A Newly Digitized Long-Term Dataset Of Environmental Observations From Long Island Sound, Jacob Snyder

Master's Theses

Project Oceanology, a non-profit oceanographic educational organization has been collecting data including pH, oxygen, and temperature conditions as well as abundances of benthic invertebrates and near-shore fish catches since 1972 from Eastern Long Island Sound. These data had been stored solely on single-copy paper sheets and were therefore inaccessible to analysis. I digitized more than 100,000 abiotic measurements and 50,000 species abundance and size data collected over the past 45 years, and developed a web-based SQL database housed on the Long Island Sound Integrated Coastal Observing System (LISICOS) server. The database will ultimately become a searchable, downloadable, user-friendly web-based tool …

Cultural Differences In Group Therapy: A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Embodied Experience Of The Cultural Bump, Natalie R. Breitmeyer

Creative Arts Therapies Theses

Utilizing transcendental phenomenology, this study sought to better understand dance/movement therapists’ experiences of the culture bump phenomenon in the group therapy setting. Culture bumps are defined as moments in which two or more people enter a situation with different culturally-based expectations about customs, behavior, beliefs, communication styles, and other norms (Archer & Nickson, 2012). Data were collected using individual inperson semi-structured interviews with five Chicagoland dance/movement therapists who self identified as having experienced the phenomenon of the culture bump while in the group therapy setting. Data analysis was completed using Moustakas’ (1994) adaptation of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method and resulted in …

Parental Perceptions On The Impact Of Adhd Medication Regarding Children’S Inappropriate Behavior And Academic Performance, Amy Vest

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014) suggested that parenting a healthy child brings about a variety of challenges throughout life, however parenting a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) proves a daunting task inundated with unanswered questions and multitudes of stressful situations. The purpose of this research is to study parent perceptions of a child’s ADHD medication to determine if a relationship exists between the ADHD medication, inappropriate behavior and academic performance. The quantitative survey instrument provided the means to examine the significance of the child’s ADHD medication on one day of the parent’s choice within the …

Preventing Obesity And Cardiovascular Disease In At-Risk Youth, Allison Patricia Woolf, Nicole Ashley Bauernfeind, Rachel Katharine Civale, Elizabeth Rose Spellman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The literature review that was conducted focuses on exploring the most effective way to prevent development of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) as a late effect of childhood obesity or risk thereof. Our research focused on the 8-10 year old at-risk and obese pediatric populations and whether the use of interactive educational interventions in the community setting can be of use to reduce CVD development and improve overall health status. Our findings determined that interactive educational interventions early in childhood can improve health outcomes for these populations and prevent subsequent development of CVD. We minimized the inclusion of all research whose evidence …

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 …

Aspects Of Resiliency Among The Lives Of Student Veterans, Sydney Nolan

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This study focuses on aspects of resiliency among the narratives of student veterans; specifically psychosocial difficulties, being in a relationship, social support, and sense of purpose and control. Seven student veterans attending James Madison University participated in the study. Using qualitative interviews, the researcher was able to gather information about the transitional experience of each veteran from active duty soldier, to civilian, to student. The purpose of this study is to identify the key aspects of resiliency that helped these men transition, in hopes that programs can use this information in the future to better assist veterans in their transition …

Out Of The Darkness And Into The Limelight: How Nurse Jackie Betters The Nursing Image, Shayla M. Holloway

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Due to the media’s portrayal of nurses, the nursing image has been

misconstrued over the past few years. Although nurses tend to be overlooked in the

media, there are television series out there that help promote the profession. This

essay considers how the television series Nurse Jackie is positively changing

society’s view of the modern day nurse. By analyzing some of the main protagonists

in season one of this controversial late night drama, one can see how Nurse Jackie

dispels popular nursing stereotypes and enhances the nursing image. Although

viewers may not grasp this shows impact on nursing, this show …

Eighteenth And Nineteenth Century Bassoon Tutors And Their Published Contributions To Bassoon Pedagogy, Gina Michelle Moore

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This research project is a survey of eighteenth and nineteenth century bassoon tutors and their contributions to bassoon pedagogy. Tutors for this project were chosen from the two main schools of bassoon playing and pedagogy during the time centered in France and Germany. Bassoon teachers surveyed will include: Joseph Frölich, Karl Almenräder, Christian Julius Weissenborn, Ludwig Milde, Etienne Ozi, Eugène Jancourt, and Eugène Bourdeau.

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 …

Theatre For The Community: A Practical Application, Megan Larissa Ciszek

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Theatre for the Community: A Practical Application

This paper serves to synthesize and reflect upon my Creative Honors Capstone project entitled “Theatre for the Community: A Practical Application.” The initial steps of the project included research into community based theatre and community outreach. This research was then used to inspire the process necessary for a fully realized production of Annie Baker’s Body Awareness, structured with community collaboration in mind. In this way, Body Awareness’ process acted as my first attempt at the practical application of my research. This paper both acts as the exploration of the concept of creating and …

Small-Animal Models Of Zika Virus, Justin G. Julander, Venkatraman Siddharthan

Animal, Dairy, and Veterinary Science Faculty Publications

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection can result in serious consequences, including severe congenital manifestations, persistent infection in the testes and neurologic sequelae. After a pandemic emergence, the virus has spread to much of the new world and has been introduced to many countries outside of endemic areas as infected travelers return to their home countries. Rodent models have been important in gaining a better understanding of the wide range of disease etiologies associated with ZIKV infection and for the initial phase of developing countermeasures to prevent or treat viral infections. We discuss herein the advantages and disadvantages of small animal models …

Common Goods In Uncommon Times: Water, Droughts, And The Sustainability Of Ancestral Pueblo Communities In The Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, Ad 1100-1700, Michael Aiuvalasit

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Adapting our infrastructure and institutions to climate change is a crucial dilemma for modern society. Archaeologists should be well positioned to address this issue with examples from the past. Yet, too often when we find that cultural changes are synchronous with climate variation, such as abandonment of a region during a drought, we advance causal arguments to what may merely be correlations. I argue that identifying proxies for resource management in the archaeological record, particularly for resources managed by collective action and vulnerable to climate change, can help to address this problem. To test this approach I studied water management …

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

ETSU Commencement Ceremonies and Programs

No abstract provided.

Quantum Chemical Studies Of Noncovalent Interactions And Multicenter Bonds Utilizing Local Vibrational Modes, Vytor Oliveira

Chemistry Theses and Dissertations

Noncovalent interactions play an important role for the design of novel drugs, better catalysts, synthesis of complex supramolecular structures, and so on. To develop new materials, a well-founded knowledge of how to control the strength of these interactions is desirable. Despite the many investigations done so far, a quantitative assessment of the intrinsic strength of most types of noncovalent interactions is still missing. Recently and for the first time, the Konkoli-Cremer local modes analysis was successfully used to probe the intrinsic strength of hydrogen and pnicogen bonds. We extended these investigations to more than 300 halogen and chalcogen bonds. A …

Muon-Neutrino Electron Elastic Scattering And A Search For The Muon-Neutrino Magnetic Moment In The Nova Near Detector, Biao Wang

Physics Theses and Dissertations

We use the NOvA near detector and the NuMI beam at Fermilab to study the neutrino-electron elastic scattering and the muon neutrino magnetic process beyond the Standard Model physics. The particle identifications of neutrino on electron elastic scattering are trained by using the multi-layer neural networks. This thesis provides a general discussion of this technique and shows a good agreement between data and MC for the neutrino-electron elastic weak scattering. By using 3.62e20 POT dataset in the NOvA near detector, we find 1.58e-9 Bohr magneton as the 90% C.L. upper limit. We also find a sensitivity of 8e-10 Bohr magneton …

African-American Males, Part-Time Work, And Persistence, Ami M. Tripp

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The central research question for this study asked how do African-American males perceive working part-time, while enrolled full-time, to have an impact on their persistence? A secondary question asked, what factors influenced African-American male students to persist through graduation? The participants comprised of 35 African-American male college students who graduated Spring 2016. This study was focused on part-time employment and its support of persistence for African-American men. Hence, persistence theory was the most pertinent lens through which to view the literature and the data collected in this study. This study employed a case study research, as it is an empirical …

Dual Enrollment And Rural Alaska: A Qualitative Case Study Examining Student Access And Impact, Corey S. Weiss

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This case study employed an interview process that examined the access rural Alaskan students have to dual enrollment and how it differs from the access of similar school districts in remote areas of Texas. The interviewees consisted of administrators of five school districts in northern and western Alaska and their counterparts in districts in western Texas. The outcome of this study is relevant to dual enrollment research as it provides more data from a region that has been overlooked by researchers and establishes that the school districts have a substantial degree of access to dual enrollment, with no significant differences …

Perceptions Of Effective Teaching Strategies And Assessments Of Critical Thinking In Radiographic Clinical Practice, Christian Raby

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The following dissertation represents research concerning radiologic science clinical coordinators and program director’s perception of student critical thinking skills, teaching strategies and assessment. The survey used in the study was based on Gosnell’s (2010) model that evaluated critical thinking skills in radiography program director perceptions. Results from the research offers a contribution to the field of radiography in general and specifically in clinical practice. The survey was sent electronically through Qualtrics to 523 clinical coordinators employed at JRCERT accredited institutions. A solid 31.74% response rate was reached with a slightly skewed delineation of facility representation (hospital 18.9%, community college 38.41% …

The Mediating Role Of Trauma Symptoms In Teen Dating Violence Victimization, Caitlin Rancher, Ernest Jouriles, Renee Mcdonald, Jeff Temple, David Rosenfield

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

This research examined whether the frequency of recent physical and sexual teen dating violence (TDV) victimization is associated with re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal trauma symptoms, and whether they, in turn, predict the frequency of future TDV victimization. Participants were 104 (49% female) 14 to 17 year olds, recruited primarily from truancy courts to participate in three assessments, spaced three months apart. Adolescents reported on their trauma symptoms, experiences of physical and sexual dating violence victimization and characteristics of their romantic relationship at every assessment. Results indicated that the frequency of recent TDV victimization is related to re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal …

2017 Fall Commencement, Harding University

Commencement Programs

Program for the Harding University Commencement on December 16.

Commencement Speaker: Herb Byrd III

Micro-Architectured Metamaterials: Design And Analysis, Li Ai

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

Metamaterials are engineered materials with unusual properties deriving mainly from their micro-architectures rather than composition. They have attracted increasing attention owing to their tailorable multi-functional properties that cannot be exhibited by naturally-occurring or traditionally-manufactured materials. Materials with a negative Poisson’s ratio (PR) and materials with a non-positive coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are examples of mechanical metamaterials. In this dissertation, metamaterials with negative Poisson’s ratios and negative coefficients of thermal expansion are designed using both heuristic approaches and topology optimization methods.

Firstly, based on a star-shaped re-entrant structure, three two-dimensional (2-D) periodic cellular materials are developed, which can be tailored …

December 16, 2017 (Pages 7547-7666), Pennsylvania Legislative Reference Bureau

Volume 47 (2017)

No abstract provided.

The Twilight Zone: The Confluence Of Childhood Scenes And Future Anxiety, Jongwon Bae

Theses and Dissertations

Jongwon Bae’s paintings reflect his childhood memories as an archive that is to be repressed until it manifests itself in uncertain ways as it becomes confluent with the anxiety about the future.

Measuring Responses To Negative Peer Pressure Using Virtual Reality, Kelli Sargent

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent susceptibility to negative peer pressure consistently relates to maladaptive adolescent adjustment. However, measurement of this construct typically involves a mono- method, self-report approach. The current study uses virtual reality to create an observational assessment procedure for measuring adolescent responses to negative peer pressure. Participants (n = 264) completed a lab assessment, including self-reports of susceptibility to peer pressure, antisocial behavior, dating violence perpetration, and depressive symptoms. Participants also engaged in 9 virtual reality simulations (4 involving peer pressure), which were coded for resistance to peer pressure. Control participants repeated the virtual reality simulations at a 2- month follow-up. Resistance …

Rgb Image-Based Pupillary Diameter Tracking With Deep Convolutional Neural Networks, Chatchai Wangwiwattana

Computer Science and Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Pupillary diameter monitoring has proven successful at objectively measuring cognitive load. This work presents three robust RGB video based pupillary diameter trackers and compares them for measuring cognitive load using commodity cameras. We investigate the use of modified starburst algorithm from previous work and propose two algorithms: 2-Level Snakuscules and a convolutional neural network which we call PupilNet. Our results show PupilNet outperforms other algorithms in measuring pupil dilation, is robust to various lighting conditions, and robust to different eye colors. In addition, this work explores various deep learning architecture for extracting the pupillary response as well as understand the …

Material State Awareness For Composites Part I: Precursor Damage Analysis Using Ultrasonic Guided Coda Wave Interferometry (Cwi), Subir Patra, Sourav Banerjee

Faculty Publications

Detection of precursor damage followed by the quantification of the degraded material properties could lead to more accurate progressive failure models for composite materials. However, such information is not readily available. In composite materials, the precursor damages—for example matrix cracking, microcracks, voids, interlaminar pre-delamination crack joining matrix cracks, fiber micro-buckling, local fiber breakage, local debonding, etc.—are insensitive to the low-frequency ultrasonic guided-wave-based online nondestructive evaluation (NDE) or Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) (~100–~500 kHz) systems. Overcoming this barrier, in this article, an online ultrasonic technique is proposed using the coda part of the guided wave signal, which is often neglected. Although …

Assessing The Impact Of Simulation Role On Anxiety And Perceived Outcomes In Undergraduate Nursing Students, Teresa A. Bates

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

Background: Due to large class sizes and limited resources, students participating in high-fidelity simulation experiences may be assigned to an observer role as opposed to an active, nursing role. It is important for educators to determine if anxiety levels and student learning outcomes are comparable regardless of role.

Methods: A quasi-experimental correlational study composed of 132 prelicensure baccalaureate students was conducted.

Results: There were no significant differences between simulation roles for anxiety levels and perceived outcomes for satisfaction, self-confidence in learning, clinical ability, problem solving, confidence in clinical practice, and collaboration.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that either role is an …