Digital Commons Network^™

The Perception Of The Freshman Transition: Taking A Closer Look At The Freshman Academy, Frankie Jo Lizar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher, student, and parent perceptions of the high school transition program within a Freshman Academy at one Midwest high school using a mixed-methods approach with a convergent design. Interviews were done with teachers that teach primarily freshman students, and perception surveys were used with teachers, students, and parents to answer the following research questions:

a) How do freshman teachers believe the Freshman Academy interventions influence students’ successful transition into high school?

b) What are staff’s perceptions of the Freshman Academy in preparing students for success in high school?

c) What are students’ …

A Silicon Carbide Power Management Solution For High Temperature Applications, Robert Murphree

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increasing demand for discrete power devices capable of operating in high temperature and high voltage applications has spurred on the research of semiconductor materials with the potential of breaking through the limitations of traditional silicon. Gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), both of which are wide bandgap materials, have garnered the attention of researchers and gradually gained market share. Although these wide bandgap power devices enable more ambitious commercial applications compared to their silicon-based counterparts, reaching their potential is contingent upon developing integrated circuits (ICs) capable of operating in similar environments.

The foundation of any electrical system is …

The Impact Of A Positive Environment And Shared Leadership To Empower Collegial School Culture, Ben Pretz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to develop an empowered collegial school culture to systemically improve the function of the academic institution through the impact of a positive environment and shared leadership. When compared to the other middle schools in the district, Eagle Middle School had the lowest math achievement growth index during the 2014-2015 school year. The discrepancy in math achievement is one element that has created a culture problem for the building. Additionally, the building has a reputation of poor customer service and not serving the community effectively. Because of the poor culture the staff had a lack …

Fall Risk In Sedentary, Recreationally Active, And Masters Athlete Older Adults, Felicia Elizabeth Squires

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether different habitual activity levels may affect balance ability in older adults. Balance must be studied as poor balance increases likelihood of falls. This study examined activity levels in older adults and effect on balance ability. Fifty-nine older adults aged 66.5 ± 9.5 participated. Three groups were separated by physical activity level. First group had 13 masters athletes, older adults performing least 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week and competing in nationally sanctioned event within the last six months. Twenty-seven older adults comprised recreationally active group performing at least 150 minutes …

College And Career Ready Through Personalized Learning: Business And Industry Perspective Of The Don Tyson School Of Innovation, Joe R. Rollins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study describes perceptions of Northwest Arkansas’ business, industry and post-secondary institutions as to the Don Tyson School of Innovation (DTSOI) and its ability to prepare students for Northwest Arkansas’ college and career needs. Designated as one of the first schools of innovation in Arkansas through ACT 601 of 2013 by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), the DTSOI employs Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in every aspect of curriculum. The DTSOI represents the first school in Arkansas to hold the distinction of holding both school of innovation status as well as being a public, district- conversion …

Potential Relationships Of Community College Faculty Credentials And Measures Of Instructional Effectiveness: Student Survey Of Instruction And Grades, Marc Alan Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine what, if any, relationship existed when considering instructor credentials in relation to student surveys of instruction (SSOI), instructor credentials in relation to grade distribution, and the relationship between SSOI and grade distribution. The case study college is a two-year rural institution in Oklahoma employing 53 full-time faculty in Fall 2016. Eighteen of those faculty lack the adequate credentials as required by the Higher Learning Commission, the accrediting body for the college. Very little information was discovered verifying the impact of credentials on effectiveness, and what was located was anecdotal rather than data …

Free-Space Measurements Of Dielectrics And Three-Dimensional Periodic Metamaterials, Clifford E. Kintner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the free-space measurements of a periodic metamaterial structure. The metamaterial unit cell consists of two dielectric sheets intersecting at 90 degrees. The dielectric is a polyetherimide-based material 0.001” thick. Each sheet has a copper capacitively-loaded loop (CLL) structure on the front and a cut-wire structure on the back. Foam material is used to support the unit cells. The unit cell repeats 40 times in the x-direction, 58 times in the y-direction and 5 times in the z-direction. The sample measures 12” × 12” × 1” in total. We use a free-space broadband system comprised of a pair …

Experimental Simulation Of A Cross-Flow Rice Dryer, Sangeeta Mukhopadhyay

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After harvest, rough rice is dried, then dehulled and typically milled before consumption. A broad objective of the “rice drying process”, which comprises drying and tempering, is to maximize the yield of “whole, intact milled kernels”, quantified by the “head rice yield” (HRY). Since rough rice is commonly dried using cross-flow (CF) dryers in the United States of America, the aim of this research was to assess the effect of drying and tempering treatments on milling yields when rice was dried in an experimentally-simulated CF drying column. First, because airflow rate was found to be the least-studied “drying variable”, its …

Structural And Elastic Properties Of Degenerate Sno Monolayers At Finite Temperature, Afsana Sharmin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chalcogen-based layered superconductors with a litharge structure such as FeS and FeSe mono-layers undergo structural and superconducting phase transitions that are tunable by doping. Representing another material platform with a litharge structure but without valence d-electrons, SnO monolayers also display a structural ground state with a degenerate rectangular unit cell at zero temperature and a charge-tunable energy barrier that leads to a thermally-controllable structural phase change. Doped SnO monolayers with rectangular degenerate unit cells give rise to two-dimensional multiferroicity. Their two-dimensional elastic energy landscape adopts a basic analytic expression that is employed to discuss this structural transition. The results contained …

Behavioral Intervention Teams: An Exploration Of Team Member Perceptions At Oklahoma Regional Universities, Sheila J. Self

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine Behavioral Intervention Teams from the perspective of twelve team members at four regional universities in Oklahoma. This study strengthened the knowledge base regarding team-member perceptions of Behavioral Intervention Team effectiveness, functioning, resources, needs, state factors, and campus impacts, and added qualitative data to the existing body of literature. Behavioral Intervention Teams were designed to be a tool for preventing campus violence and addressing behaviors of concern through information gathering, analysis, and intervention. While it may never be known how many acts of violence, suicides, or other student issues have been prevented or …

Toward A Legal Harm Principle: Constructing And Applying A Legal Principle From John Stuart Mill's General Harm Principle, Kathryn Alice Zawisza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

My goal in this work is to outline a specifically legal harm principle that is derived from John Stuart Mill’s harm principle in On Liberty. I will do this by providing a close reading of On Liberty and comparing it to what he says in chapter V of Utilitarianism. I believe that these two works provide a foundation for a harm principle that defines the domain and limits of the law. While this goal is not new, I focus on Mill’s general harm principle and the two maxims that he believes make it up in order to construct a relatively …

Paleozoic Sandstones In The Tri-State Region, Southern Ozarks: Tectono-Stratigraphic Sequence Development And Compositional Evolution, The Source And Delivery Conundrum, And The Regional Tectonic History, Elvis Chekwube Bello

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Paleozoic stratigraphic record of the Ozark Region, southern midcontinent has been divided into at least 33 formations, with the most significant thickness of 9692 feet preserved in northwest Arkansas. The potential thickness would have been much greater, but epeirogenic movements and sea-level rise and fall produced regional surfaces of erosion reducing the record. That interplay between tectonics (epeirogenic movements) and eustatic change (transgressive-regressive cycles) preserved in the Ozark sedimentary history provides the basis for recognition of five distinct, but related, tectonostratigraphic units designated TS 1 through TS 5: Late Precambrian-Middle Cambrian (TS 1), Late Cambrian-Earliest Ordovician (TS 2), Early …

Habitat Ecology, Trophic Interactions, And Distribution Of Endangered Himalayan Musk Deer In The Nepal Himalaya, Kapil Kishor Khadka

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to explore and assess the habitat selection, trophic interactions and distribution of Himalayan musk deer. Chapter one deals with seasonal diet analysis of musk deer along with the overlap in consumption with livestock during summer. Microhistological technique was employed to assess dietary consumption. Results showed that Abies spectabilis, Pinus wallichiana, and Berberis species constituted the major portion of musk deer’s diet. Dietary breadth measured by the Shannon index was found higher in winter compared to summer. Although musk deer and livestock shared a considerable number of plant species in their diets, the consumption however was significantly different …

Green Chemistry Oxidative Modification Of Peptoids Utilizing Bleach And Tempo, Jesse Leland Roberts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biotherapeutic drugs, derived from biological molecules such as proteins and DNA, are becoming an integral and exceptionally critical aspect of modern medicine. Compared to common pharmaceutical drugs, biotherapeutics are much larger in size and have greater target specificity, allowing them to treat many chronic diseases ranging from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis. The major issue with protein based therapeutics is that they readily undergo proteolysis, or enzymatic degradation, when administered through subcutaneous injections. Traditionally, biotherapeutic modification procedures have centered on the use of PEG derivatives. This process, called PEGylation, is unfavorable due to the increases in molecular weights of the proteins …

Characterization Of Multiple-Herbicide-Resistant Echinochloa Colona From Arkansas, Christopher Edward Rouse

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Echinochloa species are highly adaptive weeds that have the potential to impact crops in a variety of environments. This has positioned them as the most problematic weeds in a number of USA cropping systems with some species having the distinction of the 'worst herbicide-resistant weeds' in the world. Recent evidence has positioned Echinochloa colona (junglerice) as the most dominant in Arkansas and throughout the Mid-South, USA, especially in rice (Oryza sativa L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) production fields. A history of extensive herbicide-use for management and a lack of integrated or diverse approaches to management have led to rampant …

Asynchronous 3d (Async3d): Design Methodology And Analysis Of 3d Asynchronous Circuits, Francis Corpuz Sabado

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the application of 3D integrated circuit (IC) technology on asynchronous logic paradigms, mainly NULL Convention Logic (NCL) and Multi-Threshold NCL (MTNCL). It presents the Async3D tool flow and library for NCL and MTNCL 3D ICs. It also analyzes NCL and MTNCL circuits in 3D IC. Several FIR filter designs were implement in NCL, MTNCL, and synchronous architecture to compare synchronous and asynchronous circuits in 2D and 3D ICs. The designs were normalized based on performance and several metrics were measured for comparison. Area, interconnect length, power consumption, and power density were compared among NCL, MTNCL, and …

A Study Of The Prevalence Of Gastrointestinal Nematodes In Goats Obtained From Northwest Arkansas, Christine Rose Weingartz

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parasitic helminths have always been an issue in small ruminant production; pathogens that pose great negative impact on goat health and productivity. Insufficient work has been done to document the prevalence of parasitic helminths in the United States, especially in the south and southeast, where the largest goat populations are found.

The aim of this study was to survey the prevalence of infections by gastrointestinal nematodes in goats in Northwestern Arkansas. Gastrointestinal tracts were examined from 41 goats of various locations around Northwest Arkansas. Worm species were identified and population burdens were determined. Coprology was correlated with the actual worm …

Student Voice Initiative: Exploring Implementation Strategies, Blaine G. Alexander

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student voice is the process of allowing students to work collaboratively with adults to produce a learning culture that is conducive for optimum growth in every student. In a traditional setting, the adults make the decisions and the students are passive observers in the learning process. Data has shown that this traditional culture is not advantageous to student learning for all students. Research has shown that students are seven times more academically motivated when they have the opportunity to have a voice in their personal learning process (Quaglia, 2016). This case study centered on the Northeast Arkansas Regional Student Voice …

Agronomic Management Practice Effects On Particulate Organic Matter And Infiltration In A Wheat-Soybean, Double-Crop System In Eastern Arkansas, Johan Desrochers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Improving the understanding of conventional and alternative management practices and their interactions on aggregate-derived particulate organic matter (POM) fractions and soil hydraulic properties, particularly infiltration, is instrumental to soil and groundwater management and long-term sustainability in the Lower Mississippi River Delta (LMRD) region of eastern Arkansas. The objective of this long-term wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.), double-crop (WSDC) field study in a silt-loam soil (Glossaquic Fraglossudalf) in the LMRD region of eastern Arkansas was to evaluate the effects of conventional and alternative management practices, including wheat-residue level, residue burning, tillage and irrigation, on i) POM fractions and …

No.6, December 2017: District Administrators' Perspectives On The Impact Of The Local Control Funding Formula On English Learners, Magaly Lavadenz Ph.D., Gisela Obrien Ph.D.

Education and Policy Briefs

Two years into implementation, this policy brief examines how California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and its accompanying Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) meet the needs of English Learners (ELs). Researchers seek to understand district administrator perspectives on the impact of LCFF for ELs through interviews and focus groups with administrators that represent districts from Northern, Central, and Southern California. Findings reveal that although the LCAP serves as a mechanism to increase personnel and PD efforts to address EL needs, it is still largely viewed as a compliance document that requires alignment with other strategic documents and is sensitive to …

Explaining Strike Outcomes In Chile: Associational Power, Structural Power, And Spatial Strategies, Joel Stillerman

Peer Reviewed Articles

Research on strikes has traditionally focused on how economic, institutional, and political variables shape strike patterns. Recent work examines how workers' structural, associational, and symbolic power facilitate strikes. Building on this research, this article asks, what factors determine strike outcomes? It analyzes four strikes at MADECO, Chile's largest copper manufacturer, across democratic, authoritarian, and postauthoritarian regimes. Using qualitative and documentary evidence, it argues that strike outcomes reflect workers' capacity to halt or disrupt production and to access government allies who can pressure management to settle strikes in workers' favor. Outcomes vary based on the political composition of government, workers' capacity …

Phosphorus Retention In West Michigan Two-Stage Agricultural Ditches, Emily Kindervater

Masters Theses

Input of excess nutrients into a water body can negatively impact ecological structure and function, as well as the economic vitality of surrounding communities, by contributing to eutrophication. For example, phosphorus (P) and sediment inputs from agricultural drainage have facilitated the development of hypereutrophic conditions in Lake Macatawa, a drowned river mouth lake located in Holland, Michigan. Two-stage ditches, an agricultural best management practice (BMP), are used in some areas of the Midwest to reduce N export downstream via denitrification. This BMP simulates a mini-floodplain by replacing a traditional, trapezoidal ditch with a channel that has excavated benches on each …

Brook Trout Behavioral Thermoregulation And Habitat Selection In A Small Michigan Coldwater Stream: Implications For Successful Management, Justin Emory Wegner

Masters Theses

Global warming and conversion of forests for urbanization, agriculture and mineral extraction are increasing water temperatures throughout Brook Trout’s range causing population declines; particularly in populations persisting in marginal habitats and in the southern limits of their distribution. The Brook Trout is an ectotherm that can cope with elevated water temperature by moving to coldwater refuge such as groundwater seeps, coldwater tributary confluences, and headwaters. Availability of coldwater refuge is vital for the survival of Brook Trout populations threatened by increasing water temperatures. I used radio telemetry to study the movement, habitat use, and behavioral thermoregulation of Brook Trout living …

General Survey Of Fructus Psoraleae From The Different Origins And Chemical Identification Of The Roasted From Raw Fructus Psoraleae, Junjun Yang, Jing Yang, Jie Du, Benjamin Feng, Xin Chai, Mingming Xiao, Yuefei Wang, Xiumei Gao

Peer Reviewed Articles

Fructus Psoraleae, a traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for preventing and treating various diseases such as vitiligo, osteoporosis and psoriasis. Coumarin, such as psoralenoside, isopsoralenoside, psoralen and isopsoralen, are important compounds in Fructus Psoraleae. In our study, ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector was employed for an excellent method validation for simultaneous quantification of psoralenoside, isopsoralenoside, psoralen and isopsoralen, which was further applied in performing general survey of Fructus Psoraleae from the different origins and chemical identification of the roasted from raw Fructus Psoraleae in the light of illuminating the transformed rule of psoralenoside and isopsoralenoside. …

The Effect Of Dietary Specialism And Generalism On Evolutionary Longevity In An Early Paleogene Mammalian Community, Samantha Glonek

Masters Theses

This study examines the relationship between relief index (RFI) on first and second mandibular molars and longevity of the genus. The molars were extracted from small-bodied, arboreal mammals during the late-Paleocene, early-Eocene in the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming. This study site is a well-known location to research and study fossil mammals of this time period. The study was conducted and analyzed at the genus level due to the relatively small number of specimens available and identifiable at the species level. Dietary breadth, or how broad or narrow a dietary preference is for a mammal, is an area of concentration within …

Program Evaluation Of A Bundled Educational Intervention To Enhance Implementation Of Professional Exchange Report, Luanne M. Shaw

Doctoral Projects

Communication handover is a source of potential error and risk to patient safety. Electronic-based tools may reduce errors and mitigate risks to patient safety. Electronic tools have been successfully implemented using multiple methods of education and training. Electronic tools vary in functionality and integration with the electronic health record (EHR). A large West Michigan Regional Health System (RHS) implemented a new EHR containing an embedded tool for communication handover called Professional Exchange Report (PER). There was inconsistency in the practice of bedside report by nurses. The RHS planned to use a bundled approach of educational interventions to implement the new …

Surveying The Circular Rep Encoding Single Stranded (Cress) Dna Viral Consortium Found In Invasive Quagga Mussels (Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis) And Sediments Of The Central Lake Michigan Benthos, Nicholas Gezon

Masters Theses

Globalization and resulting increases in international trade has allowed for the movement of species between almost all ecosystems on Earth. The Great Lakes in particular has seen a number of high impact invasive species that have moved in following the opening of the lakes to intercontinental shipping trade. This research specifically focuses on the benthic community of Lake Michigan which has seen significant community shifts including declines of the amphipods Diporeia spp. and the expansion of invasive quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis). Little is known about the viral community in the benthos of Lake Michigan and how …

Whole Grain Processing And Effects On Carbohydrate Digestion And Fermentation, Sandrayee Brahma

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Whole grains are a major source of dietary fibers in the human diet that provide specific nutrients to the gut microbiota and thereby plays a major role in modulating microbiota composition and increasing diversity of the gut ecosystem. A common approach of consuming whole grains is in the form of ready-to-eat extruded breakfast cereals. Studies reported herein established that extrusion conditions not only affected the physicochemical properties but also in vitro starch digestibility, β-glucan extractability and in vitro fermentation characteristics of whole grain oats. Moderate screw speed (300 rpm) led to higher slowly digestible starch (SDS) with an accompanying decrease …

Radiofrequency Processing For Inactivation Of Salmonella Spp. And Enterococcus Faecium Nrrl B-2354 In Whole Black Peppercorn And Ground Black Pepper, Xinyao Wei

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Black pepper has been implicated in several foodborne illness outbreaks and food product recalls due to Salmonella contamination. Conventional decontamination methods for black pepper are challenged by harmful residues or quality deterioration. Radiofrequency (RF) heating reduces the come-up time which allows to design a high-temperature short-time processing to inactivate Salmonella with minimal deterioration in product quality. The objectives of this study were to investigate RF heating for inactivation of Salmonella in whole black peppercorn and ground black pepper samples, evaluate Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 as a surrogate for Salmonella, and assess quality deterioration during RF heating of whole black peppercorn …

Increasing Cis-Lycopene Content Of The Oleoresin From Tomato Processing Byproducts Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide And Assessment Of Its Bioaccessibility, Lisbeth Vallecilla Yepez

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In recent years, health- and wellness-promoting foods have been one of the major focus of consumers; therefore, the food industry is increasing its efforts in developing these food products. Tomatoes, tomato-food products and their byproducts have gained special attention in virtue of the carotenoids-rich source that they represent, especially lycopene (~90%). The role of lycopene in human diet has been highlighted as a result of its direct relationship with the decrease of chronic diseases. Nevertheless, lycopene is water-insoluble making its extraction simple with organic-toxic solvents; in addition, lycopene degrades easily with light, time, and storage. Lycopene exist in nature mostly …