Digital Commons Network^™

Orthodoxy And Protestantism Through The Centuries, Gjoko Gjorgjevski

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The aim of this paper is to describe the history and actual relations between the Orthodox East and the Protestant West. This paper will both examine and show the beginning, the continuation and the present situation of the Protestant-Orthodox dialog, communication, influences, convergences and differences, as well as the disputes and attempts to overcome disagreements. It will give an overview of the most important dialogues and scholarly exchanges over the centuries.

Protestantization Of The Roma From Southeastern Serbia, Dragan Todorović

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The Protestantization of the Roma refers to the recent process of mass involvement of Serbian Roma in small religious communities of Protestant provenance.

The research was conducted using the deep interview method on the basis of a structured questionnaire with baptized believers of Roma nationality belonging to the Christian Baptist Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Adventist Church, and Evangelical Pentecostal Church in the territory of Southeastern Serbia. The sample included both Roma and non-Roma high clergy of the abovementioned religious communities, as well as religious leaders of major religions of the region (Serbian Orthodox Church and Islamic Community).

This paper describes …

The Independent Churches And Proselytism In The Balkans, Kostake Milkov

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The emergence of the new churches in the Balkans is a relatively recent phenomenon, and it is mainly connected with the Evangelical wing of Protestantism. Apart from the Congregationalist missions within the Ottoman Empire from the mid-nineteenth century including the Methodists and to a much smaller extent, the Baptists and the Pentecostals., and their spinoffs, mainly resulting from geopolitical shifts post-World War I, most of the Evangelical missionary endeavors on the territory of Former Yugoslavia began after the fall of Communism, These aspects are the focus of my essay, although some of the conclusions are also applicable to the Protestant …

Modeling The Impacts Of Sea Level Rise On Storm Surge Inundation In Flood-Prone Urban Areas Of Hampton Roads, Virginia, Luca Castrucci, Navid Tahvildari

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Hampton Roads is a populated area in the United States Mid-Atlantic region that is highly affected by sea level rise (SLR). The transportation infrastructure in the region is increasingly disrupted by storm surge and even minor flooding events. The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of SLR impacts on storm surge flooding in the region. We develop a hydrodynamic model to study the vulnerability of several critical flood-prone neighborhoods to storm surge flooding under several SLR projections. The hydrodynamic model is validated for tide prediction, and its performance in storm surge simulation is validated with the water …

Hierarchical Multiplicity Control Methods For Linear Models, Dimuthu Dilshan Fernando

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

HypoThesis testing is a commonly used statistical inference technique on which a statement of the population is investigated through the evidence from a representative sample of the population. With simultaneous testing of more than one null hypotheses need for an appropriate multiple comparison method is essential. With motivation from the study of Bogomolov et al. (2017) we have modified a multiple comparison tree structure to build the required comparisons and focus on controlling the FWER (Family Wise Error Rate) using the Bonferroni procedure. The proposed method has advantages such as controlling the global error rates separately at each level, families …

Auditory Selective Attention Performance In Older And Younger Bilingual Adults, Ninive Corina Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent research has suggested that bilinguals may have enhanced cognitive abilities resulting from the constant management and maintenance of their two language systems. This cognitive advantage has been evidenced in studies showing that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on tasks of visual selective attention. However, very little is known regarding how bilingualism influences selective attention in the perception of auditory information. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of bilingualism on auditory selective attention. A total of 61 participants were recruited to participate and divided into four participant groups: 15 younger monolinguals (between the ages of 18-25), 15 …

Interference Analysis And Mitigation Of Telemetry (Tm) And 4g Long-Term Evolution (Lte) Systems In Adjacent Spectrum Bands, Juan Francisco Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Currently, the telecommunications, radio systems, and many other wireless services in the United States are using the spectrum from the 6 kHz to the 300 GHz frequencies. Although it may seem enough for said systems, as more users and devices are being introduced into the market, the spectrum is limiting the faster introduction of these devices and/or systems. The radio frequency spectrum is home to many transmissions, from amateur radio to cellphone applications, which all share similar frequency bands. By sharing, the number of applications can be increased in a single band, but their performance may be affected. Herein, experiments …

Combustion Joining Of Regolith Tiles For The Construction Of Launch And Landing Pads On The Moon And Mars, Robert Edwin Ferguson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Combustion-based methods are attractive for space manufacturing because the use of chemical energy stored in reactants dramatically decreases the required external energy input. Recently, a sintering technique has been developed for converting lunar/Martian regolith into ceramic tiles, but it is unclear how to build a reliable launch/landing pad from these tiles with small amounts of energy and materials. Here the feasibility of joining regolith tiles using self-propagating high-temperature reactions between two metals powders is explored. Combustion of a 1:1 molar aluminum/nickel mixture placed in a gap between two tiles, made of JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant, was studied in an argon …

Geant4 Study Of Protons - Body Interactions, Omar Hernandez Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Proton beam therapy for cancer treatment uses high-energy protons to destroy cancer cells, a problem that needs immediate attention is the determination of where in the body the protons are hitting, in real time, i.e. during the irradiation. One possibility is to pay attention to the gamma rays produced during the irradiation, and use the information they carry to infer the body part that produced the gamma ray.

This Thesis presents the results of an investigation of the interaction of protons with different body parts. Focusing on gamma ray-producing interactions, the goal is to determine the type of interaction that …

Predictive Modeling On The Piezoelectric Properties Of 3d Printed Functional Nanocomposites Using The Data Analytics Approach, Md Didarul Islam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This paper presents research done on prediction modeling using a data analytics approach to determine various factors affecting the piezoelectric properties of the 3D printed pressure sensors. Previously, the material extrusion 3D printing technique was used to fabricate pressure sensors composed of multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT), barium titanate (BT), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) using simple fabrication and low-cost methods. This sensor produced a voltage output of 725 mV (0.13 pC/N) which is enough for pressure sensing applications. However, a holistic study to determine impacts of all factors was not carried out in the previous model. In this study, the design …

Tunable Surface Interactions In Adsorbing Polymer Solutions, Sorour Hosseini

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A simple formalism is suggested, to calculate the most likely configuration of a finite polymer, between two surfaces on which the monomers can adsorb. Grafted polymers typically enhance the stability of colloidal dispersions, via the long ranged steric repulsion due to the overlap of their polymer brushes, which can be thicker that the typical range of the DLVO interactions. However, if the polymers are adsorbing on the colloidal surfaces, there is the possibility of bridge formation between particles and therefore long-range attractions are induced (a procedure commonly used for the flocculation of colloidal suspensions). The two effects are competing and …

Deep Down, Jessica Granger

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

N/A

A Novel Method For Fabricating Material Extrusion 3d Printed Polycarbonate Parts Reinforced With Continuous Carbon Fiber And Improvement Of Strength By Oven And Microwave Heat Treatment, Md Naim Jahangir

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The study of continuous carbon fiber-based material extrusion FDM printed materials can eliminate the problem of lower strength of additive manufactured part. Additive manufacturing, the process of fabricating complex shaped specimen with a layer-by-layer manufacturing technique, is being utilized in industrial application rapidly. Though the biomedical application may not be literally dependent on strength property, the factor is not deniable for the structural uses of 3D printed polymers. Insufficient neck growth and adhesion between layers are the driving factors of lower strength. The presence of porosity in the 3D printed parts is a major drawback and studies showed that the …

Changes In Fundamental Frequency Of Voice In A Group Of Transwomen Following Voice Modification Therapy, Emily Marquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The term transgender refers to an individual that identifies with a gender that is different to the one given at birth. Individuals that are transgender experience conflict between the gender the individual identifies with and the sex they are born with. Individuals that are transgender may elect to go through a transition process so that their outward appearance is congruent with their gender identity. Part of the transition process may include voice modification therapy. Transgender individuals may seek voice modification therapy so that the outward appearance matches the voice. However, there is limited information regarding the efficacy of traditional voice …

Exposure Of Kidney Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) Plants To Coated And Uncoated Zinc Oxide Nanomaterials Under Different Soil Conditions: Effects On Plant Growth And Seed Quality, Illya Aidee Medina Velo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Soil exposure to engineered nanomaterials (NMs) occurs through the intentional use of nano-agrochemicals, incidental contamination from industrial-waste release, irrigation with wastewater and gray water, or amendment with NM-loaded sludge. Although there are several reports about the effects of NMs in terrestrial plants, there is still a lack of knowledge about the effects of NMs in crop plants and their edible portions.

Among the large list of produced NMs, it is estimated that 34,000 tons of ZnO NMs are produced yearly. Due to their growing applications in cosmetics and personal care products, there is a high possibility that the ZnO NMs …

On Racial Barriers, Kayla Rachel Mehl

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My Thesis examines: the nature of racial barriers, by what means racial barriers manifest in society, and the ways in which we can use racial barriers to evolve toward a more just society. I argue that within particular contexts a look of the Other will construct a racial barrier between racialized bodies. More specifically, when one perceives a threat from a look of the Other, one will undertake a particular-what social psychologists call-self-representation, in attempt to exhibit a particular type of persona they feel is called for in that context. Furthermore, I argue in my paper that racial barriers emerge …

Indios To Vecinos: Identity And Classification In Paso Del Norte, Eric Murillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Identity for Native Americans in the US-Mexico borderlands is still a challenge in many ways. Native Americans in the US-Mexico borderlands often struggle to be seen as such, and many are subjected to a fragmented identity. This research explores how Spanish colonial classification continues to affect Native Americans from the borderlands.

A Survey Of Youtube Video Resources For Helping Beginner Clarinetists Cross The Register Break, Flora Newberry

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The internet is currently a much-used source of information for instruction and pedagogical information among students and teachers. The importance of the internet, specifically video instruction, in the dissemination of pedagogical information, combined with its largely unevaluated body of information, calls for serious study and consideration. It is necessary for the teaching community to understand the impact these resources have on teaching and learning, and how internet video resources can benefit teachers and students. This survey compares current video resources on YouTube for helping beginner clarinet players cross the clarinet register break, to the traditional print resources that make up …

Mapping Complex Fold-Thrust Systems In An Inverted Rift Basin: Indio Mountains, West Texas, Samantha Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study reports on new geologic mapping in the southern Indio Mountains of west Texas, where minimal research has been done since development of modern fold-thrust belt concepts. This study integrated an analysis of structure and the stratigraphy of the region. A stratigraphic column of the middle Cretaceous upper Yucca Formation was measured to 1) compare the lithology to that of the section previously measured in the hanging wall of the Squaw Peak thrust in the footwall of the Indio normal fault, 2) create informal members in the formation to aid mapping; and 3) identify previously unmapped structures in the …

The Protective Effects Of Ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) In Response To Excitotoxicity In Mouse Hippocampal Slices, Mireya Nael Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The development of different neurological disorders has been associated with the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Elevated ROS levels can disrupt the neuronal electrical activity. This phenomenon has been seen during epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, the excess of ROS and development of such disorders have been linked to neuronal cell death partly due to excessive, non-physiological glutamate release. Ferroptosis is a recently defined iron-dependent cell death mechanism. Inducible by a small molecule called erastin, ferroptosis was first described in cancer cells. Erastin-induced ferroptosis differs from apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy, since it leads to different biochemical …

Rapsoda Texana Freestyles Desde La Frontera Norte A South Border Rap, Criseida Santos-Guevara

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bajo el concepto de interseccionalidad, este trabajo transita entre las fronteras de forma física y emocional. La propuesta coincide con la idea de la literatura transfronteriza, entendiendo por fronterizo todas aquellas situaciones que están en el límite del discurso hegemónico, tales como la sexualidad, la maternidad lésbica, el uso del español en los Estados Unidos, el biculturalismo, etc. Para los fines de este trabajo, lo que busco es representar aquello que está en constante movimiento, no solo en lo geográfico sino en lo emocional, cosa que por supuesto se refleja en el aspecto formal. Este proyecto no puede suscribirse dentro …

Development And Characterization Of Novel Materials For The Advancement Of Additive Manufacturing By Material Extrusion 3d Printing, Jose Gilberto Siqueiros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The development of additive manufacturing technologies has been under the spotlight from the past decade due to its enormous potential to disrupt current manufacturing processes. Material extrusion 3D printing (ME3DP) is the most common type of additive manufacturing technology as it experienced an exponential growth after the expiration of the fused deposition modeling patent filed in 1989 by Scott Crump. The large interest behind this technology is generated from the capacity to create complex shapes, rapid prototyping, relatively ease of use, low cost, and high accessibility. The gradual evolution of material extrusion 3D printing calls to become a technology ordinarily …

The Soldier's Journal, Randall Russell Surles

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Soldier's Journal is a military thriller. Camila Mason is one of the first women to qualify as a green beret in the U.S. Army. Here first mission is to deploy to Afghanistan where she faces the memory of her father, a green beret killed thirteen years earlier by an IED. Soon, she begins to understand the environment surrounding her, filled with sexism, ineptitude, and enemies, both foreign and domestic.

Community College Writing Program Administrators: Implementing Change Through Advocacy, Lizbett Tinoco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation, Community College WPAs: Implementing Change Through Advocacy, examines the work and role of Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) at community colleges. Defining the role and the work of WPAs is very complex, and even more so at community colleges since these institutions are very diverse places in regards to programmatic structure and student population. The scholarship of writing program administration has typically excluded community colleges; as a result, my research focuses on including these narratives. Unlike a lot of WPA narratives that often describe WPAs as "composition wives" (Schuster, 1991; Hesse, 1999) who do much of the dirty work …

Design Of Cloud Based Robots Using Big Data Analytics And Neuromorphic Computing, Ashwin Satyanarayana, Janusz Kusyk, Yu-Wen Chen

Publications and Research

Understanding the brain is perhaps one of the greatest challenges facing twenty-first century science. While a traditional computer excels in precision and unbiased logic, its abilities to interact socially lags behind those of biological neural systems. Recent technologies, such as neuromorphic engineering, cloud infrastructure, and big data analytics, have emerged that can narrow the gap between traditional robots and human intelligence. Neuromorphic robotics mimicking brain functions can contribute in developing intelligent machines capable of learning and making autonomous decisions. Cloud-based robotics take advantage of remote resources for parallel computation and sharing large amounts of information while benefiting from analysis of …

We Make Our Own Heaven Here, Allyson Whipple

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The poems in We Make Our Own Heaven Here are grouped around a series of artistic and intellectual concerns. The opening section of We Make Our Own Heaven Here covers a wide range of distances, as well as a number of topics, but ultimately, the pieces are grounded in the variegated landscape of Texas. In terms of subject matter, these are poems of ambivalence and tension. In these pieces, the speaker comes up against the beauty of the natural world, but also the danger within it. The poems in the second section of We Make Our Own Heaven Here engage …

Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, Caley Prunier

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

No Laughing Matter: Failures Of Satire During The 2016 Presidential Election, Jamie Noelle Smith

Honors Theses and Capstones

The 2016 presidential election was so full of unusual characters and unprecedented scandals, that media outlets, from the nightly news to late-night, had to adjust to this new normal in politics. Indeed, not even the jokesters on the handful of political satire shows on television were immune to the necessary changes that all the media had to take in covering Donald Trump. Given how many people tuned into to these shows each week, it is no surprise that the role that political satire television may have played in the election results was fodder for those giving post-election hot takes. Many …

Changing Attitudes: The Impact Of A Disability Awareness Class, Christine Ann Masci

Honors Theses and Capstones

Attitudes towards people with disabilities can be either positive or negative. A undergraduate college course about disability awareness followed a structure focusing on awareness, interaction with PWD, and education in order to make a positive impact on attitudes. The study compared the disability awareness class to a general education humanities class. While results indicated that there was not a significant change in pre and post scores when comparing the classes, there was a significant change in the disability awareness class upon further analysis of data. There are additional suggestions to further the impact of the class within the disability awareness …

Understanding Self-Reported Sexual Violence Perpetration: Correlates And Prevention Participation, Jacqueline F. Klatt

Honors Theses and Capstones

Bystander prevention programs seek to educate individuals on the nature of sexual violence and increase bystander efficacy. This study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bringing in the Bystander (BITB) prevention program through self-reports of perpetration behaviors as well as risk factors associated with perpetration. The bystander prevention program was implemented on a rural mid-sized public university and first-year students were surveyed three times at separate time points (2 weeks, 5 months, and 12 months) after the program conclusion. Results from a correlational and logistic regression analysis show that endorsement of violent peer norms, rape myth acceptance, and rape …