Digital Commons Network^™

Before Disaster Strikes: An Analysis Of Emergency Management Planning, Reagan Moody

Honors Theses

I have always been inspired by the outpouring number of volunteers that arrive to the scene of a natural disaster, ready to help in any way possible. With or without adequate training, these people arrive with warm hearts and helping hands. I admire their valiant efforts, however, it has prompted me to ask the question: If our citizens can respond so quickly in times of adversity, how are city governments preparing spontaneous volunteers for emergency management planning? The intent of this thesis is to properly evaluate the emergency management plans implemented in the cities of Baton Rouge, LA, Spokane, WA, …

Examination Of Communication And Social Media Usage Among Socially Anxious Individuals, Greyson K. Young

Honors Theses

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) affects between 6.8% and 12.1% of the U.S. population. At the core of SAD is the fear of social situations, and in particular, the fear of others’ positive (FPE) and negative (FNE) evaluation. Studies have found that social media and online/indirect communication are commonly used to minimize the experience of stress, anxiety, evaluation, and rejection commonly associated with face-to-face interactions. As such, the aims of the current study were 1) to characterize communication and social media use among socially anxious college students, and 2) to examine associations between social media use and FNE and FPE. The …

Hit Me With Your Best Shot: A Critical Analysis Of The Resistance To Vaccine Utilization, Katherine Coleman Sistrunk

Honors Theses

Vaccines have provided humans protection from infectious diseases for centuries, yet the vaccination rate in the United States fails to come near one-hundred percent, allowing vaccine-preventable diseases to re-emerge in communities across the nation. Vaccines have proven to be a safe and effective method in preventing the spread of infectious disease, but vaccine resistance remains high due to false information perpetuated by anti-vaxxers, greatly impacting the vaccination rate in our country. This thesis, by means of a literature review, provides a critical analysis the resistance to vaccine utilization in the United States to determine what policy recommendations and interventions can …

Influence Of Multidisciplinary Educational Experiences On Engineering And Nutrition Student Perceptions On Collaboration And Soft Skill Development, Caroline Kay Crosby

Honors Theses

Solutions to most real-world challenges require collaborative efforts by multidisciplinary teams to provide the breadth of perspective and expertise needed to create effective solutions. Interprofessional education is a pedagogical practice used to provide students with opportunities to broaden their professional perspective by encouraging students to work as a part of a diverse team to solve complex problems. This process strengthens discipline-specific skill development, problem-solving skills, and appreciation for other disciplines while providing experiences that are attractive to potential employers. Many students are interested in food science, but no food science courses are offered at the university where this study took …

A Marketing Campaign For Hunters’ Home: A Home Of Hope Through Integrated Marketing Communications: Secondary And Primary Research Studying The Target Audience, The Hunting And Conservation Community, To Create An Imc Campaign Focused On Fundraising And Awareness, Josie Corinna Slaughter

Honors Theses

Through research and evaluation of current and experimental nonprofit marketing methodologies and practices designed to raise awareness and attract donors, this project’s purpose is to define and create a marketing campaign for a children’s home, named Hunters’ Home: A Home of Hope, in Namibia. Adopted and unique strategies will be identified to target the audience of hunters to help meet the specific needs of the home, which was founded by Marina Lamprecht, a person widely known and respected by participants in hunting and conservation. To create the marketing campaign, secondary and primary research was conducted. Secondary research was done through …

Investigating The Binding Of Fentanyl And Fentanyl Analogs To The Μ-Opioid Receptor, Marissa Anne Teske

Honors Theses

In 1960, Dr. Paul Janssen of the Janssen Company synthesized fentanyl. It is a rapid-acting analgesic that, unlike similar analgesics around that time, did not have negative cardiovascular effects. Fentanyl, and its derivatives, are strong μ-opioid receptor agonists. Rates of fatal opioid overdoses involving fentanyl have increases rapidly over the past two decades Due to these increasing concerns related to fentanyl and its derivatives, it is important to not only study fentanyl and its known derivatives, but to also study and understand potential new derivatives and how all these compounds interact with the opioid receptors. This study examined the interactions …

The Protective Role Of Estrogen On Hiv-1 Mediated Neurotoxicity, Macklin Licamied

Honors Theses

The prevalence of HIV among men have been in a steady inclination over the last several decades, yet the accelerated infection rate among older women is considerably concerning. Not only does the HIV virus affect the immune system but it also affects the central nervous system. One of its viral proteins, Tat, acts as an excitotoxin and disrupts the cell’s membrane potential by increasing the concentration of Ca2+ inside the cell. This influx of calcium ions leads to apoptosis and secretion of the cell’s contents into the surrounding area. Macrophages, along with other innate immune components, gather and induce the …

Archaeological Investigations At Rowan Oak: Searching For Evidence Of Antebellum Slavery, Arianna Faith Kitchens

Honors Theses

Although best-known as the home of William Faulkner, Rowan Oak and a number of associated outbuildings were built by Robert Sheegog, a wealthy individual who owned multiple plantations and dozens of slaves. Sheegog held seven to nine slaves at Rowan Oak, renting some out to the University of Mississippi for labor-intensive tasks such as constructing the Lyceum and other campus buildings. Although it is known that enslaved individuals lived and worked on the property of Rowan Oak, the location of their housing remains a mystery. Through the use of archaeological survey methods, structural evidence beyond the extant buildings has been …

Time- And Ph- Dependent Proteolysis Of Engineered Proteins By Collagenase, Hunter Berry

Honors Theses

Pleiotropic effects from oral administration of anti-inflammatory drugs limit their effectiveness. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a novel self-assembling protein-based hydrogel for in situ delivery of NSAIDs at the site of chronic inflammation. Since inflammation causes acidification and activation of collagenases in the inflamed tissue, we have designed the hydrogel to respond to both of these queues to effectively deliver drug at the site. Self-assembly of the protein hydrogel exploits the high affinity and specific interaction between the protein calmodulin (CaM) and its specific binding peptide, M13. The two components of the hydrogel, CCLP and PCLP …

When Words Are Not Enough: The Development Of Human Trafficking In Venezuela Under The Maduro Administration, Holly Prather

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the role the Maduro administration has played in the development of human trafficking in Venezuela. It does so by employing a qualitative analysis of primary sources such as governmental and NGO reports to determine the links between the Maduro administration and the increase of human trafficking. I argue that the Maduro administration has chosen to employ social policy, the Misiones (Misiones), as the state’s approach to human trafficking instead of enforcing anti-trafficking laws. This, in conjunction with unsound economic policy in response to the 2014 decline in oil prices, gives the Maduro administration a substantial role in …

The Nola Development: Stormwater Management And Green Alternative Designs, Davis P. Odle

Honors Theses

In the design for any development, the management of storm and wastewater is crucial in creating a viable product. The NOLA complex is a development in Oxford, MS that consists of residential as well as commercial units. The stormwater management systems designed for this facility include: an underground storage device, separate ductile iron pipes for the stormwater and wastewater outflows, a rain garden for green alternative storage. The underground storage system is designed for the 500-year storm and to fit under the southwest parking lot on the site. The stormwater outflow pipe will be designed for the 100-year storm, while …

Safety Considerations For The Design Of Modern Elevator Systems, Abhijaya Shrestha

Honors Theses

The main purpose of this work is to perform an analysis on elevator safety considerations in the United States. This report introduces the development of elevators through its history, definitions and commonly used concepts in the elevator industry. Elevators are already an important part of day-to-day life for thousands of people and have significant role to play in the future of urbanization due to increasing population density and decreasing real estate. Elevators not only make vertical transportation convenient, but also play an important role in providing accessibility for people with disabilities; so, its safe and reliable operation is very crucial. …

Lost In Translation: Challenges And Solutions To Language Barriers In Healthcare In Mississippi, Galina Ostrovsky

Honors Theses

Language barriers can impede access to healthcare and compromise quality of care for limited English proficiency (LEP) patients. Although a rights-based framework would suggest and federal mandates require healthcare facilities to provide language access services, multiple factors result in the persistence of language barriers in healthcare. As the literature review shows, these factors include limitations in policy, enforcement, standardization, resources, and ability to recruit and retain professional interpreters. This thesis uses a multi-method case study entailing Mississippi in general and information from two specific sites, a rural Delta county and an urban central county, to assess the issue of language …

Cronbach’S Alpha Under Insufficient Effort Responding: An Analytic Approach, Stephen W. Carden, Trevor R. Camper, Nicholas S. Holtzman

Psychology: Faculty Publications

Surveys commonly suffer from insufficient effort responding (IER). If not accounted for, IER can cause biases and lead to false conclusions. In particular, Cronbach’s alpha has been empirically observed to either deflate or inflate due to IER. This paper will elucidate how IER impacts Cronbach’s alpha in a variety of situations. Previous results concerning internal consistency under mixture models are extended to obtain a characterization of Cronbach’s alpha in terms of item validities, average variances, and average covariances. The characterization is then applied to contaminating distributions representing various types of IER. The discussion will provide commentary on previous simulation-based investigations, …

Development And Characterization Of Polyethylene Terephthalate (Pet)-Cotton Natural Fiber-Reinforced Composites From Waste Materials, Israel Alejandro Carrete

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Unprecedented levels of production and consumption have caused a rapid exhaustion of the Earth's virgin resources, which is coupled with a fast accumulation of contaminants in the form of solid waste, especially in landfills. Two significant landfill constituents come from textile waste and discarded plastic bottles. Since there is a finite amount of space that can be feasibly used for landfills, solutions that make use of these post-consumer products are imperative. This study presents one possible solution by using surface modifications of cotton fibers to produce a natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite (NFRPC) from post-consumer textile waste and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) …

Scientific Islanders: Pacific Peoples, American Scientists, And The Desire To Understand The World, 1800-1860, Roberto Jesus Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Between 1800 and 1860, Pacific Islanders sought answers to questions about the mechanics and origins of the universe, just as Americans did. But the systems of thought created by Natives addressing these matters generally would not have been considered "scientific" by Americans. Pacific Islanders and Americans, nevertheless, created extensive scientific traditions to systematically perceive, understand, and explain the nature of existence. These systems were rooted in religion, social dynamics, and other cultural norms, and manifested themselves in writing, artwork, explorations, and technologies that benefited their societies. Thus, this Thesis argues that the practice of scientific methods was not simply a …

Nietzsche And The Aestheticization Of The Natural Sciences, Sean Dillard

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis is an exploration of Friedrich Nietzsche's dictum that life only justifies itself aesthetically. Given his attempt to physiologize aesthetics, this project attempts to show the value of the parallels and reciprocities between taste, style, beauty, and good health for scientists - especially natural scientists. It hopes to show something valuable about what late-modern scientific practice lost, especially in the context of the departmentalization of the sciences in universities. Specifically, I argue, disentangling scientific practice from philosophical concerns - the death of what used to be natural philosophy - has resulted in worse scientists, worse scientific practice, and a …

Exploring The Association Between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And Social Connectedness With Quality Of Life Among High-Risk Hispanic Women Living In The U.S.-Mexico Border: A Mixed Methods Approach, Tamanna Ferdous

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Quality of life (QOL) is an emerging significant public health concern. The QOL among the women living in the U.S.-MX border region is different than that of other parts of the United States. The unique characteristics of U.S.-MX border include lower socioeconomic status, immigration and acculturation challenges. These along with social, structural, and regional norms place individuals, particularly women, living in this region at high-risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder (SUD), weakened social connectedness, and domestic violence, which in turn affect their QOL. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of PTSD and social …

Psychologically Satisfying: Exploring Client Experiences With Dynamics Of Shared Decision-Making In Care From Prescribing Psychologists, Ashley Graboski-Bauer

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the field of prescribing psychology as it is practiced by providers and experienced by clients in New Mexico. Prescribing psychology is an emerging field of hybrid mental healthcare in which psychologists with special post-doctoral training can obtain prescriptive authority in certain jurisdictions. The study sought to take a client-centered approach to investigating the type and quality of care provided to clients by prescribing psychologists (RxPs). This study included a provider survey of knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding health literacy and shared decision-making, and a client survey of satisfaction and experiences with care …

The Rhetoric Of Low Carbon Energy Technology Scientists And Engineers, Nicolas Cesar Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Scholars in the burgeoning field of Energy Communication have successfully contributed to communication studies and environmental communication practice. However, energy communication scholars have largely focused on energy of media coverage, corporate communication and decision making in the context crisis. While rich and informative, this tendency has left quotidian aspects of energy communication rather understudied. As such, this Thesis contributes to the understanding of the internal, non-untechnical rhetoric of low carbon energy technology (LCET) scientists and engineers (herein LCET professionals). Textual analysis was used to examine LCET professionals' internal rhetoric at professional trade conferences and through long form, semi-structured interviews. Wind …

Unveiling Veiled Voices: Understanding The Experiences Of Muslim Women Who Wear The Hijab In Public Spaces, Mohammed Sakip Iddrisu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In view of the invisibility of Arab(ic)-Islamic rhetorics and the dominance of scholarship on Christian rhetorical traditions in rhetorical studies alongside an increased visibility of public rhetorics about Islamic women in American politics, this research explores the experiences and performances of veiled Muslim women in public spaces. While much of rhetorical scholarship on public spheres focuses on public talk or the circulation of public texts, in this study, I, together with six veiled Muslim women in El Paso, Texas, explore how veiled Muslim women navigate the hijab's visibility as a marker of difference with strangers-simultaneously performing and provoking performative public …

Implications Of Dual Language Scoring Of The Preschool Language Scale-Fifth Edition Spanish For Bilingual Preschool-Aged Children, Callie Mae Mathis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: Spanish versions of standardized tests used in language evaluations are not well studied. The purpose of this study is to further examine the appropriateness of the Preschool Language Scale, Fifth Edition Spanish (PLS-5S) in a U.S./Mexico border community by comparing the Dual language scores versus the Spanish only scores and comparing the normative sample of the PLS-5S to the population of El Paso, TX.

Method: Twenty-three bilingual preschool aged children in the El Paso area completed the Spanish Edition of the PLS-5S. The parents and teachers of the participants completed two language proficiency questionnaires (Bilingual Input Output Survey; BIOS …

Ct Automated Exposure Control Using A Generalized Detectability Index, P. Khobragade, Franco Rupcich, Jiahua Fan, Dominic J. Crotty, Naveen M. Kulkarni, Stacy D. O'Connor, W. Dennis Foley, Taly Gilat Schmidt

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

Identifying an appropriate tube current setting can be challenging when using iterative reconstruction due to the varying relationship between spatial resolution, contrast, noise, and dose across different algorithms. This study developed and investigated the application of a generalized detectability index (d'_gen) to determine the noise parameter to input to existing automated exposure control (AEC) systems to provide consistent image quality (IQ) across different reconstruction approaches.

Methods

This study proposes a task‐based automated exposure control (AEC) method using a generalized detectability index (d'_gen). The proposed method leverages existing AEC methods that are based on a prescribed …

Spatial And Temporal Influences On Discrimination Of Vibrotactile Stimuli On The Arm, Valay Shah, Maura Casadio, Robert A. Scheidt, Leigh A. Mrotek

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Body–machine interfaces (BMIs) provide a non-invasive way to control devices. Vibrotactile stimulation has been used by BMIs to provide performance feedback to the user, thereby reducing visual demands. To advance the goal of developing a compact, multivariate vibrotactile display for BMIs, we performed two psychophysical experiments to determine the acuity of vibrotactile perception across the arm. The first experiment assessed vibration intensity discrimination of sequentially presented stimuli within four dermatomes of the arm (C5, C7, C8, and T1) and on the ulnar head. The second experiment compared vibration intensity discrimination when pairs of vibrotactile stimuli were presented simultaneously vs. sequentially …

The Effectiveness Of The Natural Ear On Adults Ability To Accurately Match Pitch, Kendra Nicole Rosales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Many theories, such as oral motor, perceptual, and sensorimotor deficits, have been posited to explain inaccurate pitch matching abilities. The current study identifies with the sensorimotor deficit theory and found it to be the most plausible explanation for inaccurate singing abilities. The Natural Ear (NE) program was designed to process voice productions in real-time and filter out the discordant harmonics, allowing a person to hear only their F0.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Natural Ear program in increasing pitch matching accuracy in singers.

Methods: A total of 50 participants were included …

Assessing Rotifer Diversity In Desert Wetlands Through Sediment Rehydration And Amplicon Sequencing, Sergio David Samaniego

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Species living in temporary wetlands can be threatened due to the instability and fluctuation of rising temperatures and evaporation caused by global climate change. In addition, regions characterized by dry climates, where most temporary wetlands exist, are expected to have a stronger response to climate change than other ecosystems. While most organisms are not able to respond to rapid changes in their environments, others like freshwater invertebrates have shown great resiliency to short- and long-term ecological disturbances. Rotifers for example, inhabit temporary waters that remain desiccated for indefinite periods of time making assessment of rotifer biodiversity challenging. Fortunately, many microinvertebrates …

Grammatical Error Types Using A Picture Description Task In English And Spanish With Young Children, Lisa Valles

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The current study was part of a larger project examining diagnostic accuracy of various assessment tools for bilingual children living in a border community. The purpose of this project was to examine language sample measures in young children using a picture description task (Eisenberg & Guo, 2013) by answering the following questions:

1. What were the frequent types of errors exhibited by young children in English and Spanish?

2. Were there distinct types of grammatical errors across languages in bilingual children?

Methods: Participants were recruited from a large city on the US/Mexico border. There were 47 participants in the …

Amplification Vs The Natural Ear: A Test On The Effectiveness Of The Natural Ear On Adults Ability To Match Pitch In Song, Celeste Orozco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Singing is a natural enjoyment of life; however, individuals tend to isolate themselves from this enjoyment due to their inability to match pitch accurately. A new technology, the Natural Ear provides altered auditory feedback to the user while singing. It is hypothesized that this feedback may aid in the userâ??s ability to match pitch.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of the Natural Ear to amplification and no amplification conditions on pitch matching accuracy in song.

Study Design: This study used a complex counterbalance within-subjects design.

Methods: 50 adults from the El Paso Metropolitan …

Experiences Of Formal Caregivers Providing Dementia Care To American Indians, Damon Grew Peter Syphers, C.J. Schumaker, Ronald P. Hudak

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a significant public health concern for all elders in the United States. It is a particular concern for the American Indian (AI) population, which is one of the fastest aging populations in the United States and the smallest, most underrecognized, and most culturally diverse group in the country. A formal caregiver understanding of AD in the AI population is scarce. This phenomenological study was designed to discern what is known about AD in the AI population by exploring the cultural beliefs and experiences of formal caregivers who provide care for AI dementia patients. Specifically, this study …

Socialization Agents That Puerto Rican College Students Use To Make Financial Decisions, Enid Alvarez, Steven Tippins

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Using consumer socialization theory as theoretical framework, the purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was to identify the information sources that Puerto Ricans college students use to gather financial knowledge. A sample of 198 Puerto Rican college students answered a portion of the College Student Financial Literacy Survey. The research question addressed the preference of four financial information sources, including parents, peers, media, and school. A combination of descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, repeated-measures analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression confirmed that participants preferred to gather financial knowledge from parents. Researchers, educators, and policymakers may use this …