Digital Commons Network^™

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Of Online Reviews: The Trouble With Trolls And A Role For Contract Law After The Consumer Review Fairness Act, Wayne Barnes

Faculty Scholarship

The advent of the Internet has brought innumerable innovations to our lives. Among the innovations is the meteoric rise in the volume of e-commerce conducted on the Internet. Correspondingly, consumer-posted information about merchants, goods, and services has also begun to be a rich source of information for consumers researching a purchase online. This information takes many forms, but a major category is the narrative review describing the purchase and experience. Such reviews are posted on websites such as Yelp, Amazon and TripAdvisor, on apps, and on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. The amount and volume of reviews has …

Fire Legacies In Eastern Ponderosa Pine Forests, Caleb P. Roberts, Victoria M. Donovan, Carissa L. Wonkka, Larkin A. Powell, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, David A. Wedin, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Disturbance legacies structure communities and ecological memory, but due to increasing changes in disturbance regimes, it is becoming more difficult to characterize disturbance legacies or determine how long they persist. We sought to quantify the characteristics and persistence of material legacies (e.g., biotic residuals of disturbance) that arise from variation in fire severity in an eastern ponderosa pine forest in North America. We compared forest stand structure and understory woody plant and bird community composition and species richness across unburned, low‐, moderate‐, and high‐severity burn patches in a 27‐year‐old mixed‐severity wildfire that had received minimal post‐fire management. We identified distinct …

Spatial Variability Of Soil Properties Under Different Land Use In The Dang District Of Nepal, Dinesh Panday, Roshan Babu Ojha, Devraj Chalise, Saurav Das, Bikesh Twanabasu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Increased nutrient mining, soil erosion, and limited nutrient management has led to declines in soil quality and reduced productivity in many parts of Nepal. A study was conducted in the eastern part of the Dang district of Nepal in 2015 to assess the variability of selected soil properties of three different land use types (agricultural, agroforestry, and grassland) and to map their spatial distribution. A total of 120 soil samples were collected from 0–15 cm depth and analyzed for soil fertility parameters: pH, organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), boron (B), and zinc (Zn). Results revealed that …

Response Surface Analysis Of Genomic Prediction Accuracy Values Using Quality Control Covariates In Soybean, Diego Jarquin, Reka Howard, George L. Graef, Aaron Lorenz

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

An important and broadly used tool for selection purposes and to increase yield and genetic gain in plant breeding programs is genomic prediction (GP). Genomic prediction is a technique where molecular marker information and phenotypic data are used to predict the phenotype (eg, yield) of individuals for which only marker data are available. Higher prediction accuracy can be achieved not only by using efficient models but also by using quality molecular marker and phenotypic data. The steps of a typical quality control (QC) of marker data include the elimination of markers with certain level of minor allele frequency (MAF) and …

Ponderosa Pine Regeneration,Wildland Fuels Management, And Habitat Conservation: Identifying Trade-Offs Following Wildfire, Victoria M. Donovan, Caleb P. Roberts, Carissa L. Wonkka, David A. Wedin, Dirac L. Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Increasing wildfires in western North American conifer forests have led to debates surrounding the application of post-fire management practices. There is a lack of consensus on whether (and to what extent) post-fire management assists or hinders managers in achieving goals, particularly in under-studied regions like eastern ponderosa pine forests. This makes it difficult for forest managers to balance among competing interests. We contrast structural and community characteristics across unburned ponderosa pine forest, severely burned ponderosa pine forest, and severely burned ponderosa pine forest treated with post-fire management with respect to three management objectives: ponderosa pine regeneration, wildland fuels control, and …

Developments In Agricultural Soil Quality And Health: Reflections By The Research Committee On Soil Organic Matter Management, Michelle M. Wander, Larry J. Cihacek, Mark Coyne, Rhae A. Drijber, Julie M. Grossman, Jessica L. M. Gutknecht, William R. Horwath, Sindhu Jagadamma, Daniel C. Olk, Matt Ruark, Sieglinde S. Snapp, Lisa K. Tiemann, Ray Well, Ronald F. Turco

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The North Central Education and Research Activity Committee (NCERA-59) was formed in 1952 to address how soil organic matter formation and management practices affect soil structure and productivity. It is in this capacity that we comment on the science supporting soil quality and associated soil health assessment for agricultural lands with the goal of hastening progress in this important field. Even though the suite of soil quality indicators being applied by U.S. soil health efforts closely mirrors the “minimum data set” we developed and recommended in the mid-1990s, we question whether the methods or means for their selection and development …

Selection Of Bread Wheat For Low Grain Cadmium Concentration At The Seedling Stage Using Hydroponics Versus Molecular Markers, Caixia Liu, Mary J. Guttieri, Brian M. Waters, Kent M. Eskridge, P. Stephen Baenziger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The excessive accumulation of Cd in harvested crops grown on high-Cd soils has increased public concerns for food safety. Due to the high consumption of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) per capita, high concentrations of Cd in wheat grain can significantly affect human health. Breeding is a promising way to reduce grain Cd concentration. However, a lack of efficient selection methods impedes breeding for low grain Cd concentration in bread wheat. In this study, a recombinant inbred population segregating for grain Cd concentration was used to assess the efficacy of two selection methods for decreasing grain Cd concentration in …

Cover Crops And Corn Residue Removal: Impacts On Soil Hydraulic Properties And Their Relationships With Carbon, Michael Sindelar, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Virginia L. Jin, Richard B. Ferguson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Large-scale crop residue removal may negatively affect soil water dynamics. Integrating cover crop (CC) with crop residue management can be a strategy to offset potential adverse effects of residue removal. We studied: (i) the impact of corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal (56%) with and without the use of winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CC on soil hydraulic properties, (ii) whether CC would ameliorate residue removal effects on hydraulic properties, and (iii) relationships of hydraulic properties with soil organic C (SOC) and other properties under irrigated no-till continuous corn on a silt loam in south central Nebraska after …

Spatial Imaging And Screening For Regime Shifts, Daniel R. Uden, Dirac Twidwell, Craig R. Allen, Matthew O. Jones, David E. Naugle, Jeremy D. Maestas, Brady W. Allred

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Screening is a strategy for detecting undesirable change prior to manifestation of symptoms or adverse effects. Although the well-recognized utility of screening makes it commonplace in medicine, it has yet to be implemented in ecosystem management. Ecosystem management is in an era of diagnosis and treatment of undesirable change, and as a result, remains more reactive than proactive and unable to effectively deal with today’s plethora of non-stationary conditions. In this paper, we introduce spatial imaging-based screening to ecology. We link advancements in spatial resilience theory, data, and technological and computational capabilities and power to detect regime shifts (i.e., vegetation …

Estimating Percentages Of Fusarium-Damaged Kernels In Hard Wheat By Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging, Stephen R. Delwiche, I. Torres Rodriguez, S. R. Rausch, R. A. Graybosch

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is among the most common fungal diseases affecting wheat, resulting in decreased yield, low-density kernels, and production of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, a compound toxic to humans and livestock. Human visual analysis of representative wheat samples has been the traditional method for FHB assessment in both official inspection and plant breeding operations. While not requiring specialized equipment, visual analysis is dependent on a trained and consistent workforce, such that in the absence of these aspects, biases may arise among inspectors and evaluation dates. This research was intended to avoid such pitfalls by using longer wavelength radiation than …

Utilizing Trait Networks And Structural Equation Models As Tools To Interpret Multi‑Trait Genome‑Wide Association Studies, Mehdi Momen, Malachy T. Campbell, Harkamal Walia, Gota Morota

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Plant breeders seek to develop cultivars with maximal agronomic value, which is often assessed using numerous, often genetically correlated traits. As intervention on one trait will affect the value of another, breeding decisions should consider the relationships among traits in the context of putative causal structures (i.e., trait networks). While multi-trait genome-wide association studies (MTM-GWAS) can infer putative genetic signals at the multivariate scale, standard MTM-GWAS does not accommodate the network structure of phenotypes, and therefore does not address how the traits are interrelated. We extended the scope of MTM-GWAS by incorporating trait network structures into GWAS using structural …

"I Don't": A Look At Attitudes Towards Delaying Marriage In A Traditional Community, Abbi Halkola

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This sociological research study was designed to explore the attitudes of women in their late twenties and thirties about marriage and how geography (physical and sociological) impacts decisions. This research looks at women in a politically and religiously conservative area in the central Midwest. The research is meant to be exploratory in nature in order to grasp an understanding of how not only educational and career aspirations affect attitudes toward marriage but also at how leisure activities and the sexual revolution play a major role in the desire to delay marriage. Interviews were conducted to expose women’s attitudes, opinions, choices, …

Assessing Student Success: Predictive Validity Of The Act Science Subscore, Meāgan Nichole Treadway

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The number of applications to postsecondary institutions continues to increase year over year, and in most cases, the number of applications exceeds the number of students admitted. The use of standardized tests continues to grow to help in these admissions decisions. Due to both high usage rates and the changing demographics of our nation’s student population, the study of test bias is still a relevant conversation today. Aside from larger issues of equity and access, particularly in STEM courses, this has implications for leaders in higher education because universities have a stake in ensuring students are academically fit for the …

Utilization Of Research Technologies Within A Local Community Hospital In Ann Arbor, Stephanie Otto

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Technology has the ability to change the way clinical trials are conducted. Technology utilization has expanded into research in the form of handheld smartphones, wearables, and social media. This project explored technologies and assessed which of those technologies are being utilized at a community hospital. A survey was designed, developed, and disseminated to principal investigators and co-investigators of research within the hospital. The results showed that few of the technologies included in the assessment are being utilized by the researchers at the hospital. The most popular technology category being utilized by the researchers is smartphone technology. This research could contribute …

A Critical Ethnographical Exploration Of Disability Under Apartheid Conditions: The Promising Potential Of Palestinian Higher Education Institutions, Yasmin Snounu

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Utilizing a critical ethnographical methodology, this dissertation explores the experiences and practices of professors and administrators towards accommodating disabled students mainly in Palestine, but also taking into consideration the importance of the both political and disability contexts of the United States, primarily in light of critical disability studies, while also drawing from critical discourse analysis in regard to aspects of language, power hierarchies, and identity. Elements of teacher development theories are used in relation to transformational ways of thinking and the role of educators in combating stigma and promoting/adopting inclusive pedagogical practices towards accommodating disabled students in higher education. My …

Designing A Modified Zeeman Slower For The Paschen-Back Magnetic Regime, Leo Michael Nofs

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Controlled study of high-density plasmas, such as those found in fusion reactions and stars, is difficult due to their highly-magnetized environments. A specialized high magnetic field (High-B) trap was developed at the University of Michigan in Georg Raithel's research group to study such highly magnetized, high density plasmas using rubidium atoms. By replacing the atom source with a Zeeman slower, a well-studied device to slow and cool atoms, the atom flux could be increased by a factor more than 1000, leading to higher High-B plasma densities. The goal of this project is to design a Zeeman slower that differs from …

The Lived Experiences Of Black Males Who Earned Doctorates, Boris D. Turner

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation described the lived experiences of Black males who earned doctorates. Using an anti-deficit framework, this study explored the post-college experience and doctoral completion. Past research about Black males utilize a deficit perspective indicating how negative experiences, at times, prevent academic achievement. This study used an interpretive approach with one-on-one face-to-face interviews with seven participants. The interviews were conducted in the geographic area of the Midwest, Southeastern, and Northwest regions of the United States. The narratives, rich and thick in descriptions, provided seven themes. The themes included (a) race, and how participants overcame stereotypes and certain challenges, (b) how …

Assessment Of Mudpuppy (Necturus Maculosus) Presence Along The St. Clair-Detroit River System Using Environmental Dna And Occupancy Modeling, Jenny L. Sutherland

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is cryptic, fully aquatic salamander within the Great Lakes region. Once abundant throughout its range, evidence now suggests that there have been declines due to habitat loss and lampricide use. Information on the status of mudpuppies along the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS) is lacking, and since they are important bio-indicators, they could be a gauge for restoration success. Environmental DNA (eDNA) and occupancy modeling were used to determine best detection practices for this cryptic species. Mudpuppy eDNA was detected at all known mudpuppy sites with the addition of one site. Occupancy was highest at shoreline …

Case Study Of Parents’ Experiences As Their Children With Hidden Disabilities Navigate The K-12 System To High School Completion, Tamiko Garrett

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The experiences of parents navigating through the K-12 school system as their children with invisible disabilities move toward graduation from secondary education are multifaceted. This qualitative study examined the experiences parents are having or not having at Kalamazoo Central High School (KCHS), a traditional high school within the Kalamazoo Public School (KPS) district. The research questions revealed the experiences of parents navigating their children with invisible disabilities. Conceptually, this study was guided by the ecologies of parental engagement (EPE) framework. The teachings of Pierre Bourdieu and his perspective on social capital were also utilized. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, …

An Investigation Of How Iep Teams Function In Select Michigan High Schools When Developing A Course Of Study Decision For Students With Disabilities, Patrick Mies

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the ways that Individual Education Program (IEP) teams function when developing a course of study decision for students with disabilities in high schools in 19 school districts from four intermediate school districts in Michigan. Topics included teacher professional development for reaching consensus in IEP meetings and personal curriculum (PC) plans for diploma acquisition by students with disabilities. Special education teachers who work with students with disabilities at the secondary level shared survey information, perceptions, and opinions about their experiences in IEP meetings. Special education directors, with oversight for special education programs, …

Debunking The False Dichotomy: Developing And Applying Trans Quantcrit At The Intersection Of Trans/Non-Binary Identities And Religious, Secular, And Spiritual Engagement In College, Kate Curley

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Discrimination towards people who identify as trans/non-binary (NB) is still extremely well documented and pervasive across many different demographics. Discussions on religious, secular, or spiritual (RSS) identities and trans/NB identities are often fraught with difficult conflicts between the two. In student affairs published standards, practitioners are expected to serve “regardless” of gender in RSS programs and “regardless” of religion in LGBTQ+ programming. This study sought to explore how RSS campus climate influences students’ attitudes towards trans/NB people and how trans/NB experience their RSS campus climate. Informed by critical theory and using critical consciousness and ally identity development conceptual frameworks, I …

Are First Generation Immigrants More Inclined To Participate In Clinical Research?, Aisha Farha

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The number of immigrants entering the United States has increased dramatically in the past 30 years, but minorities and ethnic groups are underrepresented in research studies. This study examined first- and second-generation Arab American immigrants in Dearborn, Michigan, using a survey from 65 participants to determine the impact of generation on clinical research participation. Fifty-one (78%) of the respondents were first-generation immigrants, and 14 (22%) were second generation. There was no statistical difference between first- and second-generation immigrants in their willingness to participate in clinical research. Further research with a larger and more diverse population is needed to evaluate willingness …

Can Place-Based Teacher Preparation Be Culturally Responsive? An Exploration Of One Promising Program, Shondra L. Marshall

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explored the perceptions of three teacher candidate/alumni who were in a teacher preparation program. The three teacher candidate/alumni shared their experiences and readiness to teach culturally diverse students in K-12 settings. This study also examined the development of a teacher preparation program at a Midwest university. In addition to the voices of the three teacher candidate/alumni, the perspectives of three program developers were also engaged and analyzed. A top-down and open-coding method of data analysis was used in this study. A mini exploratory case study research design was utilized, and participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview …

What Works? Supporting Students From Urban School Districts At A Midwestern University, Eric Reed

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Postsecondary administrators across the nation are in search for effective policies and practices that lead to higher rates of student academic performance, persistence, and completion rates. In a time of increased accountability and diminished resources, the empirical findings of this study help administrators by demonstrating that resources invested in retention yield long-term benefits to the institution. At a large, public, 4-year university in the Midwest, the average 6-year graduation rate of students from urban school districts was 24% compared to the overall 40% graduation rate for the institution. Historically, students from urban school districts enter postsecondary institutions after persevering through …

Instructional Communication In Preservice Education: Rapport, Conflict, And Classroom Management, Vanessa Callanan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines communication as instructional classroom practice and considers its increased inclusion in teacher preparation programs. While widely recognized as an important aspect of most university degree programs, communication pedagogy is often overlooked in schools of education curricula. Data collected from six current teachers suggest that the teachers demonstrated a value for instructional communication in three distinct ways that can all be attributed to their interaction with their students and classrooms. The teachers in this study demonstrated this through their building of rapport with their students, their strategies for both avoiding and resolving conflict within the classroom, and their …

The American Phantasmagoria: The Rise Of Spiritualism In Nineteenth-Century America, Daniel Bowlin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Spiritualism, or the belief in spirit communications through mediums, was a movement in the nineteenth century which gained popularity within America. This thesis aims to widen the scope of spiritualism’s historiography by exploring spiritualists’ lives to reveal a more complex answer to why this movement gained a large following in antebellum America. The stories of spiritualists show that spiritualism rose in nineteenth century America because the culture placed death in the periphery, leaving certain Americans unresolved and therefore looking to the Victorian death culture for closure from a lost relationship. Additionally, spiritualists saw the muddled religious system as proof of …

Evolution Of Object-Oriented Methods From The Reverse Engineering Of Programming Code, Pann Ajjimaporn

Theses and Dissertations

Many software development projects fail because of their inability to deliver the product in a timely and cost-effective manner, i.e. the software crisis. In a commercial airline company, a safety-critical system for preventing a “single-point of failure” needs to be developed and certified. To meet the project deadline an Agile approach was used in developing the first portion of the system. An appropriate software development methodology, i.e. reverse-engineering was then applied to the software system to develop method that would be used in system maintenance and evaluation.

The goals of this research study were to develop a segment of one …

Antennas And Wave Propagation In Wireless Body Area Networks: Design And Evaluation Techniques, Ala Alemaryeen

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, fabrication of miniature electronic devices that can be used for wireless connectivity becomes of great interest in many applications. This has resulted in many small and compact wireless devices that are either implantable or wearable. As these devices are small, the space for the antenna is limited. An antenna is the part of the wireless device that receives and transmits a wireless signal. Implantable and wearable antennas are very susceptible to harmful performance degradation caused by the human body and very difficult to integrate, if not designed properly. A designer need to minimize unwanted radiation absorption by the human …

Small-Scale Characterization Of Additively Manufactured And Heat Treated Alsi10mg, Farwan A. Alghamdi

Theses and Dissertations

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) additive manufacturing of aluminum alloys is a layer-wise manufacturing method which can provide lightweight and complex-in-shape automotive, aerospace and medical components with enhanced mechanical properties. In the SLM, the mechanical properties will differentiate depending on the cooling rate as the deposition of material gradation distance from the build plate as well as the deposition direction, in which it has an effect on the microstructure.

The aim of this project is to assess the correlation between microstructure and small-scale characteristics of an additive manufactured AlSi10Mg alloy in the as-printed and heat treated conditions. Post heat treatment cycle …

Manganese Salan Complexes As Catalysts For Hydrosilylation Of Aldehydes And Ketones, Nora Salman Almutairi

Theses and Dissertations

New types of manganese(III) complexes containing H2salan ligand have been synthesized and examined as catalysts in the hydrosilylation of carbonyl compounds. Manganese(III) chloride complex (4b) exhibits minimal activity for the hydrosilylation of benzaldehyde at 120 ºC, but can be activated with silver perchlorate. Manganese(III) azide complex (5b) is characterized by the IR spectra, and the stretching frequency for the azide group is 2050 cm-1. This complex shows good activity in the hydrosilylation of benzaldehyde at 120 ºC, generating the corresponding silyl ether in high conversion 99 % within 1 h. Under optimized reaction conditions, phenylsilane as the reductant in C6D6 …