Digital Commons Network^™

Strictly Ballroom: Examining How The Culture Of Collegiate Ballroom Dance Influences Body Image Perceptions, Rachel Neil

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence that collegiate ballroom dance programs have on participants’ body image perception and self-esteem and to identify what sort of effect those perceptions have on performance satisfaction. In this project the researcher surveyed twenty-four students, ten males and fourteen females, who were presently involved in a collegiate ballroom dance program with a goal of identifying what sort of influence the culture of their ballroom dance programs had on each participant’s body image and self-esteem. The research instrument used in this study was an electronic survey that included yes or no questions, …

Facilitating The Acculturation Of Children Among Russian Immigrant Mothers, Anna Goncharova

Master's Theses

While biculturalism is considered the preferred strategy of acculturation for most, the existing research does not address the degree to which immigrant mothers support bicultural acculturation of their children and how these mothers enact biculturalism. Although existing research demonstrates that parental involvement and social capital of immigrant parents are important for the success of their children, studies do not delineate the personal meanings and the process of maternal involvement in the acculturation of their children into American society. This research addresses these questions and describes maternal goals towards acculturation and depicts how Russian immigrant mothers facilitate acculturation of their children …

Desire And The Power Of Practice: Queer Sexual Perspectives, Philip W. Kemp

Master's Theses

This research provides a theoretical analysis of the lived experiences of 17 queer individuals, ages 19 to 66, regarding their sexual desires and practices. Queer Theory is incorporated to inform on sex, gender performance and sexuality as social constructs, to inform grounded theoretical concepts, and to identify expressed social behavior by each participant. Social Exchange Theory is used to analyze participant responses. Modified grounded theory is incorporated to posit a particular social exchange that I refer to as the queer exchange; in which particular costs/benefits are considered before queer individuals engage in social exchanges due to their potentially (un)perceived queerness. …

Service And Citizenship: Examining The Historical Relationship Between Immigration And Military Service In The United States, Claudia Lynn Zibanejadrad

Master of Arts in American Studies Capstones

The purpose of this project is to examine the many different groups of people who used military service in order to gain the political and civil rights of citizenship. I begin with a history of immigration and military service, throughout American history. I particularly concentrate on World War II, a pivotal moment for immigration and the military. I will then cover the historiography that informed my research. I include some research on immigrants who used military service to become naturalized citizens, such as those from Ireland, Germany, and the Philippines. I also include those who were born on American soil, …

A Two-Clone Approach To Study Signaling Interactions Among Neuronal Cells In A Pre-Clinical Alzheimer’S Disease Model, Catherine J. Yeates, Ankita Sarkar, Prajakta Deshpande, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Amit Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

To understand the progression of Alzheimer's disease, studies often rely on ectopic expression of amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) throughout an entire tissue. Uniform ectopic expression of Aβ42 may obscure cell-cell interactions that contribute to the progression of the disease. We developed a two-clone system to study the signaling cross talk between GFP-labeled clones of Aβ42-expressing neurons and wild-type neurons simultaneously generated from the same progenitor cell by a single recombination event. Surprisingly, wild-type clones are reduced in size as compared with Aβ42-producing clones. We found that wild-type cells are eliminated by the induction of cell death. Furthermore, aberrant activation of c-Jun-N-terminal …

Vol 65 #6, Melanie Argo

MPLA Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Esg Investing, Fall 2020, Juliet Kamau, Anthony Qiu, Brent Schiller, Raheem Williams, Ge Yu, Zixin Zhou

Sustainability Exchange Projects

ESG Investing Project for Sustainability Exchange, Washington University in St. Louis, Fall 2020

Perceived Authenticity Of Traditional Branded Restaurants (China): Impacts On Perceived Quality, Perceived Value, And Behavioural Intentions, Qian Chen, Rong Huang, Bin Hou

Plymouth Business School

No abstract provided.

Special Issue On 6g Wireless Systems, Periklis Chatzimisios, David Soldani, Abbas Jamalipour, Antonio Manzalini, Sajal K. Das

Computer Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Online Posts To Discover Student Learning Challenges And Inform Targeted Curriculum Improvement Actions, Michelle L. F. Cheong, Jean Y. C. Chen, Bingtian Dai

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Past research on analysing end-of-term student feedback tend to result in only high-level course improvement suggestions, and some recent research even argued that student feedback is a poor indicator of teaching effectiveness and student learning. Our intelligent Q&A platform with machine learning prediction and engagement features allow students to ask self-directed questions and provide answers in an out-of-class informal setting. By analysing such high quality and truthful posts which represent the students’ queries and knowledge about the course content, we can better identify the exact course topics which the students face learning challenges. We have implemented our Q&A platform for …

Identifying And Characterizing Alternative News Media On Facebook, Samuel S. Guimaraes, Julia C. S. Reis, Lucas Lima, Filipe N. Ribeiro, Marisa Vasconcelos, Jisun An, Haewoon Kwak, Fabricio Benevenuto

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

As Internet users increasingly rely on social media sites to receive news, they are faced with a bewildering number of news media choices. For example, thousands of Facebook pages today are registered and categorized as some form of news media outlets. This situation boosted the so-called independent journalism, also known as alternative news media. Identifying and characterizing all the news pages that play an important role in news dissemination is key for understanding the news ecosystems of a country. In this work, we propose a graph-based semi-supervised method to measure the political bias of pages on most countries and show …

What's In A Name? An Assessment Of Degradation Of Women In The Name Of Climbing Routes, Raiza Barahona

Honors Theses

Gendered behavior is reinforced at an early age. In media, women are usually portrayed following gender stereotypical behaviors and are often sexualized, meaning that their worth is often determined by their body shape and clothing type and as such women are often wearing revealing clothing, following gender stereotypical behaviors, and portraying unrealistic body proportions (e.g., Gentlemen’s Quarterly Magazine; Collins, 2011). The representation of women in climbing media is similar to that of the general media. The present study focused on route names within the climbing community and presents a qualitative analysis on the sexism and other derogatory (i.e., overtly sexual) …

Global Privacy Concerns Of Facial Recognition Big Data, Myranda Westbrook

Honors Theses

Facial recognition technology is a system of automatic acknowledgement that recognizes individuals by categorizing specific features of their facial structure to link the scanned information to stored data. Within the past few decades facial recognition technology has been implemented on a large scale to increase the security measures needed to access personal information. This has been specifically used in surveillance systems, social media platforms, and mobile device access control. The extensive use of facial recognition systems has created challenges as it relates to biometric information control and privacy concerns. This concern raises the cost and benefit analysis of an individual’s …

Starting A Residential Real Estate Business, Caelan Shurina

Honors Theses

Hello fellow entrepreneur! It seems you have set your heart on residential real estate. Great! This guide explores the steps you will need to take to turn this interest into a profitable business in real estate investing. By laying out the discoveries I made while creating my own real estate management business in downtown Chattanooga, I’ve created a step by step guide to help you streamline the process from evaluating the market before you buy to selling the property after renovations are complete.

Comparing Corporeal Lineups To Photo Arrays, Andrew J. Costello, Blair Hoplight, Maria Lombardo

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

An eyewitness identification study of a simulated theft of a laptop in a lecture hall was conducted in a northeastern university. After five days, 148 subjects attempted to identify the suspect from either a lineup or a photo array. Corporal lineups and video lineups were conducted in addition to traditional static photo arrays and a new “dynamic photo array” consisting of the use of front, left profile, and right profile images presented in an animated sequence within the standard six-pack photo array. No significant differences between correct identification, misidentification, and non-selection were found between any of the identification methods used. …

Polydiacetylene Biosensors In Food Microbiology Applications, Yueyuan Zhang

All Dissertations

Polydiacetylenes (PDAs) are conjugated polymers which consist of diacetylene monomers (DAs). DAs are colorless and can be polymerized under UV light at 254nm to form blue PDAs. Stimuli such as heat, chemicals, mechanic force and pH change will trigger color change of PDA from blue to red/pink. This chroma property makes PDA an ideal material for sensor development and therefore has received considerable attention in recent years. There has been several reports of generating PDA-based sensors for cations, chemicals, virus, microorganisms, and bacterial toxins detection. However, development of PDA-based sensors for food microbiology applications were limited. The objective of this …

Redefining Creativity To Advance Our Understanding Of Behavior Change And Agency, Philip F. Brunner

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Change is hard, and shifting one’s behavior, even with the support of a counselor, can be challenging. While it has not been common for the field of counseling and therapeutic behavior change to draw on it, creativity studies have much to offer counselors and practitioners as well as individuals who just want to realize change in their lives. The potential contributions of creativity studies to lasting and meaningful behavior change are enhanced especially if we take up a definition of creativity that draws on traditional definitions and theories but that also integrates insights from fields like neuroscience and complex dynamical …

2020-December-01-Dr Timir Paul Receives Grant To Study Peripheral Artery Disease Treatments, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Dr. Timir Paul

JOHNSON CITY (Dec. 17, 2020)  – Dr. Timir Paul of East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine has received a $200,000 research grant from the University of Texas Southwestern to evaluate the “real world” effectiveness and use of non-stent and stent-based therapies among patients treated with peripheral artery disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a narrowing of the peripheral …

2020-December-01-Welcome To The Etsu College Of Nursing, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

As the largest nursing program in Tennessee, the ETSU College of Nursing has a long history of preparing nurses and nurse educators to make a difference in health care in the Appalachian Highlands and beyond. A few of headlines from 2020 provide a glimpse of the College’s impact and reach.

Rankings & Accolades

Curriculum Innovation

Top in Tennessee: ETSU College of Nursing was recently named the No. 1 RN to BSN program in the state of Tennessee …

Hvac Zoning Control Systems And Building Energy Management, Vibhu Sharma, Vrushank Mistry

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student Publications

This research paper delves into the intricate integration of HVAC Zoning Control Systems with Building Energy Management (BEM), unveiling a symbiotic relationship poised to revolutionize the dynamics of modern building environments. HVAC zoning, an innovative approach to climate control, permits precise regulation of temperatures in distinct zones within a structure, offering unprecedented customization. Simultaneously, BEM, a strategic framework, is dedicated to orchestrating holistic energy consumption optimization. This study navigates the intersection of HVAC zoning and BEM, meticulously exploring their synergies, applications, and the potential transformative impacts on energy efficiency, occupant comfort, and operational cost savings within the built environment. The …

Investing In Social And Behavior Change Is Cost-Effective For Increasing Modern Contraceptive Use In Niger, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

The Breakthrough RESEARCH Business Case modeled social and behavior change (SBC) cost-effectiveness in Niger utilizing two investment scenarios to assess the impact of SBC programming on modern contraceptive use: The national plan scenario was based on planned investments documented "Family Planning in Niger: 2012–2020 Action Plan" and "2018 Operational Plan," with the national plan indicating a cumulative five-year investment of approximately $5.5 million dollars in SBC for FP, and a double investment scenario examined the effects of doubling Niger's national plan total investment to $11.1 million with the increased investments targeting community awareness activities and group interpersonal communication (IPC) for …

The Odd Inverse Rayleigh Family Of Distributions: Simulation & Application To Real Data, Saeed E. Hemeda, Muhammad A. Ul Haq

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

A new family of inverse probability distributions named inverse Rayleigh family is introduced to generate many continuous distributions. The shapes of probability density and hazard rate functions are investigated. Some Statistical measures of the new generator including moments, quantile and generating functions, entropy measures and order statistics are derived. The Estimation of the model parameters is performed by the maximum likelihood estimation method. Furthermore, a simulation study is used to estimate the parameters of one of the members of the new family. The data application shows that the new family models can be useful to provide better fits than other …

Classification Of Some First Order Functional Differential Equations With Constant Coefficients To Solvable Lie Algebras, J. Z. Lobo, Y. S. Valaulikar

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, we shall apply symmetry analysis to some first order functional differential equations with constant coefficients. The approach used in this paper accounts for obtaining the inverse of the classification. We define the standard Lie bracket and make a complete classification of some first order linear functional differential equations with constant coefficients to solvable Lie algebras.We also classify some nonlinear functional differential equations with constant coefficients to solvable Lie algebras.

Approximate Solutions For The Nonlinear Systems Of Algebraic Equations Using The Power Series Method, M. M. Khader, M. Adel

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

In this paper, the approximate solutions for systems of nonlinear algebraic equations by the power series method (PSM) are presented. Illustrative examples have been presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. In addition, the obtained results are compared with those obtained from the standard Adomian decomposition method. It turns out that the convergence of the proposed algorithm is rapid.

Inducible Epithelial Resistance Against Acute Viral Pneumonia And Chronic Asthma, Shradha Wali

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Viral pneumonia remains a global health threat despite worldwide vaccination and therapeutic programs. The influenza pandemic of 1918 and SARS-CoV2 pandemic of 2019-2020 are cautionary reminders demanding the need for novel treatment strategies. Moreover, in addition to causing acute disease, respiratory virus infections are often complicated by chronic lung pathologies, such as asthma induction, progression, and exacerbation. We have reported that mice treated with a combination of inhaled Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/6 and TLR 9 agonists (Pam2-ODN) to stimulate innate immunity are broadly protected against respiratory pathogens, but the mechanisms underlying this protection remain incompletely elucidated. Here, we show in …

Story Writing In The Accounting Classroom, Michelle Freeman, Mark Friedman

ETSU Faculty Works

A story is an established method of communicating fact, fiction, parable, and myth from cultural generation to generation. Is it possible to actively engage accounting students with content when the student becomes the storywriter? Can story writing by the student be an effective teaching tool, and should accounting professors consider its use in their classrooms? This archival research seeks to review the literature regarding the value of story writing as a pedagogical tool across academic disciplines in higher education, synthesize the findings of existing research and describe the uses, benefits and difficulties with using story writing in various accountancy classes …

Neonicotinoids Disrupt Circadian Rhythms And Sleep In Honey Bees, Michael C. Tackenberg, Manuel A. Giannoni-Guzmán, Erik Sanchez-Perez, Caleb A. Doll, José L. Agosto-Rivera, Kendal Broadie, Darrell Moore, Douglas G. Mcmahon

ETSU Faculty Works

Honey bees are critical pollinators in ecosystems and agriculture, but their numbers have significantly declined. Declines in pollinator populations are thought to be due to multiple factors including habitat loss, climate change, increased vulnerability to disease and parasites, and pesticide use. Neonicotinoid pesticides are agonists of insect nicotinic cholinergic receptors, and sub-lethal exposures are linked to reduced honey bee hive survival. Honey bees are highly dependent on circadian clocks to regulate critical behaviors, such as foraging orientation and navigation, time-memory for food sources, sleep, and learning/memory processes. Because circadian clock neurons in insects receive light input through cholinergic signaling we …

Exploring Religious Freedom In The American Workplace, Joanna Moran

Senior Honors Theses

The First Amendment specifically protects the freedom of religion, an idea that has been championed in America for over two centuries. In the workplace, religious freedom is more limited. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United Health Programs of American Inc. and Cost Containment Group Inc. (2016) serves as an example of how some religious expression must be limited in order to protect religious freedoms of the majority in the workplace. The purpose of this thesis is to determine how First Amendment religious freedoms are being protected and restricted in the workplace. This research is relevant to working Americans, as the …

2020-December-01-Ibma Awards 2020, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (December 2020) – East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies program won big earlier this fall in the virtual 2020 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Convention and Awards.

Haselden Ciaccio

The weeklong event was highlighted by the presentation of an IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award to the ETSU program’s founder, Jack Tottle. The IBMA Industry Awards are given each year to professionals dedicated to furthering bluegrass …

2020-December-01-Students Collecting Clothing Items For The Homeless Community, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (Dec. 1, 2020)  – Students at East Tennessee State University are holding a donation drive this week to collect goods for the homeless community in the Appalachian Highlands. The drive is hosted by the Street Medicine Interest Group (SMIG), an interprofessional coalition of students from within the ETSU Health colleges.

The drive will take place Wednesday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and on Sunday, Dec. 6, from noon to 4 p.m. Donations can be dropped off at the ground level of the ETSU parking garage off Jack Vest Drive. This will …