Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Gamification On The Mathematics Achievement Of Elementary Students, Tamisha Kimble

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

This study explores the use of gamification in elementary math. Living in a Global society requires students to use technology in classes daily. Students are using technology to complete a task that is aligned to state standards. These tasks are geared to help students master grade-level skills. So often, teachers are finding that students are completing the task just to comply. Teachers are seeking problems that will help with student engagement and prepare students for mastery of grade-level skills. Teachers are looking for a problem that serves the purpose of both. Teachers are looking for programs that engage students as …

A Graphical Eda Tool With Ggplot2: Brinton, Pere Millán-Martínez, Ramon Oller

The R Journal

We present brinton package, which we developed for graphical exploratory data analysis in R. Based on ggplot2, gridExtra and rmarkdown, brinton package introduces wideplot() graphics for exploring the structure of a dataset through a grid of variables and graphic types. It also introduces longplot() graphics, which present the entire catalog of available graphics for representing a particular variable using a grid of graphic types and variations on these types. Finally, it introduces the plotup() function, which complements the previous two functions in that it presents a particular graphic for a specific variable of a dataset. This set of functions is …

Six Years Of Shiny In Research: Collaborative Development Of Web Tools In R, Peter Kasprzak, Lachlan Mitchell, Olena Kravchuk, Andy Timmins

The R Journal

The use of Shiny in research publications is investigated over the six and a half years since the appearance of this popular web application framework for R, which has been utilised in many varied research areas. While it is demonstrated that the complexity of Shiny applications is limited by the background architecture, and real security concerns exist for novice app developers, the collaborative benefits are worth attention from the wider research community. Shiny simplifies the use of complex methodologies for people of different specialities, at the level of proficiency appropriate for the end user. This enables a diverse community of …

Rngforgpd: An R Package For Generation Of Univariate And Multivariate Generalized Poisson Data, Hesen Li, Hakan Demirtas, Ruizhe Chen

The R Journal

This article describes the R package RNGforGPD, which is designed for the generation of univariate and multivariate generalized Poisson data. Some illustrative examples are given, the utility and functionality of the package are demonstrated; and its performance is assessed via simulations that are devised around both artificial and real data.

Species Distribution Modeling Using Spatial Point Processes: A Case Study Of Sloth Occurrence In Costa Rica, Paula Moraga

The R Journal

Species distribution models are widely used in ecology for conservation management of species and their environments. This paper demonstrates how to fit a log-Gaussian Cox process model to predict the intensity of sloth occurrence in Costa Rica, and assess the effect of climatic factors on spatial patterns using the R-INLA package. Species occurrence data are retrieved using spocc, and spatial climatic variables are obtained with raster. Spatial data and results are manipulated and visualized by means of several packages such as raster and tmap. This paper provides an accessible illustration of spatial point process modeling that can …

User-Specified General-To-Specific And Indicator Saturation Methods, Genaro Sucarrat

The R Journal

General-to-Specific (GETS) modelling provides a comprehensive, systematic and cumulative approach to modelling that is ideally suited for conditional forecasting and counterfactual analysis, whereas Indicator Saturation (ISAT) is a powerful and flexible approach to the detection and estimation of structural breaks (e.g. changes in parameters), and to the detection of outliers. To these ends, multi path backwards elimination, single and multiple hypothesis tests on the coefficients, diagnostics tests andgoodness-of-fit measures are combined to produce a parsimonious final model. In many situations a specific model or estimator is needed, a specific set of diagnostics tests may be required, or a specific f …

Miwqs: Multiple Imputation Using Weighted Quantile Sum Regression, Paul M. Hargarten, David C. Wheeler

The R Journal

The miWQS package in the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) utilizes weighted quantile sum regression (WQS) in the multiple imputation (MI) framework. The data analyzed is a set/mixture of continuous and correlated components/chemicals that are reasonable to combine in an index and share a common outcome. These components are also interval-censored between zero and upper thresholds, or detection limits, which may differ among the components. This type of data is found in areas such as chemical epidemiological studies, sociology, and genomics. The miWQS package can be run using complete or incomplete data, which may be placed in the first quantile, …

Farmtest: An R Package For Factor-Adjusted Robust Multiple Testing, Koushiki Bose, Jianqing Fan, Yuan Ke, Xiaoou Pan, Wen-Xin Zhou

The R Journal

We provide a publicly available library FarmTest in the R programming system. This library implements a factor-adjusted robust multiple testing principle proposed by Fan et al. (2019) for large-scale simultaneous inference on mean effects. We use a multi-factor model to explicitly capture the dependence among a large pool of variables. Three types of factors are considered: observable, latent, and a mixture of observable and latent factors. The non-factor case, which corresponds to standard multiple mean testing under weak dependence, is also included. The library implements a series of adaptive Huber methods integrated with fast data-driven tuning schemes to estimate model …

Trace: A Differentiable Approach To Line-Level Stroke Recovery For Offline Handwritten Text, Taylor Neil Archibald

Theses and Dissertations

Stroke order and velocity are helpful features in the fields of signature verification, handwriting recognition, and handwriting synthesis. Recovering these features from offline handwritten text is a challenging and well-studied problem. We propose a new model called TRACE (Trajectory Recovery by an Adaptively-trained Convolutional Encoder). TRACE is a differentiable approach using a convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN) to infer temporal stroke information from long lines of offline handwritten text with many characters. TRACE is perhaps the first system to be trained end-to-end on entire lines of text of arbitrary width and does not require the use of dynamic exemplars. Moreover, …

Salvage Of Failed Femoral Neck Fracture Fixation With Conversion Total Hip Arthroplasty Using The Direct Anterior Approach., Andrew G Yun, Marilena Qutami, Kory B Dylan Pasko

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Purpose: Failed femoral neck fracture (FNF) fixation with

Materials and Methods: Medical records for 42 patients with a prior history of FNF fixation who underwent conversion THA with hardware removal between 2009 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Surgery was performed by a single surgeon at a single institution. All patients underwent hardware removal followed by direct anterior approach (DAA) THA using two separate incisions. Clinical outcomes, radiographic findings, and perioperative morbidity and mortality are reported.

Results: Clinically, there were no postoperative dislocations, periprosthetic fractures, or infections at follow-up. After a mean follow-up of 4 years, the mean hip disability and …

Projected Impact Of Mid-21st Century Climate Change On Wildfire Hazard In A Major Urban Watershed Outside Portland, Oregon Usa, Andy Mcevoy, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Andres Holz, Arielle J. Catalano, Kelly E. Gleason

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Characterizing wildfire regimes where wildfires are uncommon is challenged by a lack of empirical information. Moreover, climate change is projected to lead to increasingly frequent wildfires and additional annual area burned in forests historically characterized by long fire return intervals. Western Oregon and Washington, USA (westside) have experienced few large wildfires (fires greater than 100 hectares) the past century and are characterized to infrequent large fires with return intervals greater than 500 years. We evaluated impacts of climate change on wildfire hazard in a major urban watershed outside Portland, OR, USA. We simulated wildfire occurrence and fire regime characteristics under …

New Mexico, Sharon T. Shaheen

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Under the Produced Water Act (“Act”) enacted in the 2019 regular legislative session, the New Mexico Legislature authorized the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division (“OCD”) and the New Mexico Water Quality Control Commission (“WQCC”) to regulate produced water resulting from oil and gas drilling or production. The Act governs the transportation and sale of produced water, recycled water (also referred to as recycled produced water), and treated water (also referred to as treated produced water).

Facts And Trends Regarding Performance And Funding Of K-12 In Kentucky, John Garen

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

Kentucky’s K-12 experienced an 80% in increase in per pupil funds, after inflation, from 1990 to 2019. However, there have been only modest changes in its nationally-administered test scores, and no increases in the past decade. Moreover, per pupil funding seems to exceed that of all but the most exclusive private school tuition. Just over one-half of public funds goes directly to instruction and most funds to local schools come from Frankfort. Scoring on Kentucky’s own student assessment tests, the K-PREP, are higher than that of the comparable nationally-administered tests. Also, K-PREP shows improvement, while the other tests do not. …

Tchaikovsky: Sonata-Form Style And Tendencies, Lorena Beatriz Ferrer Maldonado

Music Theses - Archive

William Caplin’s Formal-Function Theory and James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy’s Sonata Theory were designed to analyze the tendencies of sonata forms written during the eighteenth century, particularly in the works of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. During the nineteenth century, this musical structure became altered in significant ways by many composers. Nonetheless, Caplin’s and Hepokoski and Darcy’s theories can still be used to analyze nineteenth-century sonata forms. Tchaikovsky made major changes in the sonata-form structure of his works by modulating to apparently unrelated or distant keys in his expositions. The relationship between the keys becomes clear once you analyze the recapitulation. …

Stable Isotope Composition Of Surface Water Across Central Mexico, Jordan Foote

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

Understanding the controlling factors of modern surface water stable isotope compositions is important for reconstructions of paleoclimate and paleoelevation. Few studies have attempted to understand patterns of surface water isotope compositions and their controlling factors in Mexico. Here I study the δ18O, δD and d-excess values of 124 modern river, lake and spring water samples across the Sierra Madre Occidental, Central Mexican Plateau and Sierra Madre Oriental to constrain the spatial pattern and lapse rate. These samples were collected at various elevations after the wet season in 2019. The isotope data were integrated with moisture back trajectory analysis and climatic …

Develop And Standardize A Dot&Pf Statewide Airport Construction Specifications Updating Process, Virginia Corazon Groeschel

Student Projects for Graduate Degrees

This research study evaluates the operational performance of an experimental process model developed to provide a systematic and repeatable approach to updating the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) Statewide Standard Airport Construction (SSAC) specifications to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5370-10H – Standard Specifications for Construction of Airports, (10H). In order to develop and standardize an effective process within DOT&PF, this study must examine how a large government organization, like DOT&PF, implements change. This study also discusses which key Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) knowledge areas provide the framework for initiating, planning, and …

How Peer Support Specialists Uniquely Initiate And Build Connection With Young People Experiencing Homelessness, James Erangey, Connor Marvin, Danielle Maude Littman, Meredith Mollica, Kimberly Bender, Tom Lucas, Tara Milligan

Graduate School of Social Work: Faculty Scholarship

Young people experiencing homelessness are often apprehensive to engage in conventional service systems due to prior mistreatment by providers and others in their lives, as well as stigma associated with accessing services. Even when relationships between service providers and young people are initiated, they often end prematurely. Mutual aid, or peer-to-peer support, has a long and promising history within the mental health field, yet has received little empirical attention in work with young people experiencing homelessness. The present study used participatory qualitative methods to understand how peers uniquely initiate and build connection with young people experiencing homelessness. Through interviews and …

Investigation Of Clinoptilolite Zeolite As A Candidate System For Study By Positron Annihilation, Edward Perez

Physics Theses - Archive

This thesis reports on the characterization of a clinoptilolite zeolite (〖Na〗_3 [〖Al〗_3 〖Si〗_15 O_36 ]12H_2 O) using Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX/EDS) for chemical analysis, low energy Secondary Electron (SE) analysis for three-dimensional imaging and topography, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) for two-dimensional imaging at the nanometer level. The goal of this work was to provide additional information that can aid in the interpretation of the data obtained using positron beam based spectroscopies. The measurements were performed using the Hitachi S-3000N Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) integrated with a NORAN 7 EDS/EBSD system, the Hitachi S-4800 II Field Emission Scanning …

Determining The Molecular Events Underlying The Role Of Estradiol In Mediating Sex Differences In Cocaine Reward., Saurabh Sanjeev Kokane

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

Research has demonstrated that women rapidly progress from recreational cocaine use to dependence, consume greater quantities of cocaine, experience more positive subjective effects of cocaine and have higher incidences of relapse during abstinence. These effects have been well replicated in animal models of cocaine addiction and indicate an enhanced sensitivity and therefore, vulnerability of females to cocaine addiction. This increased vulnerability of women and female animals to cocaine addiction has been attributed to enhanced cocaine reward. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the female hormone estradiol (E2) is a key mediator of the aforementioned effects of cocaine in women and …

Humility And Leadership Potential: Testing A Moderated Moderated Mediation Model, Christa Mason

Psychology Dissertations - Archive

Despite the growing research on humble leadership, views on humility remain mixed and little is known about how humble individuals become leaders. To address this gap, this study examined how expressed humility was related to perceptions of an aspiring leader’s warmth, competence, and leadership potential. It tested a moderated moderated mediation model to assess: (1) if perceived warmth and competence explained the relationship between humility and leadership potential, and (2) if this relationship varied based on an aspiring leader’s perceived dominance and gender. Professionals with hiring experience (N = 187) evaluated male and female leadership candidates who demonstrated different combinations …

Health Literacy, Illness Perception, And Diabetes Self-Management In Korean-Speaking Immigrants With Diabetes, Su Won Park

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is becoming an increasingly common disease with aging. As the prevalence of DM increases, the need for self-management is emphasized as a way to control DM and prevent its complications. According to the common-sense model, DM self-management is explained as an illness-related coping behavior that is affected by an individual's illness perception (IP). No studies were found that evaluated IP in Korean adults with DM in the United States, or that evaluated the association of health literacy (HL) with their IP and DM self-management. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between …

Car Plate Detection Using Region-Based Convolutional Neural Networks, Shengyi Luan

Electrical Engineering Theses - Archive

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) comprise a deep learning technology which is widely used to perform image classification. In this research, we review CNN structures and explain how they can be used for finding license plates in vehicle images. We summarize how the standard CNN processes images into features and compare it to Region-Based Convolutional Neural Networks (R-CNN). After comparing their pros and cons, we decide to design a R-CNN to train our dataset for this project. We find that the one trained with the most training data has the highest testing accuracy. The first training network detector leads to the …

Generalized Algorithmic Frameworks For Optimizing Distance Calls In Generalized Metric Space Proximity Problems And Methods For Realizing Efficient Signal Reconstruction, Jees Augustine

Computer Science and Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The exponential rise in data, along with its heterogeneity and complexity, helped individuals, businesses, hospitals, enterprises and even governments to thrive on data-driven decision making. However, as the size and complexity of the data surged, challenges in searching for similar objects within databases (proximity search) compounded. As is well known, proximity search is the key and successful method used in Information Retrieval (IR) in vast databases including, Genomics Databases, Image Databases, Video Databases, Text databases, etc. The objective is to retrieve contents from the database, similar to a given object in the database. This dissertation revisits a suite of popular …

Characterizing The Unmet Hiv Prevention Needs And Hiv Risk Vulnerabilities Of Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Ethiopia, Carly A. Comins, Sheree Schwartz, Stefan Baral, Andargachew Mulu

HIV and AIDS

Although the disparity in HIV prevalence among young women and their male counterparts is not new, there is increasing recognition that addressing the unmet HIV prevention needs among AGYW is necessary to achieve epidemic control. In Ethiopia, data characterizing unmet HIV prevention needs and HIV risk vulnerabilities among AGYW, particularly out of school AGYW, have been limited. Armauer Hansen Research Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health through Project SOAR conducted an integrated HIV biobehavioral survey (IBBS) focused on out-of-school adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 years to assess AGYW HIV risk vulnerability. The purpose of …

Circumventing The Crime Victims' Rights Act: A Critical Analysis Of The Eleventh Circuit's Decision Upholding Jeffrey Epstein's Secret Non-Prosecution Agreement, Paul Cassell, Jordan Peck, Bradley Edwards

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Whether crime victims have rights before formal criminal charges are filed has recently come to the fore in one of the most publicized criminal cases in recent memory. For more than twelve years, victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking organization have attempted to invalidate a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) entered between Epstein and federal prosecutors. The victims have argued that because prosecutors deliberately concealed the NPA from them, the prosecutors violated the federal Crime Victim’s Rights Act (CVRA). On April 14, 2020, a divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit entered a surprising ruling, rejecting the victims’ argument. The panel refused to …

Owner Sex And Human–Canine Interactions At The Park, Shelly Volsche, Elizabeth Johnson, Bianca Reyes, Cecelia Rumsey, Kayla Murai, Deisy Landeros

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate if and what types of differences exist between men and women when interacting with their dogs in a “natural” setting. In the case of this study, we defined “natural” as visiting a public park with their dog. To do this, we completed a series of 10-minute focal follows (n = 177) on human–canine dyads at local leashed and off-leash dog parks from December 2018 to March 2019. Data collection included counting incidences of 14 specific interactions (i.e., “baby talks to dog” or “scolds/speaks harshly to dog”), observable demographics (sex of …

Exploring Student Perceptions Of Flipgrid In Online Courses, Patrick R. Lowenthal, Robert L. Moore

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Asynchronous video-based discussions have affordances that can address some of the constraints of asynchronous text-based discussions. However, little research has been conducted on the use of asynchronous video-based discussions in online courses. As a result, the purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate students’ perceptions of using Flipgrid for asynchronous video-based discussions in fully online courses. We used a cross-sectional survey design to survey 79 students who used Flipgrid in a fully online course. Students overall reported that they liked using Flipgrid, it was easy to use, and that it helped improve social presence. In this paper, we will …

Author Correction: Early Pastoral Economies And Herding Transitions In Eastern Eurasia (Scientific Reports, (2020), 10, 1, (1001), 10.1038/S41598-020-57735-Y), William Timothy Treal Taylor, Julia Clark, Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan, Tumurbaatar Tuvshinjargal, Jessica Thompson Jobe, William Fitzhugh, Richard Kortum, Robert N. Spengler, Svetlana Shnaider, Frederik Valeur Seersholm, Isaac Hart, Nicholas Case, Shevan Wilkin, Jessica Hendy, Ulrike Thuering, Bryan Miller, Alicia R.Ventresca Miller, Andrea Picin, Nils Vanwezer, Franziska Irmer, Samantha Brown, Aida Abdykanova, Daniel R. Shultz, Victoria Pham, Michael Bunce, Katerina Douka, Emily Lena Jones, Nicole Boivin

ETSU Faculty Works

This Article contains a typographical error in the Introduction section under subheading ‘Understanding Early Horse Domestication and Transport’ where, “Historical records refer to horse-mounted warriors in western Asia by the 8th century BCE, while archaeological finds from localities like Arzhan 2 in southern Tuva show specialized horse equipment (bronze snaffle bits) and equine vertebral pathologies linked with mounted riding in Central Asia by the late 9th century BCE31.” should read: “Historical records refer to horse-mounted warriors in western Asia by the 8th century BCE, while archaeological finds from localities like Arzhan in southern Tuva show specialized horse equipment (bronze snaffle …

Disaggregating Within- And Between-Person Variation In The Prospective Relations Between Acculturation Gap-Distress And Psychological Adjustment, Savannah Pham

Psychology Theses and Dissertations

According to acculturation gap-distress theory, parent-offspring differences in cultural orientations set the stage for intergenerational cultural conflict, which may contribute to poor psychological adjustment among Asian American offspring. Although cross-sectional research has demonstrated robust links between intergenerational cultural conflict and poor psychological adjustment, a small number of longitudinal studies have yielded mixed evidence for the theorized pathway of acculturation gap-distress. To address limitations of existing research, I aimed to examine between- and within-person associations between intergenerational cultural conflict and psychological adjustment in a three-wave longitudinal panel study. Participants were Asian American first-year college students (N = 475; 55.6% women; …

The Political Ecology Of Vladimir Arsen'ev, Sergey Glebov

History: Faculty Publications

The article describes the life and work of Vladimir Klavdievich Arsen'ev in the context of the development of settler colonial project in the Far East. The article argues that Arsen'ev, a military officer and a self-taught geographer and ethnographer, shared in a political ecology, which combined “defense” of native peoples and the nature of the Russian Far East with racialized views of Chinese and Korean immigrants. This political ecology, in particular, led Arsen'ev to take part in military operations designed to cleanse remote parts of the Ussuri region of the Chinese and to develop administrative proposals on the governance of …