Digital Commons Network^™

Cobalt, Molybdenum, And Nickel Complexes, Natural Zeolites, Epoxidation, And Free Radical Reactions, Nicholas K. Newberry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Chapter 2 is based on the synthesis and study of the compounds of the bidentate ligand ((5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)methyl)phosphine oxide with molybdenum and cobalt as the transition metal. The complexes were analyzed via FTIR, NMR, UV-Vis, Fluorescence Spectroscopy, TGA, DFT, and XRD. Chapter 3 resulted in the synthesis of the complexes [Ni(II)SSRRL](PF6)2 and [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6) of which [Ni(II)SRSRL](Cl)(PF6) had not been previously analyzed. Both products were analyzed via FTIR, NMR, UV-Vis, CV, DFT, and XRD. Chapter 5 contains the results of the characterization and modification of 4 natural zeolites (AZLB-Na, AZLB-Ca, NM-CA, NV-Na) from the United States in an attempt to increase the …

When Darkness Descends: A Narrative Analysis Of Maternal Resilience Following Hurricane Maria, Sara Potter

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Within the last 40 years, academic research on disasters has focused on resilience as applied to individual adaptive capacities, rebuilding resources, and policy-driven solutions. While there has been an increased awareness of the many gendered dimensions of post-disaster recovery, women’s and mother’s agency in such situations is still largely ignored. Thus, this dissertation adopts a maternal focus, arguing that mothers are not merely vulnerable subjects but critical agents of post-disaster recovery for families, communities, and social systems more generally.

To analyze mothers’ resilience, I looked to the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico as an illustrative case and field …

Utilization Of Paenibacillus Polymyxa In The Recovery Of Lithium Bearing Minerals, Diana Bullen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the global transition to green energy in the transportation and power production sectors, lithium has emerged as a viable solution, and crucial component, for the effective storage of renewable resources. To avoid further degradation of the land due to mining for virgin material, methods focused on recovering lithium must be developed. This research project seeks to explore a new way to recover lithium by using the bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa. The bacteria were grown and then applied to the lithium bearing mineral spodumene. Settling velocity profiles were constructed for different treatments of spodumene. It was found that the spodumene …

Spatial And Temporal Comparison Of Persistent Organic Pollutants In The Boardman River, Collin Diedrich

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Dam removal is a critical part of river and stream remediation projects around the world. Frequently dams are associated with impoundment ponds containing sediments that can act as a sink of various persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that can pose risks for human and aquatic wildlife. In this study, we deployed semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) at multiple locations along a 25-mile stretch of the Boardman River in Traverse City Michigan to passively sample POP concentrations in this area that has recently undergone dam and impoundment pond sediment removal. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), di-chloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and cyclodiene compounds were in the …

Advancement Of Full-Vector Variable-Temperature Magnetometry For Rock-Magnetic And Paleointensity Applications, Leonid Surovitskii

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Data on the variation of the direction and strength of Earth’s ancient magnetic field (absolute paleointensity) provide crucial information into the mechanisms of the geodynamo and the Earth’s thermal history. However, the use of conventional methods and instrumentation for absolute paleointensity determination has been hampered by physicochemical alteration of the samples caused by multiple high-temperature cycles and long experiment durations. The reliability and efficiency of the measurement process can be improved by the measurement of the full remanent magnetization vector simultaneously with the temperature cycling of a sample. Such as approach can also substantially expand the scope of materials available …

Role Of Eta Phase Evolution On Creep Properties Of Nickel Base Superalloys Used In Advanced Electric Power Generation Plants, Ninad Mohale

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Advanced fossil energy power generation plants require materials that withstand high temperatures and corrosive environments. One such material that is used in steam turbines is Nimonic 263. It is a nickel-base superalloy that is principally strengthened by gamma primephase (Ni₃(Ti, Al)) and has an L1₂structure. At extended times and at turbine operating temperatures however, eta (Ni₃Ti) phase is known to form at the expense of gamma prime. Eta has a complex DO₂₄structure and is the stable phase between 750°C and 900°C, but with slow kinetics of formation. Little is understood about eta …

Investigating Ice Nucleation At Negative Pressures Using Molecular Dynamics: A First Order Approximation Of The Dependence Of Ice Nucleation Rate On Pressure, Elise Rosky

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Atmospheric scientists and climate modelers are faced with uncertainty around the process of ice production in clouds. While significant progress has been made in predicting homogeneous and heterogeneous ice nucleation rates as a function of temperature, recent experiments have shown that ice nucleation rates can be enhanced without decreasing temperature, through various mechanical agitations. One hypothesis for these findings is that mechanisms of stretching water and thereby inducing negative pressure in the liquid could lead to an increase in freezing rate. To better understand the viability of this concept, the effect of negative pressure on ice nucleation rates needs to …

Electrical Power Take-Off System Design And Performance Assessment For Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter, Xiang Zhou

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wave energy has great potential but has a high levelized energy cost compared to other renewable energy sources (e.g., solar and wind). Improving the buoy control performance in the wave-to-wire energy conversion would be a straightforward way to increase the wave energy conversion efficiency and decrease the wave energy levelized cost. To improve the buoy control schemes design, the assessment of the state of the art controls and the study of the power take-off (PTO) power loss model are demanded. This dissertation starts with the basic dynamics of the wave energy converter (WEC) buoy and electrical PTO, introduces essential mechanics …

Investigating The Impact Of Online Human Collaboration In Explanation Of Ai Systems, Tauseef Ibne Mamun

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An important subdomain in research on Human-Artificial Intelligence interaction is Explainable AI (XAI). XAI aims to improve human understanding and trust in machine intelligence and automation by providing users with visualizations and other information explaining the AI’s decisions, actions, or plans and thereby to establish justified trust and reliance. XAI systems have primarily used algorithmic approaches designed to generate explanations automatically that help understanding underlying information about decisions and establish justified trust and reliance, but an alternate that may augment these systems is to take advantage of the fact that user understanding of AI systems often develops through self-explanation (Mueller …

Defect Detection Using Dynamic Analysis For Additive Manufactured Metals, Gita Deonarain

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the ability to produce parts with complex geometries and internal features, however, for demanding applications such as the automotive and aerospace industries, it is crucial that the parts can meet the demanding functional and geometric requirements. Quality control for AM parts focuses on nondestructive methods of testing, but many of the current methods are expensive and time-consuming. The research presented in this report explores various methods of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) using dynamic analysis on stainless steel parts produced with selective laser melting (SLM). Methods include, but are not limited to, frequency response functions (FRF), impedance-based measurements, …

Activation Scavenging Of Aerosol : Effect Of Turbulence And Aerosol-Composition, Abu Sayeed Md Shawon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The interaction of aerosol particles with solar radiation significantly contributes to the global radiation balance. The magnitude of this aerosol-radiation interaction, among other parameters, depends on different aerosol properties, including how readily these particles would act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). These properties are governed by the formation and scavenging processes of aerosol. This dissertation explores some of these scavenging processes.

Favorable humidity and preexisting aerosol particles acting as CCN are the sine qua non conditions to form cloud droplets in Earth’s atmosphere. Forming cloud droplets (known as activation), meanwhile, acts as a wet scavenging mechanism for those CCN. Given …

Regional Impacts Of Invasive Species And Climate Change On Black Ash Wetlands, Joseph Shannon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

For more than a decade intensive research on the ecohydrology of black ash wetland ecosystems has been performed to understand these systems before they are drastically altered by the invasive species, emerald ash borer (EAB). In that time there has been little research aimed at the scale and persistence of the alterations. Three distinct but related research articles will be presented to demonstrate a method for moderate resolution mapping of black ash across its entire range, understand the relative impacts of EAB and climate change on probable future wetland conditions, and develop an experimental and modeling approach to quantify and …

Denitrification And Nitrogen Fixation Commonly Co-Occur But Rates Vary Throughout The Year And In Different Environments, Kevin Nevorski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Denitrification and nitrogen fixation are nitrogen cycling processes that can occur simultaneously in streams but are rarely studied together. The overarching goal of this dissertation was to quantify temporal and spatial variation of these processes in streams across the USA, characterize the environmental drivers of that variation, and determine the role that denitrification plays in the carbon cycle. To characterize temporal variation in these processes, a 2-year study in the Pilgrim River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula found no difference in rates among seasons but high day-to-day variation in rates of both processes (maximum daily change 4,390 μg N/m²/hr …

Open-Source Tig-Based Metal 3d-Printing, Shane Oberloier

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Metal 3-D printing has been relegated to high-cost proprietary high-resolution systems and low-resolution low-cost metal inert gas (MIG) systems. In order to provide a path to high-resolution, low-cost, metal 3-D printing, this manuscript proposes a new open source metal 3-D printer design based around a low-cost tungsten inert gas (TIG) welder coupled to a commercial open source self replicating rapid prototyper. Optimal printing parameters for the machine are acquired using a novel computational intelligence software. TIG has many advantages over MIG, such as having a low heat input, clean beads, and the potential for both high-resolution prints as well as …

Modeling Human Visual Detection Using Deep Networks, Zach Dekraker

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The work in this report describes the use of machine learning to model human visual detection. This is in contrast to typical machine learning models, which seek to optimize detection performance overall, e.g., precision versus recall or F1 scores. Instead the goal is to develop models that can accurately match humans' abilities to detect objects in images. There are many AI algorithms that have far surpassed humans in, for example, object detection in large image databases or games such as Go. What is different about this work is that the objective is to accurately model humans' performance in visual detection …

Effects Of Microporous Structure On The Enzymatic Conversion Of Biomass Using A Multiscale Model, Saketh Merugu

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The generation of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass involves innovative process technology that is being investigated worldwide. Enzymatic hydrolysis is a major step in the contemporary process of the generation of biofuels. Guided by pore size distribution measured using NMR cryoporometry, we developed pore-enzyme diffusion and adsorption models at the particle level coupled with a kinetic model for cellulose, cellobiose, and glucose production at flask level. By simulating these models in MATLAB, COMSOL, and Polymath software packages, we investigate the effects of various biomass particle-related parameters (particle dimensions, porosity, enzyme accessibility) on the characteristic time of enzyme diffusion and adsorption and …

Estimating Red Wolf Ancestry In A Population Of Canids On Galveston Island, Texas, Tanner Barnes

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Hybridization can be a conservation concern if genomic introgression leads to the loss of an endangered species’ unique genome, or when hybrid offspring are sterile or less fit then their parental species, but hybridization can also be an adaptive management tool if rare populations are severely inbred. One such species, the red wolf, is critically endangered in the United States, where all extant red wolves are descended from 14 founders which has contributed to an increase in inbreeding over time. Red wolves were considered extirpated from Texas in 1980, but before they disappeared, they hybridized with encroaching coyotes creating a …

Augmented Reality As A Tool For Industrial Heritage Education And Interpretations, Garand A. Spikberg

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Combining Augmented Reality with spatially and temporally robust Historical Spatial Data Infrastructures may have the potential to provide users with interpretive and educational opportunities they otherwise would not have. Adapting research oriented historical GIS projects such as the Copper Country Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure to usage as interpretive material through the utilization of “off the shelf” augmented reality applications such as AuGeo has the potential to expand the utility and reach of that research data outside of the lab, while providing new interpretive opportunities by allowing users to see that data in its original spatial context and giving them the …

Outcomes Of Acute Renal Failure In Clostridium Difficile Infection Patients: Nationwide Inpatient Sample, Rajesh Essrani Md, Matthew Sullivan Do

Department of Medicine

No abstract provided.

Agrochemicals And Rural Women's Health In The Volta Region Of Ghana, Sedomda Kpikpitse

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Steered by the demand to improve and increase farm production, agrochemicals are regularly used by many farmers globally. However, agrochemical usage has contributed to many chronic illnesses experienced by users such as reproductive disorders, different kinds of cancers, and some chronic respiratory diseases. There are several regional and global coalitions to regulate the prevalence of agrochemicals to ensure their safe usage. Even though people can have access to some approved chemicals, the proper handling of these chemicals is not guaranteed. Many qualities of the person handling the chemical could increase or reduce the risk associated with agrochemicals. The behavior of …

Volume 35 (2020-2021)

EILR Masthead Archive

No abstract provided.

Extending Critical Infrastructure Element Longevity Using Constellation-Based Id Verification, Christopher M. Rondeau, Michael A. Temple, J. Addison Betances, Christine M. Schubert Kabban

Faculty Publications

This work supports a technical cradle-to-grave protection strategy aimed at extending the useful lifespan of Critical Infrastructure (CI) elements. This is done by improving mid-life operational protection measures through integration of reliable physical (PHY) layer security mechanisms. The goal is to improve existing protection that is heavily reliant on higher-layer mechanisms that are commonly targeted by cyberattack. Relative to prior device ID discrimination works, results herein reinforce the exploitability of constellation-based PHY layer features and the ability for those features to be practically implemented to enhance CI security. Prior work is extended by formalizing a device ID verification process that …

Novice Teachers' Sensemaking In An Era Of Accountability: Implications For School Leaders, Hays K. Moulton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this research study was to examine how novice teachers make sense of the realities of their chosen profession, given their initial motivations for entering the profession. My research into teacher motivation and retention provided evidence that teachers did enter the field for altruistic reasons and that as many as 50% of all new teachers in urban schools did not last beyond five years. When they begin teaching, they find a field that is heavily impacted by strict accountability standards and required mandated testing. I used Sensemaking Theory and Self-Determination Theory to examine how beginning teachers make sense …

Shifting Paradigms: Using Action Research To Redefine Engagement In Faith Formation In Unitarian Universalism, Amy Huntereece

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issues that this research addressed were the changes related to engagement in religious education (RE) in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in the past several decades. To address this problem, the purpose of this research was to innovatively problem-solve with other religious professionals and consider how to redefine engagement to support families in their faith formation. The research aims to answer the question: How could UU RE professionals more effectively engage families in faith formation opportunities designed to meet the desired outcomes of RE parents/caregivers? To gather data, interviews with seven Millennial and Generation X parents/caregivers from the Baja …

Adoptive Identity: Emerging Adult International Adoptees’ Narrative Coherence Following Early Institutional Care, Samuel Vladimir Highland

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

It is well established that, while all orphanages are not equally harsh, none can provide the quality of care found in most homes. The depriving circumstances of many such institutions often leads to lingering delays across social, emotional, cognitive, psychological, and physical domains of development. However, for many international adoptees there is evidence of resilience and catch-up growth across these same domains following adoption. Adoptive identity theory provides the framework for this qualitative exploration assessing the degree of coherence among six previously-institutionalized (PI) international adoptees’ narratives about the meaning and role of adoption in their lives as emerging adults. Adoptive …

The Student Experience Of Psychoeducational Assessment: A Phenomenological Study, Teresa Hoffman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Emerging adults with specific learning disabilities (SLD) are interviewed to understand the student experience of the psychoeducational assessment process that is codified by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA). The assessment practice is well established to qualify students for special education and related services (SERS) to ensure every child in the United States has the opportunity for free and appropriate education. An overview of the general psychoeducational assessment practice and specific assessment for SLD is supplemented by the literature regarding best-practices for psychological assessment with children/adolescents to set the context for a process that is encountered triennially …

Strengthening Organizational Performance Through Integration Of Systems Leadership, Participatory Communication, And Dynamic Capabilities, Esther Ewurafuah Sackey

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation seeks to include systems leadership and participatory communication as facilitators of the elements that enhance dynamic organizational capabilities to improve performance. The study employs the normative theory-building process to show how systems leadership and participatory communication can facilitate and enhance dynamic capabilities. Specifically, this dissertation offers an integrative model that combines systems leadership, participatory communication, and dynamic capabilities. The proposed integrative model is accompanied by a series of propositions that extend the dynamic capabilities theory through the integration of systems leadership and participatory communication. The potential relevance and application of the proposed model are demonstrated through multiple case …

Influencing Legislation For Juveniles In The Adult Judicial System: A Phenomenological Examination Of Legal Advocates, Krista F. Franklin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

INFLUENCING LEGISLATION FOR JUVENILES IN THE ADULT JUDICIAL SYSTEM: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF LEGAL ADVOCATES Krista Franklin Antioch University Seattle Seattle, WA This phenomenological study explores the lived experience of Washington State lawmakers and legal activists regarding their involvement in passing Washington State Senate Bill 5064 in February 2014. In response to the 2012 landmark federal Supreme Court decision, Miller v. Alabama, Senate Bill 5064 reduced the number of crimes for which juveniles could be sentenced as adults to life without parole. Six interviewees were selected from those who testified in Olympia, WA. Individual interviews were conducted in an open-ended …

"The Candy Problem, Solved!": White Children And White Parents Grappling With Dysconscious Whiteness, Lindsay E. Olson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

During an amplification of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, white children and parents have faced multiple interruptions to their protective territory of dysconscious whiteness—an uncritical approach to a structural status quo that favors white lives. Through semi-structured activities and interviews with ten children ages 3 to 9 and nine of their parents who observed these activities, I discovered a parent–child subsystem of dysconscious whiteness. White children and parents revealed aspects of this subsystem by grappling with dysconscious whiteness (grappling) as they struggled to avoid implicating skin color in resource inequality. Through grounded theory analysis of the process of grappling, …

Adult Attachment Interview Classification: Comparing Two Coding Systems, Patricia M. Hastings

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Research on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) provides an opportunity to study the ways in which early childhood relational experiences might influence an individual over a lifetime. It is not yet clear, however, whether results from different coding systems for the AAI are equally useful. The first purpose of this study was to compare attachment classification distributions obtained from coding AAIs with the Berkeley and Dynamic-Maturational Model (DMM) coding systems. The second purpose was to explore whether AAI classifications derived from the Berkeley or DMM system were more strongly associated with mother and mother-child dyad outcome variables. Participants were a …