Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of In-Situ Formed Nano-Calcite Particles On Hydration And Properties Of Cement-Based Materials, Bowen Tan

Masters Theses

The in-situ preparation of nano-calcite via bubbling method and the effects of the nano-calcite on the hydration process and properties of the cement-based materials are investigated in this research. The nano-calcite is synthesized under different conditions and added into Portland cement to prepare test samples. The bubbling method is then introduced in upcycling the municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) ashes, and the effects of the upcycled MSWI ashes on the hydration of Portland cement is investigated. Experimental results illustrate that the COâ‚‚ bubbling method can produce nanometer-to-sub- micron-sized calcite particles, and the synthesis rate and the morphology of the nano-calcite …

Developing A Vr Training Model For Improving Transportation Safety Protocols For Rural Areas, Emmanuel Olumide Adeosun

Masters Theses

"This research evaluated the effectiveness of using simulated virtual reality driving environments to improve transportation safety in rural areas. The transportation accident fatality rate is more than double the national average in rural areas and highlights an important opportunity to address these challenges through improved safety protocols and investments. A review of the literature revealed high frequency scenarios that contributed the most to fatality or injury accidents. Virtual reality driving simulations were created based on these high frequency events using a specified rural roadway identified with the assistance of the Missouri Department of Transportation. Scenarios considered weather-related conditions, such as …

Comprehensive Evaluation Of Novel Medium-Temperature And High-Temperature Resistant Re-Crosslinkable Preformed Particle Gels For Conformance Control, Zhanmiao Zhai

Masters Theses

"Gel treatment has been widely used to control excessive water production and improve oil recovery in mature oilfields. In comparison to traditional preformed particle gel (PPG), re-cross linkable preformed particle gel (RPPG) has a significant advantage in treating abnormal features such as open fractures, fracture-like channels, and void space conduits (VSC). This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of two novel RPPG products developed in our lab: medium-temperature resistant RPPG (MT-RPPG) for a Middle East reservoir and a high-temperature resistant RPPG (HT-RPPG) for North Sea reservoirs (130 ^oC).

We assessed the effect of the monomer types and concentration, pH, salinity, …

Using Lake Sediment Chemistry In The Exploration For Nickel Laterite Deposits In Tropical Regions, Gabriela Yvonne Ramirez

Masters Theses

"Developing reliable geochemical indicators to guide the search for ore deposits is a long-standing goal. This particularly applies to tropical regions that are often heavily vegetated which hampers boots-on-the ground exploration efforts. Here we present the preliminary results of a study that investigates the usefulness of lake sediment chemistry in the exploration for nickel laterite ore deposits in tropical regions using Lake Izabal, Guatemala, as a case study. Lake Izabal’s catchment area contains Ni laterite deposits along its northern shore, whereas no Ni-laterite discoveries have been made in the south except for a Ni mine in the southern region that …

Integrating Remote Sensing And Model-Based Datasets In A Machine Learning Model To Map Global Subsidence Associated With Groundwater Withdrawal, Md Fahim Hasan

Masters Theses

"Quantifying groundwater storage loss is becoming increasingly essential globally due limited availability of this major hydrologic component and its long recharge time. Groundwater overdraft gives rises to multiple adverse impacts including land subsidence and permanent groundwater storage loss. In absence of spatially dense monitoring network, publicly available in-situ data, and uniform monitoring strategies, it is challenging to assess the sustained losses from overexploitation of this resource. Remote sensing based techniques have the capacity to fill this gap to increase our groundwater monitoring capacities. Exploring the interrelation between groundwater pumping and land subsidence using remote sensing datasets can be a very …

Remote Justice & Domestic Violence: Process Pluralism Lessons From The Pandemic, Andrea K. Schneider, Heather Hlavka, Sameena Mulla, Erin Schubert, Aleksandra J. Snowden

Articles

Domestic violence procedures, like so many court processes around the world, were forced to go online and remote during the pandemic. The impact was dramatic—there were fewer restraining order petitions filed in the first place and an even lower amount granted. In short, domestic violence survivors, among the most vulnerable in our court system, were even more challenged in the last two years. Like many court systems, Milwaukee will never go back to being fully in-person for all procedures in conjunction with domestic violence. The evolving hybrid choices could provide additional access to justice, or these processes could create additional …

Reconceptualizing Mathematical Word Problems To Reflect Social Justice Principles And Culturally Relevant Teaching, Michelle Aryam Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

As currently developed and written, mathematical word problems lack cultural relevance for an increasingly culturally diverse population in elementary schools in the United States. The design and context of mathematical word problems promote the norms, values, and beliefs of the dominant culture while potentially negatively influencing students from non-dominant culture engagement and achievement in mathematics.

The purpose of this sequential, explanatory mixed-methods study was threefold: to (a)examine in-service teachers’ preexisting beliefs about the relevance of social justice and culturally relevant teaching related to their mathematics instructional practices before receiving a synchronous online professional development program; (b) assess the impact of …

Aprendizaje En Inglés En Línea: Efectos Sobre La Elaboración De Textos Escritos Y Relación Con La Percepción De Los Docentes Sobre La Integración De Tecnología, Yetzy Limarys Díaz Maldonado

Theses and Dissertations

Los estudiantes de una escuela secundaria del área sur de Puerto Rico presentan un bajo aprovechamiento académico en los cursos de ESL para realizar trabajos escritos en inglés. Por lo tanto, esta disertación aplicada fue diseñada con el propósito de examinar el efecto del uso del programa de aprendizaje de idiomas en línea Grammarly sobre la elaboración de textos escritos y la percepción del docente sobre la integración de tecnología.

El diseño de este estudio fue uno cuasi-experimental. El marco teórico que sustenta el estudio se basa en la teoría del procesamiento de información cognitiva de Atkinson y Shiffrin (1968). …

Examining Motivators That Influenced African American And Latinx Students To Degree Completion Of A Doctoral Program, Travis L. Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide an investigation of the motivators that influence African American and Latinx students to complete a doctoral program. There are numerous studies that show data on low enrollment and retention of this population. Further, there is ample evidence of attrition, but there is a need to hear their voices share the experiences of successful doctoral graduates from this population.

The researcher posited systemic racism in education caused low enrollment and graduation rates among African American and Latinx students. Then, an interview protocol was developed to elicit responses regarding what caused the persistence to complete …

An Exploration Of Instagram As An Active Learning Tool For Gaining New Political Knowledge, Sarah Olearnick

Open Access Master's Theses

This paper seeks to explore the way that Instagram can be an active learning platform for the political landscape. By surveying URI students this study looks at the various ways that students use Instagram for politics, their attitudes towards the platform as a political source, and their general interest in politics. The survey showed that those who have a higher interest in politics use various sources. The survey also showed that those who have a positive perception of Instagram as a political source do not use various other sources. This study serves as an extremely valuable launching point for additional …

Rise Above: A Patient-Centered Web-Based Intervention For Reducing Internalized Stigma In People With Epilepsy, Sabah Ummie

Open Access Master's Theses

Telemedicine and e-health has grown significantly over the last few decades with the evolution of information and communication technology. The application and implementations of information technologies have given rise to the delivery of remote patient care and contactless online healthcare service, during the uncontrolled outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Innovations in healthcare have proliferated during that period and enabled physicians to provide treatments for patients starting from primary care to cognitive disability.

Health related stigma, also known as internalized stigma, is a common cognitive illness in people with epilepsy (PWE), a neurological disorder that induces sudden unpredictable seizures within the human …

The Structure, Constraints, And Suggestions Of The Indian Medical Textile Product Industry With A Focus On Fabric Manufacturers, Poonam Parab

Open Access Master's Theses

Medical textiles are specialty fabrics and products doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers use. These include bandages, surgical gowns, hospital sheets, artificial hearts, and hernia meshes. India has been a global textile manufacturing hub and has recently shifted its focus to medical textile/ textile products. However, there is no clear understanding of the basic structure of the Indian medical textile product industry related types of companies involved and their interactions with each other. The information about the industry needs to include categorization and depth, and there is no value chain-related information. A well-integrated value chain improves efficiency and effectiveness, which …

The Subtle Distinctions Of Memoir: Reclassifying Jeannette Wall’S The Glass Castle, Anna Cornelia Salvati

Scripps Senior Theses

In this paper, I will begin by exploring the history of memoir, the rise of the “misery memoir,” and I intend to challenge the generalized use of the term. Though the cultural rise of trauma memoirs is real, the genre cannot be a blanket term for memoirs that discuss trauma. I have selected The Glass Castle as my evidence because although it includes disturbing details, Walls effortfully tries to reorient the reader’s focus. The term misery memoir is inadequate to describe The Glass Castle because it is not about misery. It obscures Walls’s message that in order to achieve self-acceptance …

Aus Deutschland Nach Westen: Eine Analyse Der Westen-Abenteuerliteratur Von Friedrich Gerstäcker, Ruby Hoffman

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the construction of masculinity and its role in the construction of the image of America in two books by Friedrich Gerstäcker (Flußpiraten des Mississipi and Streif- und Jagdzüge durch die Vereinigten Staaten Nord-Amerikas). The portrayal of men in these books reflects a largely traditional and hegemonic masculinity, but it contains a number of nuances that complicate that model. With particular attention to the interaction of this masculinity and nature in the American backwoods, a particular image of a successful, real, American man becomes visible. This thesis analyzes how Gerstäcker’s outsider (German)—but immersed—perspective produces a familiar …

The Writing Brain: Writing As An Exercise Of Functional Network Optimization To Facilitate Psychologically Healing Effects, Isabelle Antolin

Scripps Senior Theses

James Baldwin wrote, “When you’re writing, you’re trying to find out something which you don’t know” (as cited in Plimpton 1989). Writers, like James Baldwin, have for a long time acknowledged that writing has some psychological effect. However, the neural basis of this effect has yet to be understood. Neuroimaging studies have examined writing as a creative process, identifying a predominantly left fronto-parieto-temporal network activation during writing tasks (including brainstorming, drafting, and revising). Importantly, one study examining poetry composition found that a generative phase of writing was associated with a significant anti-correlative activation pattern between the dorsal attention network (DAN) …

Opinions On The Halfshell: Examining Public Perceptions Of Southern New England Aquaculture Development, Callan J. Yanoff

Open Access Master's Theses

With the recent expansion of aquaculture in New England, it has become increasingly difficult for aquaculture growers with farm proposals to advance past the permitting process due to public opposition. The substantial lack of innovative strategies for understanding and addressing the public’s perceptions of aquaculture development in the Northeast has created conflict in expanding sustainable farming. Through 15 focus group discussions during the summer of 2021, this study assesses how people who live in Rhode Island and Massachusetts think about farm design and examines their attitudes towards aquaculture impacts and governance. By identifying the general public’s preferences and perceptions, findings …

Rapid Automatized Naming (Ran) And Real Word Reading Fluency: An Eye-Tracking Study, Alexia Martins

Open Access Master's Theses

Although literacy skills, as typically measured by reading accuracy and fluency, are known to greatly influence a child’s later academic and social success, national literacy rates continue to decrease across grade levels. Research has shown that serial rapid automatized naming (RAN) is one of the best predictors of reading fluency; however, there is significant variability regarding the specific relationship between RAN and reading as noted between meta-analyses, age groups, RAN stimuli, and measures of socioeconomic status (SES). This study aims to investigate the relationship between serial RAN and 1) real word reading fluency and 2) socioeconomic status (SES) across thirty-three …

Care-Portal: A Clinician-Centered Digital Health Portal For Wearable Data Analytics, Shejar Sadhu

Open Access Master's Theses

Growth of “e-health” (electronic health) is unprecedented especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Wearable technology such as smartwatches and smart finger rings have the capability to remotely monitor and quantify biometric and daily life activity parameters such as heart rate, body temperature, sleep, exercise, sedentary periods, and others from patients when they are in naturalistic environments such as home, school, work, and sports. This wearable technology can also be used to remotely monitor longitudinal symptomatic changes in chronic and acute conditions such as neurological and psychiatric disorders that may require some indicators of psychological stress in daily life settings. Wearable technology …

The Alice Atom Compendium, Nick Mendillo

Open Access Master's Theses

Using an original work of fiction, a novel I had written titled The Alice Atom, I have created multiple levels of media that encompass several aspects of said novel’s central theme – the desire to find meaning in not only products we create but the act of ‘following one’s dream.’ To achieve a personal goal is to follow, chase, or accomplish their ‘dreams,’ but I intended to explore the question of what that pursuit can tangibly look like. The action of the novel involves the protagonist literally searching for a woman he has imbued with deep philosophical meaning. I, …

Diving In: Learning Best Practices From Belize’S Managed Access Program Fisheries Policy, Mary Carper

Open Access Master's Theses

Belize has recently transitioned from an open access fisheries management regime to a program called Managed Access, based on a form of spatial management known as Territorial User Rights for Fishers (TURFs). Coastal communities rely on fishing activity for a variety of reasons including food and job security. Community well-being refers to the holistic definition of the human state, indicated by a variety of socioeconomic factors. This multi-strategy research with a concurrent nested design looks at a combination of interview and archival document data, along with demographics from the Statistical Institute of Belize in order to understand the impacts of …

The 1697 Project: Unraveling A Mystery Surrounding A Set Of Patchwork Blocks, Katherine E. Williams-O'Donnell

Open Access Master's Theses

The University of Rhode Island’s Historic Textile and Costume Collection (HTCC) recently accessioned a grouping of disarticulated patchwork blocks that once belonged to a coverlet. The coverlet was assumed to have been created in 1697 in British North America, making it the oldest firmly dated patchwork currently known to exist and placing this art form in the European colonies fifty years earlier than previously documented. However, because the blocks were disarticulated with companion pieces spread between numerous collections, it was crucial to analyze the blocks in depth to understand if this origin story was correct or had been manufactured later …

Measuring And Modeling Turbulence Using Particle Image Velocimetry And Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics; Applications To External Flows, Sandra Deeb

Open Access Master's Theses

Understanding the flow field around objects (i.e. external flow) is very important for various engineering and scientific application at all scales. The overall objective of this study is to better understand the flow field and turbulence in a wave-current flume for internal and external flow studies using particle image velocimetry and to investigate the capabilities and limitations of the Lagrangian smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method to simulate external flows using the collected experimental data in the wave-current flume. Laboratory studies are useful for observation of physical phenomena in a controlled environment in addition to their being less expensive and more …

Unmasking Covid-19: The Pandemics Effect On Mental Health Through The Lens Of Social Media, Jamie Vittoria Swanberg

Open Access Master's Theses

This study examined the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health through the lens of social media. This study content analyzed user posts related to depression on Twitter during 2019 and 2020 to determine if there was an increase in tweets about depression due to the pandemic. A total of 2,000 tweets were randomly selected using the keyword or hashtag “depressed” and “depression”. A sample of 1,000 tweets from April 18 to December 31, 2019, and another sample of 1,000 tweets from April 18 to December 31, 2020, were analyzed. Using the Uses and Gratifications Theory as a framework, …

The Home Literacy Environment's Effect On Language And Literacy Outcomes In Monolingual And Bilingual First And Second Grade Students, Sarah Carney

Open Access Master's Theses

The Home Literacy Environment (HLE) is well researched to support early literacy development in children (e.g., Niklas et al., 2020; Inoue et al., 2018). The majority of research has investigated how the HLE supports children’s preschool literacy development and skills upon entry to kindergarten; however, few research studies have addressed how the HLE contributes to vocabulary, phonological awareness, and reading scores in Spanish-English bilingual first and second grade students. Our present study aims to answer two questions; if Parental Occupation Education (POE) and the HLE affect performance on inside out (phonological awareness and decoding) and outside in (language and vocabulary) …

Transnational Construction Site: Building American/Buying Chinese At The Panama Canal, 1885-1887, Jenny Elkus

Open Access Master's Theses

This thesis is a case study in ethnic relations and identity formation. It attempts to problematize Jewish American immigration history by examining the actions and personal development of one 19th century Jewish immigrant, not through the literature of Jewish American immigration, but through the history and literature of the Chinese migrants with whom he interacted. In 1885, Dr. Felix A. Bettelheim launched a year-long venture to obtain 5,000 Chinese contract laborers to work on the construction of the Panama Canal. This thesis is an attempt to understand how, as a migrant and a member of a persecuted minority himself, Bettelheim …

First Destination Survey 2022: For Degrees Awarded December 2021-August 2022, Hart Career Center, Illinois Wesleyan University

First Destination Survey

[from the email sent by Warren Kistner]

The Hart Career Center is responsible for producing an annual First Destination (graduate) survey that tracks the post-graduate activity of our students within a six-month window of commencement. Following this collection period, we work to produce a report that provides our university community with vital information about the success of our graduates and allows us to address questions posed by prospective students and families. I am pleased to share our report for the class of 2022. Based on data obtained for 88.1% of our graduates, 97.3% are either employed or in graduate/professional school …

An Examination Of Retention And Cumulative Grade Point Averages For Dual Enrollment Students At Public Two-Year Institutions Of Higher Education In Tennessee, Matthew Pryor Hunter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Postsecondary institutions are measured in part by their students' success and retention rates and seek to employ best practices with their students to prepare them for academic success. Federal, state, and local government programs have produced guidelines for preparing students who are academically ready to enter the workforce. Research findings demonstrate that most students are likely to take more than three years to complete associate degrees and up to six years to complete their baccalaureate degrees. Thus, students who participate in dual enrollment programs tend to complete their degrees sooner than those who do not participate in dual enrollment programs. …

The White Elephant In The Classroom: A Case Study On Understanding Whiteness To Become An Antiracist Teacher In The Rural Classroom, Jean Ann Little

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

While the public-school classroom has increasingly become more diverse, the teaching population has not. Research studies on race and its role in the classroom have been necessary considering the predominantly white teaching force and the opportunity gap that exists in the education outcomes of students of color and that of their white peers; furthermore, a gap in rural and urban studies on white teachers working with students of color provided the additional impetus for the study. This study seeks to add to the emerging field of second-wave white teacher identity studies. The purpose of this case study was to discover …

Financial Market Liquidity, Informed Trading, And Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence From Corporate Tone, Exchange Competition, And Corporate Culture, Rasheek Irtisam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Prior literature documents a temporary spike in information asymmetry between sophisticated and unsophisticated traders around corporate disclosures because the former process new information faster. In Essay 1, using advances in textual analysis, we show that when management issues more uncertain financial statements, the resulting spike in information asymmetry is significantly lower than for firms which use less uncertain text. Furthermore, textual uncertainty measures of the disclosures are negatively associated with Intermarket Sweep Order (ISO) volume, an order type commonly used by sophisticated traders. This suggests sophisticated traders and algorithms are less able to extract value-relevant information from financial disclosures when …

Radical Rhetoric And The Syrian Revolution: Toward A Telos Of Solidarity, Noor Ghazal Ghazal Aswad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations Archive

Transnational rhetorical scholarship has yet to enact solidarity with the subaltern. “Inclusionary” efforts have actively excluded what I term the “radical subject,” the subject revolting against repressive hegemonic forces to achieve liberatory change in society. As an intervention, this dissertation conceptualizes the Syrian revolution as a rhetorical performance which enacts a theory of its own agency and possibilities, an expression of a liberatory moment where radical subjects rose from under an authoritarian regime’s historic rule. Within this rhetorical performance, the radical subject serves as the chief protagonist, a subject whose rhetoric is informative of both practice and theory. The Syrian …