Digital Commons Network^™

Passive Self-Ligating Brackets Vs. Conventional Brackets: Is There A Difference In The Transverse Dimension? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Justin Scott Tenbrook

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background and Objectives:

Self-ligating brackets have risen in popularity in clinical orthodontics, but many claims made by their manufacturers have been made without substantial evidence. Any differences among the bracket types are very small when consulting new peer reviewed literature testing their differences. Nevertheless, self-ligating brackets are still purported to be able to increase the dental transverse dimension more effectively than conventional brackets. In 2018, Yang et al. performed a systematic review on the transversal changes, space closure, and efficiency of conventional and self-ligating appliances. Since then, there were several clinical trials published in the literature comparing the mandibular arch …

From Evaluating The Performance Of Approximations In Density Functional Theory To A Machine Learning Design, Pedram Tavazohi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Density-functional theory (DFT) has gained popularity because of its ability to predict the properties of a large group of materials a priori. Even though DFT is exact, there are inaccuracies introduced into the theory due to the approximations in the exchange-correlation (XC) functionals. Over the 50 years of its existence, scientists have tried to improve the design of the XC functionals. The errors introduced by these functionals are not consistent across all types of solid-state materials. In this project, a high throughput framework was utilized to compare the theoretical DFT predictions with the experimental results available in the Inorganic Crystal …

Efficacy Of Reported Issue Times As A Means For Effort Estimation, Paul Phillip Maclean

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Software effort is a measure of manpower dedicated to developing and maintaining and software. Effort estimation can help project managers monitor their software, teams, and timelines. Conversely, improper effort estimation can result in budget overruns, delays, lost contracts, and accumulated Technical Debt (TD). Issue Tracking Systems (ITS) have become mainstream project management tools, with over 65,000 companies using Jira alone. ITS are an untapped resource for issue resolution effort research. Related work investigates issue effort for specific issue types, usually Bugs or similar. They model their developer-documented issue resolution times using features from the issues themselves. This thesis explores a …

Summer Habitat Use, Home Range, And Effect Of Catch And Release Mortality On The Trophy Potential Of Muskellunge, (Esox Masquinongy, Mitchill, 1824), In A Southern Reservoir Population, Peter Isaac Jenkins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research on Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy, Mitchill, 1824) catch-and-release mortality has been historically focused on the Midwest, Great Lakes, and Ontario. In the southern portion of their range, which we consider to be the portion of the species distribution south of the Mason-Dixon Line (~40°N), Muskellunge, may experience significantly warmer temperatures than those in previous studies and anglers have expressed concern about summer catch-and-release mortality. As part of a broader study to quantify catch-and-release summer mortality in the southern range of Muskellunge, we utilized radio telemetry and active tracking to verify individual movement and survival of Muskellunge in Stonewall …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Causes Of Academic Difficulties Experienced By Students Who Are Culturally And Linguistically Diverse, Courtney D. Miller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of the study was to identify in-service general and special educators’, counselors’, and English as a Second Language educators’ perceptions of the cause of academic difficulties for students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was used to initially collect quantitative data though an online survey with more in-depth qualitative data collected through subsequent focus groups. This design allowed the researcher to better interpret and explain the quantitative data by exploring general and special educators’, counselors’, and ESL teachers’ perceptions of the causes of academic difficulties experienced by students who are CLD, to …

Borderlands And Mestiza Consciousness In Appalachia: Latina Undergraduate Experiences In A Predominantly White Institution, Susana Mazuelas Quirce

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative phenomenological study explores the experiences of eight undergraduate Latinas in a Predominantly White Institution in the Appalachian region using Gloria Anzaldúa’s insights on Borderlands and Mestiza consciousness. A vast majority of the studies focused on the Latinx college student population that takes place in states and tertiary institutions with a dense concentration of Latinx population, leaving rural areas—especially the Appalachian region— unexplored. There is, as well, a scarcity of studies in research focused on four-year-degree-granting institutions in which Latinx are highly underrepresented. A substantial number of studies continue presenting Latinx students as a homogenous group despite their heterogeneity …

Global Engagement Model For Land-Grant Universities, A Grounded Theory., Lorena Ivonne Ballester

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study is to examine how land-grant universities engage with the public in the era of globalization; to explain the institutionalization of engagement processes accounting for the global context; and, to integrate this analysis into a Global Engagement Model for Land-Grant Universities (GEM) implementing a grounded theory research methodology.

GEM’s foundation is both theoretical and empirical. Applying the intensity sampling method, the universities selected for the empirical base were: The University of California, Davis, Michigan State University, and The Pennsylvania State University. Rather than an exact representation of individual universities’ engagement models, the model is the researcher’s …

Self-Reported And Behavioral Perseverance Associated With The Maintenance Of Health Behaviors, Alivia Kay Frazier

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Research has shown that positive psychological traits, such as perseverance, may be associated with the maintenance of health behaviors aimed to prevent commonly fatal diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease, stroke). Although there is limited research in this area, the current study examined whether there was an association between self-reported perseverance, behavioral perseverance, and distress tolerance with various health behaviors (e.g., sleep, physical activity, nutrition, vaping, alcohol use, general health status, and COVID-19 behaviors). A novel methodology was implemented for this study that employed using the online mirror tracing task as a measure of behavioral perseverance.

A sample of young adult participants …

Inferential Statistics And Information Theoretical Measures: An Approach To Interference Detection In Radio Astronomy, Morgan R. Dameron

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In a time when technology is rapidly growing, radio observatories are now able to expand their computational power to achieve higher receiver sensitivity power and a more flexible realtime computing approach to probe the universe for its composition and study new astronomical phenomena. This allows searches to go deeper into the universe, and results in the recording of massive quantities of observed data. At the same time, this increases the amount of radio frequency interference (RFI) found in the obtained observatory data. The high power of RFI easily masks the low power of extraterrestrial signals, making them hard to detect …

Eco-Material Rifts In South Asian Anglophone Fiction, Muhammad Manzur Alam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

I examine how South Asian Anglophone fiction represents the evolution and derangement of postcolonial ecologies, especially how unrelenting colonial and capitalist interventions affect the symbiotic relationship between subaltern people and nonhuman entities. The conceptual methodology develops from Karl Marx’s theory of “metabolic rift,” which illustrates how capitalist exportation of crops causes loss of important soil nutrients because the nutrients are consumed in distant locations and not returned to the original soil. My concept of “eco-material rifts” extends Marx’s idea to contend that the “rifts” have grown into more complicated and difficult to remediate modes of material rifts today. I scrutinize …

A Tool For Biometric Interpretation Of Forensic Str Dna Profiles, Ahmad Jamal Baroudi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Rapid DNA biometric identification applications are becoming more essential and widely used in human identity validation processes. Despite their powerful identification capabilities, processing a sample to generate a forensic DNA profile still takes longer compared with other rapid biometric technologies. Methods used to speed up the analysis could lead to signal artifacts similar to those arising from low copy or degraded DNA samples, making the electropherogram unsuitable for forensic interpretation and analysis. The goal of this research effort is to apply biometrics and mathematical approaches to forensic STR (Short Tandem Repeat) profiles. To accomplish this goal, a multi-function software tool …

Ecology Of Black-Legged Ticks (Ixodes Scapularis) At Fort Drum Military Installation, New York, Lucas Eli Price

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The number of confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the United States of America has risen from 12,801 cases reported in 1997, which is the earliest year these data are available, to 23,453 confirmed cases in 2019. In the eastern United States, black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are the primary vector of Lyme disease, which is caused by the spirochete bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. Tick abundance tends to be highest in dense forest habitats and where wildlife diversity is low. Because wildlife species have varying levels of competency as reservoir hosts, sources of tick bloodmeals influence Lyme disease ecology. …

Genetic Underpinnings Of Novel Trait Development In A Euwallacea-Fusarium Mutualism, Elaina J. Spahr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Evolutionary Developmental Biology seeks to answer fundamental questions about the mechanisms underlying the evolution and innovation towards increasing structural complexity within the body plan. The ambrosia symbiosis, a polyphyletic group of xylem-feeding beetles, provides a wealth of diversity in novel pouch-like structures called mycangia. This diversity could serve as a rich model for understanding how mutualisms may prompt structural innovation and diversification in a host organism. The ambrosia symbiosis has become a fast-growing research subject in entomology and forest pathology but has yet to experience the same attention under the lens of evolutionary developmental genetics.

Development of mycangia was examined …

Performance Enhancement Of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes By Electronic Doping, David A. Shelhammer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since the invention of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) nearly 40 years ago, significant effort has been put into realizing their full potential. OLEDs exhibit several properties that make them ideal candidates for applications in displays as well as solid-state lighting: low power consumption, high contrast ratios, mechanical flexibility, and wide viewing angles. However, the low electrical conductivity and poor stability of organic materials remain critical factors that limit device performance. The focus of this work is OLED performance improvement through the introduction of novel inorganic dopants into organic charge transport layers. The results show a significant reduction in operating voltage …

Functionally Magnetic Gradient Copper-Nickel Material Fabricated Via Directed Energy Deposition, Vy Tran Phuong Nguyen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Functionally gradient materials (FGMs) of CuSn10 and Inconel 718 were fabricated via a hybrid directed energy deposition (DED) system. The objective of the present thesis is to determine the feasibility of manufacturing CuSn10 and Inconel 718 FGMs via DED and investigate the physical and mechanical properties and the microstructures of the resulting FGMs. The physical tests comprised of conductivity and Seebeck coefficient measurements. The microstructure analysis and mechanical testing include microscopic imaging, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and hardness test. In addition, compressive strength test was performed to analyze the interface bonding behaviors.

Aerodynamic Performance Of A Biologically Inspired Hybrid Plasma-Mechanical Flow Control And Sensing Device, Joseph Dygert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The continued high global demand for passenger and freight air traffic along with increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles operating in broader Reynolds number regimes has resulted in researchers examining alternative technologies, which would result in safer, more reliable, and superior performing aircraft. Aerodynamic flow control may be one of the most promising approaches to solving this problem, having already proven its ability to enable higher flow efficiency while simultaneously improving overall control of flow behavior such as laminar-to-turbulent transition. Recent research in aerodynamic flow control has seen a pronounced growth in the areas of biomimicry and plasma flow control …

Survival Rate Of Dental Implants Placed In Alveolar Ridge Preservation Sites - Systematic Review, Sravanthi Papisetti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: It is not known so far performing Alveolar Ridge Preservation (ARP) in a freshly extracted socket with intact walls would improve clinical outcomes of implants placed in these sites. It is not known whether different biomaterials and techniques would affect the survival of dental implants.

Aim: The current systematic review is undertaken to assess the survival rate of dental implants placed in these sockets and to assess different socket graft materials as well as techniques of ridge preservation with regard to the survival of implants.

Material methods: Search for relevant articles was done in Medline (PubMed). No …

Information Theoretical Analysis Of The Uniqueness Of Iris Biometrics, Katelyn M. Hampel

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With the rapid globalization of technology in the world, the need for a more reliable and secure online method of authentication is required. This can be achieved by using each individual’s distinctive biometric identifiers, such as the face, iris, fingerprint, palmprint, etc.; however, there is a bound to the uniqueness of each identifier and consequently, a limit to the capacity that a biometric recognition system can sustain before false matches occur. Therefore, knowing the limitations on the maximum population that a biometric modality can uniquely represent is essential now more than ever. In an effort to address the general problem, …

Screen Media Use Among Children And Adolescents – Applications Of Supervised And Unsupervised Machine Learning And Sentiment Analysis, Yifan Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Screen media has become increasingly pervasive in our everyday lives and has profoundly changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. However, we are still unclear about the long-term influence of screen media use on our physical health, mental health, and social wellbeing. Children and adolescents are in an important stage of brain development and are susceptible to the environmental influence that screen media possess. This dissertation pursued three aims to address research gaps related to screen media use among children and adolescents: 1) identify topics and knowledge gaps in screen media use research among children and adolescents …

Evaluation Of Cross-Laminated Timber Panels Produced With Yellow-Poplar (Liriodendron Tulipifera), Rafael Da Rosa Azambuja

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) panels are engineered wood products breaking into the building sector. Currently, the range of raw materials used in CLT is still limited to softwoods, while some hardwood species such as yellow-poplar could potentially be used to produce this wood product. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to assess the feasibility of using Appalachian Hardwoods in the production of Cross-Laminated Timber panels. Specifically, the objectives of the research were to 1) Determine the amount of yellow-poplar structural lumber that can be obtained from a representative population of low-grade, yellow-poplar lumber graded for appearance; 2) Evaluate whether …

Quantifying Water Security In West Virginia And The Potomac River Basin, Eric Carl Edvard Sinius Sjostedt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

All healthy ecosystems, communities, and economies are founded on access to clean, adequate water sources to support ecosystem services, provide clean drinking water, and allow the production of water-intensive goods and services. The state of available water resources must be analyzed through the lens of water security, defined as the capability to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for people, the economy, and ecosystems. Mountain regions are sources of freshwater resources for downstream regions, which produce disproportionately higher runoff than downstream regions. As a result, mountain regions are often referred to as natural water towers …

Thermochemical Water-Splitting Using Novel High-Entropy Perovskite Oxides, Hector Alexis De Santiago Hernandez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this project, we designed, synthesized, and tested the transformative (La_0.8Sr_0.2)(Mn_[1-x]/3Fe_[1-x]/3Co_xAl_[1-x]/3)O₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) high-entropy perovskite oxides (HEPOs) as redox active oxygen carriers for thermochemical hydrogen production with improved stability, kinetics, and H₂ yield. The developed HEPOs form an R3c (hexagonal) phase and were successfully synthesized using both the Pechini and solid-state reactions with the latter synthesis being the primary source for testing. These innovative perovskites demonstrated an improved kinetics with oxygen surface exchange coefficient, k, greater than 7.5 x 10^-4 cm/s, …

Framing Fashion Sustainability In Fashion Magazines, Kristen Ann Mohammadi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study explores the framing, dominant frame, story focus, and tone of sustainable fashion coverage in prominent fashion magazines, Vogue and Refinery29, seeking to understand if the publications frame their coverage differently and if the framing changes after the emergence of COVID-19. To do so, this study uses a sample consisting of articles from summer months (May-August) spanning three years (2019, 2020, and 2021), as COVID-19 was first discovered in the United States in 2020. This study uses content analysis methodology to analyze a total of 206 articles. This kind of research is important, as environmental and social issues stemming …

In Darkness There Is Light: Designing For The Insect Play, Seret Teresa Cole

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This serves as documentation of my scenic design process for the School of Theatre & Dance at West Virginia University’s production of The Insect Play by Karel Čapek. This thesis includes a plot summary, text analysis, and historical context. It also contains conversations with the director and design team, as well as a description of my design process befitting the needs of the play. The design aspects will be presented through research photos, models, drafting plates, and execution photos. It will conclude with a self-reflection of the overall production process.

The Web And The Blockbuster Poster: An Examination Of The Impact Of Streaming Services On Movie Advertising, Holden Edward Strausser

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The year 2020 brought a widespread closure of movie theaters, exacerbating a trend wherein streaming services gained an increasing importance in movie distribution. This study examines how the changing nature of the motion picture distribution market after the advent of the streaming service is reflected in movie advertising, specifically the movie poster. The research uses a content analysis methodology to compare film posters across time, from before the beginning of streaming services to the arrival of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Analysis is derived from Uses and Gratifications theory and scholarship on star power. The research shows …

The Potential Of Diabase Sills In Eastern Pennsylvania To Store Co2 And H2, Rhiannon R. Schmitt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

With anthropogenic CO₂ concentrations rising, geologic carbon sequestration and H₂ storage are essential processes in mitigating climate change. Typical geologic carbon sequestration involves the capture of anthropogenic CO₂ and injection into depleted oil/gas reservoirs or saline formations with an impermeable cap rock to prevent the buoyant migration of CO₂. The risk of eventual CO₂ migration through these low permeability cap rocks adds expensive monitoring costs to this traditional sequestration strategy. Another method for CO₂ sequestration utilizes the reaction of CO₂ with mafic and ultramafic rocks. CarbFix, a sequestration project in Iceland, has …

Factors Influencing Brook Trout Population Dynamics And Resilience In Central Appalachian Headwater Streams, Christopher W. Schwinghamer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Central Appalachia has a unique history of human perturbation due largely to its historical economic reliance on extractive industry and timber harvest. Legacy impacts from these historic disturbances along with contemporary stressors in the form of continued industry, changing climates, altered land use, habitat fragmentation, and introduced species can present great threats to the region’s aquatic ecosystems. Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis are a species that has recreational and economic importance to the communities of central Appalachia but declines in size and abundance have been observed. Given the disturbances that threaten Brook Trout populations, understanding how their populations will respond to …

Narrative Transportation In Documentary Film: How Immersion Into The Documentary Film Hillbilly Affects Viewers' Attitudes, Alayna G. Fuller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For decades, film has relied on stereotypical misconceptions to depict Appalachian people on screen. Research has demonstrated that visual narratives and the experience of narrative transportation has the power to change individuals’ perceptions about information conveyed implicitly or explicitly within a story. Presently, no empirical research has examined how viewer attitudes form based on their level of immersion into an Appalachian documentary film. To fill this gap, this study offers a quantitative approach to examine if the documentary Hillbilly narratively transports the viewer into the world of Appalachia and shifts audience perceptions of the stereotypical Appalachian persona or “hillbilly.” The …

Exploring How Children Use Their Everyday Thinking To Construct Scientific Explanations Of The Natural World, Ashley Nicole Kooken

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to describe and explain children’s thinking present in multiple related contexts surrounding a single Earth Space disciplinary core idea in order to provide insight on whether and how children’s everyday thinking forms the basis for learning in science classrooms. As most previous work on children’s thinking focuses more on what ideas and thinking are present within specific science learning contexts, there is a knowledge gap as to how children’s everyday ideas across multiple contexts provide the basis from which they construct a deeper conceptual understanding about scientific phenomenon in the world …

Tax Avoidance, Corporate Governance, And Corporate Policies, Yang Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation includes three essays examining the interactions between tax avoidance, corporate governance, and corporate policies. The first essay exploits corporate governance shocks induced by cross-listing in the U.S., and find that firms tend to engage in less tax avoidance after cross-listing. This effect is more pronounced for firms that experience significant improvements in corporate governance, and for firms from countries with weaker shareholder protection and disclosure requirements. Taken together, the results indicate that cross-listing in the U.S. helps align the interests of managers and shareholders and reduces managerial diversion.

The second essay examines the importance of tax avoidance to …