Digital Commons Network^™

Editorial: Personalism And Moral Psychology: Re-Humanizing Economies And Organizations, Kleio Akrivou, Caleb Bernacchio, Domenec Melé, Germán Scalzo

College of Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Digital Technologies And The Future Of Work: An Agent-Centred Ethical Perspective Based On Goods, Norms, And Virtues, Marta Rocchi, Caleb Bernacchio

College of Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

The ethical analysis related to the impact of digital technologies on the future of work needs to be conducted considering the theoretical diversity of ethics. After reviewing prominent existing approaches to ethics (utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics), this chapter suggests the need for an agent-centred ethical perspective based on goods, norms, and virtues for the evaluation of ethical issues related to digital technologies and their impact on the future of work. Different examples illustrate the merits of this approach, helping to untangle complex issues concerning the relationship between the nature and scope of digital technologies, regulatory needs within the new …

Bob Lutz - Expert, Mentor, And Friend, Diane Penneys Edelman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rethinking International Investment Law: Form, Function & Reform, Stratos Pahis

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Transfer Learning Using Infrared And Optical Full Motion Video Data For Gender Classification, Alexander M. Glandon, Joe Zalameda, Khan M. Iftekharuddin, Gabor F. Fulop (Ed.), David Z. Ting (Ed.), Lucy L. Zheng (Ed.)

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This work is a review and extension of our ongoing research in human recognition analysis using multimodality motion sensor data. We review our work on hand crafted feature engineering for motion capture skeleton (MoCap) data, from the Air Force Research Lab for human gender followed by depth scan based skeleton extraction using LIDAR data from the Army Night Vision Lab for person identification. We then build on these works to demonstrate a transfer learning sensor fusion approach for using the larger MoCap and smaller LIDAR data for gender classification.

Nature Based Interventions For Human Health And Wellbeing, Samantha I. Moyers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background. Nature exposure is beneficial to human health and wellbeing, but the evidence base for nature-based interventions (NBI) is still developing. Heterogeneous naming conventions, study designs, and intervention contexts create difficulty in accessing and assessing the evidence for such programming. While NBI have been utilized in a wide array of human populations, no interventions have been reported among clinical health professions students. Aims. The objectives of this dissertation project were to review the existing body of NBI literature exploring health and wellbeing outcomes, and to conduct a feasibility trial of forest bathing, a type of NBI, among clinical students. Specifically, …

Retention And Persistence Of Low-Income, First-Generation Rural College Students From West Virginia, Rachel D. Nieman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A considerable body of research demonstrates that first-generation college students face greater obstacles to college retention, persistence and completion compared to their non-first-generation counterparts. However, the extant literature rarely explores rurality as a salient factor to understand these challenges. Even less visible in the literature are the experiences and voices of West Virginians. West Virginia is a predominantly rural state and ranks 49^th in the nation in terms of educational attainment, with only 19.6% of residents over the age of 25 having earned at least a bachelor’s degree. While rural areas may experience multifaceted struggles, the educational attainment of …

Using Aromatherapy For Comfort, Ease, And Stress For Adults Being Treated For Substance Use Disorder In North Central Appalachia: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Marian E. Reven

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background:Those in treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) face significant challenges and express the need for enhanced support for comfort to be successful. There is growing interest in integrative modalities such as aromatherapy using essential oils to support health.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, to see if there was an increase in comfort and ease, and a decrease in stress in those who used an aroma inhaler with Citrus bergamia (Bergamot) essential oil. Second, to determine the feasibility of the intervention.

Method: This study was founded upon an integrated theoretical framework combining the theory of …

Organizing (Eternal) Identity And Identification: An Upward Glance Into Religious Institutions, Casey M. Stratton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation disrupts at least two religious spaces: First, scholars religiously adhering to (social) scientific norms, and second, people identifying with religious organizations (i.e., churches). First, we begin constructing a theoretical lens using poststructural ideas offered by Foucault, Derrida, and Bakhtin to read and disrupt (religious) discourse. Second, we complicate organizational identification as a concept, deeming it fixed and fluid—a paradox within religious discourses that endorse Truth and Perfection. Here, we draw from the communication constitutes organization (CCO) approach. Third, we further curate the lens by applying poststructuralism, identification, and CCO in a specific context: The Church of Jesus Christ …

Continental Saline Environments Interpreted From Bedded Gypsum Of The Triassic Red Peak Formation (Chugwater Group), Northcentral Wyoming, Maya Yamei Bradford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bedded evaporites and associated red bed siliciclastics record saline lake and groundwater systems from Permo-Triassic Pangea. A major component of these red bed and evaporite systems is bedded gypsum. However, little attention has been paid to the textures of ancient gypsum. Observations of gypsum textures can refine interpretations of depositional environment and diagenetic history. This project describes textures of bedded gypsum from an outcrop of the Triassic Red Peak Formation (Chugwater Group) near Greybull, Wyoming.

This thesis uses fieldwork, petrography, and x-ray diffraction to describe an outcrop of the upper Red Peak Formation, with a focus on textures of bedded …

Investigating The Role Of Nudt7-Mediated Peroxisomal Coa Degradation In The Regulation Of Hepatic Coa Levels And Lipid Metabolism, Schuyler Dan Adams Vickers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Coenzyme A (CoA) is a crucial cofactor required to support many essential metabolic processes, including fatty acid oxidation and synthesis, the TCA cycle, and bile acid synthesis. In order to support the proper functioning of these pathways, CoA levels within the cell must be properly regulated. The regulation of CoA levels is achieved through a balance between CoA synthesis and CoA degradation. While the regulation of CoA synthesis has been extensively characterized, the degradation of CoA has received less attention. As such, the contribution of CoA degradation to the regulation of metabolism is poorly understood. NUDT7 is a CoA-specific Nudix …

First Year Teacher In Appalachia: Place, Identity, Tensions, Michael Renee Lane

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This study centers on one first-year Social Studies teacher who is beginning her teaching career in a rural middle school in central Appalachia. Grounded in sociocultural theory, this qualitative study focuses understanding how the focal teacher discursively constructs her teaching identity including how she makes use of sociocultural resources, social practices, and the discourses she draws from as she describes her experiences. Data is drawn from a five-month interpretive qualitative case study that included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and the focal teacher’s personal journals. Data analysis indicated that place is crucial in shaping teachers’ beliefs and practices—including their conceptions of …

Skirting The Law: Sensationalism And Spectacle Of British Murderesses From The 1830s To The 1860s, Sarah Elizabeth Offutt

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

“Skirting the Law: Sensationalism and Spectacle of British Murderesses from the 1830s to the 1860s” concentrates on women who committed the crime of murder during a time where print culture rose in popularity, gendered spheres of influence dictated lives, and class consciousness governed society. Due to their rarity and uniqueness, murderesses became a fascination among the public as they defined societal expectations. While some women inspired sympathy for their plight that led to their actions, others were viewed as wicked and abominations of nature. When observing how infrequently women were convicted in comparison to men, the thesis argues that their …

Meiotic Recombination In Zea Mays And Its Contribution To Genetic Diversity, Jasmine Elizabeth Freeman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Meiotic recombination plays a vital role in shaping genome evolution by introducing genetic diversity necessary for natural selection. Recombination rates exhibit extensive variation within and between species, occurring in specific regions known as hotspots and coldspots along individual chromosomes. Maize, with its well-characterized genome, provides an excellent model for studying the nonrandom pattern of meiotic recombination. While retrotransposon activity contributes to significant intergenic variation in maize inbred lines, the genic space remains conserved in terms of gene order and sequence. To investigate recombination activity in the Bz1/Sh1 region, the maize haplotypes W22 and B73, which share genetic backgrounds but differ …

Effects Of Climate Change And Landscape-Scale Forest Management On Avian Communities, Abundance, And Nest Success In The Appalachian Mountains, Hannah L. Clipp

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Birds are integral components of ecosystems and account for billions of dollars in tangible benefits to humans. As such, recent continental declines of bird species have ecological and economic consequences, providing the impetus for my dissertation research. I identified knowledge gaps and proposed novel questions about how birds in the Appalachian Mountains are influenced by changing environmental conditions due to climate change and forest management. The Appalachian Mountains encompass an important biogeographical region with high conservation value due to its myriad habitats and corresponding bird species diversity. Thus, there is a critical need to evaluate the effects of shifting climate …

“Long Have I Wished To See The King:” Indigenous Transatlantic Diplomacy In The 18th Century North American Southeast, Riley Christian Bowers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis situates three examples of transatlantic diplomacy practiced by Cherokee and Yamacraw diplomats in the eighteenth century within their Indigenous contexts. Utilizing treaty negotiations, transcripts from diplomatic summits, official correspondence, published journals, and newspapers, this study aims to situate these delegations within an Indigenous and transatlantic sociopolitical context. The aim of this work is to address questions regarding the objectives of the people involved, and to trace the outcomes of their policies. The answers to these questions explain one of many southeastern Indigenous political strategies of the eighteenth century, one that highlights the imperial center as a crucial setting …

3d Printed Microfluidic Devices For Advanced Fluid Manipulation In Biomedical Applications, Kathrine Curtin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Microfluidics are valuable devices in the biomedical field because of their remarkable ability to manipulate small volumes of fluid and facilitate reactions. Microfluidics have several significant advantages, including their portability, low cost, fast reaction times, and high surface area-to-volume ratios. Microfluidics be used for a multitude of applications, including bioanalysis, cellular assays, organ-on-a-chip, and separations. Microfluidics have great potential to overcome many challenges in conventional chemical and biological applications. However, complex fabrication procedures in silicon, glass, thermoplastics, and (polydimethylsiloxane) PDMS devices make rapidly optimizing and prototyping devices challenging. Microfluidic fabrication techniques have been a long-standing challenge in successfully translating these …

Modeling And Simulation Of A Process That Converts Ethane To Ethylene And Ethylene To Low Density Polyethylene, Ernest Bosire Mokaya

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ethylene is a critical feedstock and a major building block in the petrochemical industry that is used in synthesizing important products like polyethylene, ethanol, ethylene oxide, ethylene dichloride and ethylbenzene. With increasing demand of plastics, production of ethylene and subsequently polyethylene has increased globally. This thesis conducts the modeling and simulation of an integrated process that utilizes ethane as the primary feedstock to produce ethylene and the subsequent polymerization of ethylene to low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The process combines two different processes into one integrated process: (1) conversion of ethane to ethylene and (2) conversion of ethylene to LDPE. First, a …

Losing My Religion: Contextualizing Continental Catholic Seminaries In The Elizabethan Reformation, 1558-1603, Cole Volman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines the impact and influence of a portion of the early modern Jesuit seminary network within the narrative of the Counter Reformation. Following the rise of Elizabeth I, a significant number of Catholic recusants fled England to take up residence in a series of schools spread across Europe with the intention of completing their education and later contributing to the efforts to preserve Catholicism in their homeland. This dissertation argues that these schools played a significant role in the course of the “English Mission,” contributing to its conception, escalation, and eventual collapse in the late sixteenth century. Despite …

Dietary Supplementation And Functional Foods: From Development To Clinical And Public Health Implications, Rachel Grace Newman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A rigorous research process is the foundation for the development and ultimate recommendation for use of dietary supplements and functional foods. This dissertation uses three seemingly disparate studies to explore the diverse research methodologies used in dietary supplement and functional food development and use. The first study focuses on primary research on the development of microgreen lemon balm herbal tea, employing experimental methodologies to assess its nutritional and bioactive properties compared to adult lemon balm herbal tea. Results showed that adult lemon balm tea contained higher total phenolics, total flavonoids, rosmarinic acid, and antioxidant capacity than microgreen teas, with hot …

A Study Of Six Selected Piano Variations By Czerny, Hao Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research paper is focused on the piano variations by Carl Czerny (1791-1857), with discussion and analysis of six among his 180 sets of piano variations. These six sets of variations include: Les charmes de l'amitié (Charms of Friendship), Op. 55; Variations on a Theme from Oberon, Op. 134; Introduction and Variations on La muette de Portici, Op. 208; Variations brillantes sur un thème favori de l'opéra Hans Heiling de Henri Marschner, Op. 341; Variations on a Motif by Ch. L. Hoffmann, “Souvenir de Boieldieu,” Op. 352; and Eisenbahn Variationen (Variations on a Waltz by Strauss), Op. 431. These …

Rumen And Urine Amine/Phenol-Metabolome Of Beef Steers With Divergent Residual Feed Intake, Taylor S. Sidney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Cattle production is one of the most important agricultural industries in the United States. Despite its overall production efficiency, the industry is facing considerable adversities to its long-term sustainability due to population growth, decreased land availability, and the increase in global warming. Since feed efficiency imposes an immense influence on the cost of production for animals and is a major cost determinant for profitability, the improvement of feed utilization through the understanding of animal-to-animal variation in feed efficiency is pertinent to increase farm productivity and profitability. Residual feed intake (RFI) is a measure of feed efficiency and is defined as …

The Uncertain Future Of Landscapes Subjected To Mountaintop Removal Mining, Samuel James Bower

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Increased erosion following human land disturbance is a global issue for ecosystem health and land management. Mountaintop removal (MTR) mining – a type of surface mining predominately found in the Central Appalachian Coalfields region – is one of the most significant examples of human perturbation to a natural landscape. A post-MTR landscape, when compared to its natural state, has significantly different erosive potential due to the rearrangement of topography from mining and reclamation practices. Removal of vegetation and alterations to soil further influence erosion by raising the effective erodibility of substrate subjected to MTR. We quantify the changes in erosion …

The Eruption Of Disruption: The Manifestation Of Disrupting Whiteness In Secondary Social Studies In Appalachia, Elizabeth Disalvo Osborne

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This phenomenological dissertation explores the lived experiences of secondary social studies educators situated in the Appalachian region. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a philosophical and methodological approach to gather insights into this phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with three educators to capture their experiences from their childhoods, to their teaching careers, and into their current personal lives. These experiences were analyzed using a Whole-Part-Whole process to understand how they came to disrupt whiteness, the ways they did so, and their understanding of the impact disrupting whiteness for creating learning environments, developing curriculum and making instructional decisions. The findings revealed how these …

Investigating The Effects Of Flotation Restricted Environment Stimulation Therapy On Neural Networks In Chronic Pain Patients Via Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging And Other Modalities, Tyler Austin Mcgaughey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Chronic lower back pain (CLBP) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, with an estimated direct cost of over 600 billion dollars in the US alone. CLBP profoundly impacts the patient, their support team, and the healthcare system. Widespread changes to the patient's well-being, including mental health, are seen in CLBP and contribute to a downward spiral that often leads to disability. Chronic pain is poorly understood and is difficult to treat because of its subjective nature. Recent improvements in pain assessment in the clinic and in biomedical research have had a profoundly impacted the field. More than …

Sense And Sensitivity: Spatial Structure Of Conspecific Signals During Social Interaction, Keshav Ramachandra

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Organisms rely on sensory systems to gather information about their environment. Localizing the source of a signal is key in guiding the behavior of the animal successfully. Localization mechanisms must cope with the challenges of representing the spatial information of weak, noisy signals. In this dissertation, I investigate the spatial dynamics of natural stimuli and explore how the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish encodes these realistic spatial signals. To do so In Chapter 2, I develop a model that examines the strength of the signal as it reaches the sensory array and simulates the responses of the receptors. The …

Development And Characterization Of Monoclonal Antibodies Against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Jason Kang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a global crisis, posing significant challenges to the treatment and management of infectious diseases. The escalating prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has made many antimicrobial therapies ineffective, necessitating the development of alternative strategies to combat microbial infections. The rise of multidrug-resistant pathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Serratia marcescens, further exacerbates this problem, as these pathogens exhibit high levels of resistance to multiple antibiotics and cause severe infections in vulnerable populations. In response to the need for alternative therapeutic approaches, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as promising candidates for combating AMR. In this work, we …

Looking Inward, Looking Back: John Le Carré And The Spy Narrative After The Cold War, Rachel Lynn Hoag

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The genre of spy fiction confronts a paradigm-shifting event in the 1990s with the end of the Cold War. Despite critical speculation that the genre had outlived its usefulness, spy fiction writers navigate this period of transition, and the genre remains broadly popular with the reading public. This study examines how the work of Britain’s foremost espionage writer, John le Carré, navigates the changing geopolitical landscape of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. In mapping this terrain, one sees two distinct impulses emerge: a tendency to look inward and a tendency to look back. To look inward, the novels …

Developing New Ionization Strategies For Characterizing Structural Flexibility, Heterogeneity, And Transformation Of Biopolymers, Daud Sharif

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biopolymers, such as proteins and nucleic acids, serve important functions dictated by their structural folding. Information excavated from the intricate structural arrangements of biopolymers have been proved to be vital in diagnosing diseases, unveiling disease mechanisms, and developing new drugs. A continuous effort has been put to improve the characterization techniques of these biomolecules so that more precision can be achieved in terms of detailing their structure-function relationship. Mass spectrometry (MS) is one such technique that has become very relevant for structural biology with the emergence of soft ionization techniques such as electrospray ionization (ESI). A prerequisite to the application …

Chemotherapy-Induced Pdl-1 Expression In Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Promotes Chemoresistance In Nsclc, Gayathri Heenatigala Palliyage

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A cure for cancer is out of reach for most patients due to chemoresistance. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), one of the most abundant types of stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment, are known to provide functional and structural support for tumor progression. These cells also play a role in cancer chemoresistance, but a detailed understanding of the process, particularly in chemoresistant lung cancer, is lacking. In this study, we investigated programmed death-ligand 1 (PDL-1) as a potential biomarker for CAF-induced chemoresistance and evaluated its role and underlying mechanisms of chemoresistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We demonstrated that chemotherapy-stimulated CAFs …