Digital Commons Network^™

Enhancing Leaners’ Motivation And Academic Achievement In Basic Science Using Printed Library Resources, Emmanuel C. Okenyi Ph.D, Christian S. Ugwuanyi Ph.D, Victor S. Ezema Ph.D, Anthonia N. Ngwoke Ph.D

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In Enugu State, Nigeria, the researchers investigated the effects of printed library resources on students' motivation and academic achievement in basic science. The study used a quasi-experimental research design using 58 primary 5 pupils in public primary schools in Enugu State. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample size for the study. The achievement exams Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) and Motivation Scale were used to collect data (BSMS). Using Kuder-Richardson's formula 20 and the Cronbach Alpha technique, the instruments' reliability indices were judged to be 0.81 and 0.76, respectively. To answer the study questions, bar charts were used, …

'As Vivid As Blood In A Sink': (Re)Reading Queerness And Repression In Teju Cole's Open City, Jack Hoda

Master's Theses

Teju Cole’s Open City (2011) is an exemplar work of contemporary fiction. For its complex representation of subjectivity, hypnotic narrative tone, and global political scope, the novel has been praised by readers and critics alike. Julius, the text’s first-person narrator, guides us along seemingly innocent wanderings throughout New York City, ruminating on history, art, and politics while presenting himself as the enlightened, cosmopolitan ideal. However, the shocking penultimate revelation that Julius raped a young woman from his past alters our encounter with the text and its narrator. We come to realize that this meandering novel is, in reality, a carefully …

The Plague And The Parthenon: Crusade, Climate Change And Disease In The Early Modern Mediterranean, John Mark Nicovich

Master's Theses

The present study examines the role epidemic diseases, specifically malaria and bubonic plague, played on the course of the Morean War (1684-1699). The Morean War was a major offensive by Christian powers, led by the Venetian Republic, against Ottoman controlled Greece. Christian victories during the war were widely celebrated across western Europe, but even in victory Christian forces took severe casualties from multiple disease outbreaks. First, this study seeks to explain the terrestrial and maritime networks the war was fought over, and how those networks either led the opposing forces into regions of endemic disease (malaria), or how they allowed …

The Validity Of The Vmaxpro During Countermovement Jump And Back Squat Performance, Hunter Haynes

Master's Theses

Background: Advances in technology have resulted in an increase in the utilization of velocity-based training in the strength and conditioning field while utilization of inertia measurement units (IMUs) shows promise. Methods: Recreationally trained participants (N=25, 28.3 ± 2.9 years) were recruited to determine the validity of the VmaxPro device for measuring performance variables in the back squat and countermovement jump (CMJ) against a gold standard force plate. Squat variables assessed included mean concentric velocity (MCV), mean concentric power (MCP), depth, and duration while CMJ variables assessed included MCV, MCP, depth, duration, and jump height. Squat variables were assessed across 3 …

Teaching Old Calipers New Tricks: Using Craniometrics For Ancestry Admixture Estimation Via Fuzzy Math, Kristi Carnahan

Master's Theses

Cranial measurements have been a cornerstone of physical anthropology since its formation as a discipline in the early 1900s. However, most other ancestry determination methods come with a significant epistemological issue: they differentiate individuals into discrete categories without accounting for the issue of admixture. Advances in data mining and analysis techniques can now be used to help resolve this issue through soft computing, also known as “fuzzy math”. This type of advanced computational math requires specialized knowledge in computer programming, statistics, and data analysis techniques unless one is using computer programs specially designed to run these analyses.

This project compiled …

Influences Of Youtube Advertising On Young Adults: A Social Identity Perspective, Nathakorn Srithong

Master's Theses

Social media sites, such as YouTube, have provided a platform for many individuals to have online communities and form their own audiences through their shared interests and a sense of belonging. YouTube exemplifies a social environment in which everyone has the potential to be both the consumer and the producer of content and suggests the speed at which social networking innovations can transform the way we interact with other users. Corporations began to deviate new strategies to engage this new online market and have created a salient area to study the potential problems that may arise when ads present cultural …

Understanding Biogeochemical And Physical Controls On Methane Air-Sea Exchange Fluxes In The Pacific Ocean, Sarah Raney

Master's Theses

Methane and trace element samples were collected on GEOTRACES GP15 Pacific Meridional Transect (PMT) cruise conducted between the Aleutian Islands (57 °N) and Tahiti (20 °S) from September to November 2018. Uncertainty in methane air-sea exchange fluxes was determined using a propagation of errors approach. Fluxes ranged from -0.88 to 4.9 µmol CH₄ m^-2 d^-1. Average CH₄ flux along the Alaskan margin was 2.2 ± 2.9 µmol CH₄ m^-2 d^-1. Methane fluxes decreased moving southward and increased to their open ocean maximum around 20 °N before declining in equatorial waters. Near …

Defining The Collapse Point In Colloidal Unimolecular Polymer (Cup) Formation, Ashish Zore, Peng Geng, Yuwei Zhang, Michael R. Van De Mark

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Colloidal unimolecular polymer (CUP) particles were made using polymers with different ratios of hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers via a self-organization process known as water reduction. The water-reduction process and the collapse of the polymer chain to form a CUP were tracked using viscosity measurements as a function of composition. A vibration viscometer, which allowed for viscosity measurement as the water was being added during the water-reduction process, was utilized. The protocol was optimized and tested for factors such as temperature control, loss of material, measurement stability while stirring, and changes in the solution volume with the addition of water. The …

Sustainability Via Active Garden Education: The Sustainability Action Plan Model And Process, Rebecca E Lee, Jacob Szeszulski, Elizabeth Lorenzo, Anel Arriola, Meg Bruening, Paul A Estabrooks, Jennie L Hill, Teresia M O'Connor, Gabriel Q Shaibi, Erica G Soltero, Michael Todd

Children’s Nutrition Research Center Staff Publications

Sustainability of intervention programming is challenging to achieve under real world conditions, since few models exist and many studies do not plan far beyond the funding period. Programming content in early care and education centers (ECECs) is often driven by guidelines. However, implementation is very sensitive to contextual factors, such as the setting and implementer (teacher) characteristics. This paper presents the model, definitions, and methodology used for the sustainability action plan capitalizing on a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, developed for a multi-site, multi-level garden-based childhood obesity prevention study, Sustainability via Active Garden Education (SAGE). The Ecologic Model of Obesity …

Hydrogen Technologies, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet about hydrogen technology and the Energy & Environmental Research Center’s (EERC's) National Center for Hydrogen Technology. Includes information about hydrogen as an energy and fuel source and past EERC hydrogen projects.

Core-Cm Williston Basin Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, And Critical Minerals, University Of North Dakota. Energy And Environmental Research Center

EERC Brochures and Fact Sheets

Fact sheet on the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative, an Energy & Environmental Research Center and U.S. Department of Energy project. Includes information on the importance of critical minerals and utilizing lignite from the Williston Basin. [This item is an outdated or superseded version and retained for historical purposes only. It may no longer reflect current information, policies, or practices.]

Knowledge, Attitude And Beliefs Towards Polypharmacy Amongst Older People Attending Family Medicine Clinic (Fmc) At The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya (Akuhn)., Maureen Wanjiru Kamau

Master of Medicine in Family Medicine

Introduction: Life expectancy has increased over the last century amongst older individuals, and in particular, those 60 years and over. The World Health Organization estimates that the world's population of persons over 60 years will rise to 22 per cent by the year 2050. Ageing is associated with increasing disability, multiple chronic conditions, and an increase in the use of health services. Multiple chronic conditions associated with ageing are managed with different medications (polypharmacy) amongst the older population. Polypharmacy has numerous adverse effects including non-adherence, an increased risk of drug interactions with the various medications, reduced appetite, and risk of …

Adequacy Of Pain Management Among Advanced Cancer Patients With Solid Tumors Attending Palliative Care Centers In Dar Es Salaam, Judith Mwijage

Master of Medicine in Family Medicine

Background: Cancer pain is a universal undesirable symptom among cancer patients that if not addressed causes suffering and impedes quality of life of both the patients and their family. Observational studies available have shown increase in palliative care programs in Tanzania but there is dearth of information regarding the adequacy of pain control among patients with cancer after the initiation of these programs and improvement of the available interventions. Objectives: This study aimed to determine adequacy of pain management among advanced cancer patients with solid tumors as well as factors affecting adequate Cancer Related Pain management. Methods: We conducted a …

Analyzing The Survival Rate Of Clinically Pathogenic Bacteria On Occupational Therapy Devices Used During Full Hip Replacement Rehabilitation, Meredith Rippy

Honors Theses

An increasing concern of the healthcare system has been that of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs). HAIs currently account for approximately 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year in United States hospitals. HAI’s (formerly called nosocomial infections) are defined as infections that develop in patients who have been in residence in a healthcare facility (i.e., in-patient clinics) for 48 hours or longer and who previously had no evidence of infection prior to admission. Consequences of HAIs include increased length of hospital stay, exposure to high frequency antibiotics, sepsis, and in unfortunate cases, death. In out-patient environments where patients are receiving rehabilitative …

Studying Suspended Sediment Concentrations In The South Chickamauga Creek Of Chattanooga, Tn Using Satellite Imagery, Digital Image Processing, And Numeric Modeling, Abigail Faxon

Honors Theses

In recent years, Hamilton County, TN has experienced extensive urban growth. According to US Census data, Hamilton County welcomed more than 33,000 new residents in the last decade. There is increased concern about the environmental sustainability of Chattanooga’s urban growth because significant impervious surface development has taken place along the South Chickamauga Creek. This leaves the creek subject to increased urban runoff, which often carries sediments with different municipal pollutants. Thus, monitoring turbidity in the stream water is important to determine the sustainability of urban development in Chattanooga, TN. In this research, we have compared the viability of using different …

Belongingness Needs, Personality, And The Influence Of Virtual Socialization, Katrina Johnson

Honors Theses

Social belongingness is a part of everyday life. The purpose of this study was to learn more about how personality and the use of virtual socialization interact with feelings of belongingness and subjective well-being. The findings of this study indicate that belongingness and well-being are significantly and positively correlated with extraversion. We also found that belongingness and social media used for maintaining friendships were significantly correlated. Further, in a regression analysis, extraversion consistently and significantly positively predicted perceived belongingness. These findings suggest that personality and modality of socializing interact with perceived belongingness.

Social Change Through Rhetorical Action: Case Studies Of Two Tennessee Women In The Archives, Dalton Burks

Honors Theses

In conversations about social change and activism, the American South is rarely represented as a place where such change occurs. However, this analysis will focus on two unlikely activists who used their writing and voices to advocate for change on a local scale in their individual communities. These activists are Emma Bell Miles, an artist, naturalist, and creative writer from Chattanooga, Tennessee who wrote a persuasive column in the Chattanooga News on feminism and naturalism, and Mary Cunningham, a local librarian and mother from McMinnville, Tennessee who created the Magness Library and Community House. This thesis argues that Miles and …

Community Schools: Effectiveness Of Addressing Barriers To Education In Suburban Communities, Tiffany Patterson

Honors Theses

Over the years, the once thought of as stable suburban community has seen a significant increase in poverty and homelessness which has impacted students in similar ways as it has students in urban area schools and has resulted in the implementation of community school programs. According to Pew Research Center in 2020, there were 37.2 million people living in poverty, 16.2 million live in the suburbs, 15.1 million reside in urban communities – and collectively 11.6 million are minors. Community school programs have grown in popularity as an intervention in urban communities to address challenges that students have encountered which …

Speech Acts As Contingent Encounters: Realizing Agency In Contaminated Worlds, Zachary Cross

Honors Theses

Agency is realized in the act of speaking, an act which is always contingent on a collaborative process that transforms all parties involved. We think and act with one another and our concepts, there is no act of speech prior to encounter. In this paper I explore different ways which language shapes our thinking and play with those structures to use them as models for realizing agency. This exploration became personal insofar as exploring ways of thinking transformed my own sense of agency in the speech act. The completion of this paper is thus essential to its conclusion.

Standards For Conducting An Iflora: Using Inaturalist To Conduct A Vascular Flora Of The Charles B Henson Cave Preserve In Dade County, Georgia, Alana Hicks

Honors Theses

Today’s rate of biodiversity loss in the face of climate change and human disturbance urges scientists to quickly capture as much biodiversity data as possible. Citizen science is a tool with great potential for aiding scientists in the collection of this information. The citizen science platform iNaturalist simultaneously enables mass data collection and establishes a digital database accessible to scientists anywhere, anytime. The standardization of floras has been a focus of botanists, including Palmer (1995), who listed a complete set of the requirements that all botanists are urged to follow to maximize both data point cohesiveness and broader data quality. …

#Blacklivesmatter: Critical Political Implications Of Twitter Discourse In The Wake Of George Floyd, Jillian C. Waterhouse

Honors Theses

As we move forward into a digitalized age of communication, social media becomes increasingly powerful with each passing day. Digital forms of interaction foster an active political discourse and influence the behavior of both the public and government officials. The freedom to deliver public statements at will has been effectively utilized by individuals, local activists, and representatives of the legislative branch to interact in discourse concerning current events, therefore furthering the mobilization of social media to shape the American public policy stage as a whole. As a result of the accessibility of the internet, social media has become the most …

The Effects Of Dissolved And Suspended Solids On Freshwater Meiofauna, Jessica Cline

Honors Theses

Meiofauna include small-sized animals (< 1mm) distributed in all aquatic ecosystems on Earth, where they play fundamental trophic and ecological roles. The biodiversity of marine meiofauna and its links with anthropogenic activities is routinely investigated, however, freshwater communities are less known. This is particularly true for the Southeastern United States, which is greatly investigated and elected a hotspot of biodiversity for larger species but very little is known about the meiofauna. The purpose of this research is to reveal the biodiversity of meiofauna from the Tennessee River and test for potential correlations with anthropogenic activities. As a proxy for pollution, dissolved and suspended solids were considered in this study. The research hypothesis is that meiofaunal biodiversity would be affected by possible changes of dissolved and suspended solids in the water column. Possible mechanisms causing biodiversity shifts could be ascribed to osmotic stresses of animals to cope with variation in dissolved solids or, more indirectly, because different sunlight penetration caused by suspended solids would affect primary production. To test the hypothesis, water samples were collected from nine stations located along the Tennessee River in Hamilton County. Each station was visited three times, and, during each visit, environmental parameters (including dissolved and suspended solids) were measured. Meiofauna biodiversity (estimated as richness, community composition, and phylogenetic diversity) was revealed using a metagenomic approach. Statistical analyses were applied to test for possible correlations between the biodiversity estimates and the measured environmental parameters. Results show a high biodiversity of meiofauna with more than 200 amplicon-sequence variants distributed across 10 metazoan phyla. Environmental conditions are highly variable among stations and statistical analyses show that while both dissolved solids (TDS) and turbidity (suspended solids, NTU) did not significantly affect meiofauna biodiversity in the collected samples, various other water, and sediment metrics were found to be significant predictors of meiofauna biodiversity. In conclusion, the results of this project not only reveal for the first time the meiofauna biodiversity from the Tennessee River, but also suggest that meiofauna could be used as bioindicators for several anthropogenic activities in freshwater ecosystems.

Synthesis And Characterization Of Organometallic Complexes For Biological Imaging, Emily Stumbo

Honors Theses

Luminescent transition metal complexes are of interest for biological imaging applications due to their unique photophysical properties including large Stokes shift, long fluorescence lifetimes, and tunable emission. Altering ligand structure is a useful way to manipulate the charge transfer (CT) and mixed character states that give these complexes their photophysical properties. A series of organometallic complexes containing ligands with externally facing nitrogens has been prepared and synthesized. Complexes of the form Pt (II)(tbbpy)(C2-py), Re(CO)3(N^N), Ir(C^N)2(N^N), and Ir(C^N)2(N^O) have been studied for their potential application as biological imaging agents. The goal of this project is to compare the properties of these …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Immigrants In The United States, Isabelle Koslin

Honors Theses

When it comes to diversity research, immigrants have a long history of falling into an "invisible" group of people. This paper serves as an important first step into the vast amount of research that has yet to be done in regard to the lived experiences of immigrants that are legally living and working in the United States. Research for this project included open-ended, semi-structured individual interviews that took place with five immigrants. The participants immigrated to the U.S. on different visas, work in different industries, and are from different countries - thus allowing the interviews to reveal patterns of lived …

The Impact Of Water Infrastructure Inequality On Marginalized Communities, Indra Khalsa

Honors Theses

America’s current system of water infrastructure poses a threat not only to the environment but also to public health. The water crisis reveals the stark inequalities that exist from both an environmental justice and a social justice perspective. There is a growing concern that without adequate investment from federal resources, the problems related to this issue will only worsen the longer they are neglected. There is little information about how specific environmental and social factors combine with water infrastructure to create long-term infrastructure inequalities. However, this thesis explores the disparities in water infrastructure affordability, vulnerability patterns, and environmental hazards. It …

Optimal Fasting Duration To Effectively Suppress Physiological 18f- Fluorodeoxyglucose (Fdg) Myocardial Uptake On A Positron Emission Tomography Scan., Fatima Abdullahi Ali

Master of Medicine in Imaging and Diagnostic Radiology

Background: Positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is used in evaluation of inflammatory disorders, including the heart such as cardiac sarcoidosis and myocarditis. However, the normal uptake of the myocardium is a challenge as it can obscure pathological uptake in these conditions. The primary objective of this study is to determine the optimal fasting duration to suppress physiological myocardial uptake and thereafter establish an imaging protocol. Methods: Patients who had whole body FDG PET CT examination for oncological evaluation at the Aga Khan University Hospital between January 2019 and December 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into …

Synthesis Of Monodisperse Nanoscintillators At High Temperatures For Biomedical Relevant Applications, Eric Zhang

All Dissertations

Luminescent sub-100 nm particulates continuously generate immense research interest in the biomedical field for imaging, theranostics, and optogenetics. Conventionally, upconversion nanoparticles or UV activated semiconductors are studied, however these materials are limited by biological barriers such as the skin which reduces the penetration depth of these excitation sources, tissue's auto- fluorescence, and toxicity. One approach to overcome these challenges is to use nanoscintillators (sub-100 nm materials that can generate visible light using high energy excitation sources such as x-rays) which can generate light locally to the human body. Numerous scintillators have been reported since the discovery of x-rays from the …

Perceptions Of Teachers & Parents On Creativity In Schools: A Business Solution To Support Student Creativity Through Adult Training, Keriann Armusewicz

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Using research on the perceptions of creativity from parents and teachers, a business proposal is developed to support student creativity in schools through adult training. Perceptions of creativity vary greatly for teachers and are more consistent for parents. One possibility for this is that there is much more research about teacher perceptions than parent perceptions for this topic. One consistent finding across both populations is that when an adult has higher self-efficacy for creativity they are better able to identify and support creativity in others. Thus, a business plan has been developed to increase personal creativity in teachers and parents …

Accelerating Onboarding, Koheun Lee

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project involved the research and development of an onboarding revision action plan for a multinational company based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia that’s been operating globally since 2011. The purpose of the project was to conduct research on how to optimize and accelerate the onboarding process for a company that’s had to pivot to working with consultants and working remotely in response to the global Covid-19 pandemic in the past couple years. The project aimed to create an onboarding “kit” of sorts to be handed over to a People & Culture hire to implement, but ended up taking the form …

Fostering Creativity In Education Including Natural Environments: A Course On Creativity For Children In Colombia, Tatiana Ortiz-Pradilla

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project is a contribution to the field of creativity and education. The project aimed to connect the research-based knowledge on how natural environments enhance creativity and put it in the service of creativity education for children. The main objective was to design a prototype of a course outline of a continuing education course on creativity that leverages the knowledge of the connection between creativity and natural environments for children between 7 and 12 years old in Medellín, Colombia, South America.