Digital Commons Network^™

Sunrise On The Lake, Jigna Maniar

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

In The Garden, Madelene Przybysz

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

A Patch Of Golden Sunlight Where It Rains, Khadijah Rashid

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

Garden Hammock, Paul Sikes

The Prairie Light Review

No abstract provided.

My Perception Of Reality Expressed Through The Arts, Amanda Dunker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis project will focus on the symbolism and artistic interpretation of how I perceive reality. This thesis project uses all artistic skills that I have acquired throughout my lifetime and combines them into one mixed digital media video. This is a mix between the two digital media formats 2D and 3D. Each animation and segment syncs with the music selected manually or technically. The process of creation for each segment and explaining which software I choose to use for each task. It also dives a little further, noting the artistic decisions and why. The symbolism used within the art …

Assessing Employees’ Perceptions Of The Frequency And Intensity Of Workplace Interpersonal Conflict In Lateral And Hierarchical Dyads, Matthew Shayne Castillo

Doctoral Dissertations

Workplace interpersonal conflict has been identified as a potential major source of stress for several occupations. Occupational stress literature concerning this stressor reveals that interpersonal conflict can have adverse outcomes for organizations including absenteeism, turnover, and workers’ compensation claims for psychological injury. Accordingly, researchers have developed measures aimed at capturing perceptions of workplace interpersonal conflict to remediate and prevent it in organizations. Although workplace interpersonal conflict has received considerable attention, there is little research assessing perceptions of conflict from a dyadic perspective in lateral (coworker-coworker) and hierarchical (supervisor-subordinate) relationships between supervisors and non-supervisors. This is important because conflict may be …

Steadfast: Connections Fostered Through Dance, Lily Mckenzie

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Steadfast is an expression of dance as an emotional and spiritual experience, as well as an exploration of the deep connections that may be fostered through the art form of dance. My personal experience, which will function as inspiration for this choreographic piece and performance, has led me to see dance as a means to connect with God when used as worship and a way to connect with other people and form meaningful relationships. Through the production and execution of this performing art, I hope to explore and experience these aspects of dance as well as my own personal journey. …

The Distribution Of Opioid Settlement Funds In Northeast Tennessee, Amani Patel

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Opioid Use Disorder is defined by the NIH as “the chronic use of opioids that causes

clinically significant distress or impairment.”1 Due to a number of factors, the overuse of opioids has become an epidemic in the United States. In recent years there have been a number of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and other parties who have benefitted from the proliferation of this issue. In most cases, it is up to the states or local governments who receive these funds to determine their best use. The purpose of this Thesis is to analyze the resources recommended by Ballad Health’s Community …

The Impact Of Long Term Ovariectomy On Diastolic Function And Fibrosis Following Chronic Sympathetic Stimulation In Mice, Erin Moore

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) accounts for the leading number of deaths worldwide. Prior to menopause, women exhibit lower rates of CVD compared to age-matched men, however, risks for women increase with menopause. Studies show estrogen loss and age exacerbating cardiac β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR) signaling and contractile function. We therefore hypothesized that prolonged estrogen deficiency and chronic β-adrenergic stimulation cause decreases in cardiac function and increases in fibrosis in aged female hearts. Female mice underwent either an ovariectomy (OVX) or a control SHAM surgery at 10 weeks old and were infused with Isoproterenol for three days via mini osmotic pumps in …

Nursing Students, Bullying, And Burnout: A Study On Bullying By Medical Staff Members Against Nursing Students In The Clinical Setting And Its Relation To Nursing Student Burnout, Kihley Bellamy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present study investigated the existence of bullying by medical staff members in the clinical setting as experienced by nursing students, the existence of burnout among these students, and if such students perceive feelings of burnout as directly related to experiences of bullying. Undergraduate main campus traditional Bachelor of Science in nursing students at East Tennessee State University in their second, third, fourth, or fifth semesters were invited to participate in the study. Participants (n=52) were required to complete an online survey that regarded bullying, burnout, and how participants perceive the relation between the two variables. The study shows that …

A Campus Connected: An Analysis Of University Outdoor Spaces, Skylar Wilson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to analyze the evolution of outdoor renovations on East Tennessee State University’s campus by examining the effects these renovations have had on students and faculty, and then using this data to propose possible successful renovations to the remainder of the University Commons project. To complete this project, data was obtained through East Tennessee State University administrative faculty interviews, surveys of students residing in campus resident halls, and observations. By examining the impact on behavior, designers and developers are then able to successfully determine the factors that aid in positively influencing human behaviors. Design suggestions …

Assessing Perceptions Of Disability Knowledge Of Campus Police At Inclusive Universities, Hannah Shultz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of knowledge of campus police on intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including autism, in inclusive college programs. A survey was sent to both campus police and representatives of 50 inclusive higher education programs across the United States. These questions involved perceptions of campus police knowledge, training, and the safety of students with I/DD.

Gastrointestinal Alterations In Two Mouse Models Associated With Social Behavior Deficits, Gracie Leamon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a diverse habitat for multiple microorganisms. Disturbances in the microbiome of the GI tract have been associated with psychiatric disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD, when compared to neurotypical individuals, have demonstrated differing gut species. Also, it has been shown that microbial transplant therapies impact ASD symptoms in patients. Animal models of behaviors associated with ASD might offer insight for the actual role these microbial differences may occupy regarding symptoms. Unfortunately, ASD does not have an accepted animal model where the GI alterations have been thoroughly explored. In this study, we sought …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Opioid Epidemic, Hailey Stewart

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the lives of most Americans. People with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) were particularly vulnerable to the negative effects brought on by the pandemic. This study explored the increase in deaths due to opioid overdose during the pandemic exacerbated by factors such as increased stress, decrease in treatment options due to social distancing requirements and facility closures, social isolation, and an increase in spare time. Access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) was interrupted by the measures meant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Through a systematic review of current literature, it was demonstrated that …

A Claiming Of Kin: A Linguistic Analysis Of Southern Appalachian English In Melissa Range's Scriptorium: Poems, Jolee White

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The research studies the Southern Appalachian dialect present in five poems in Melissa Range’s Scriptorium: Poems. The linguistic phenomena characteristic of Southern Appalachian English observed and analyzed in the poems include lexicon, grammatical features, and phonological aspects. The research seeks to bring attention to this Appalachian woman writer as well as to bring understanding of her reasoning behind incorporating the dialect in her poetry. It establishes that the five poems by Range contain the lexicon, grammatical features, and phonological aspects of the SAE dialect. It holds meaning both grammatically and pragmatically within the context of the poem and Appalachia.

Teachers’ Unions And School Choice: A Binary Regression Analysis On The Impact Teachers’ Unions Have On State-Level School Choice Legislation, Robert Jackson Hester

Undergraduate Honors Theses

School choice dominated discourses within educational policy in the last year; some have even described 2021 as “the year of school choice.” School choice allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs. This is often summarized by its advocates as “funding students over systems.” Generally, school choice allows market forces to influence education by providing more competition in the education market. Teachers’ unions have fought against school choice measures for years, but what impact do they have? This undergraduate thesis compares 49 states to determine if the proportion of public school …

Development Of Classroom Tools For A Risc-V Embedded System, Lucas Phillips

Undergraduate Honors Theses

RISC-V is an open-source instruction set that has been gaining popularity in recent years, and, with support from large chip manufacturers like Intel and the benefits of its open-source nature, RISC-V devices are likely to continue gaining momentum. Many courses in a computer science program involve development on an embedded device. Usually, this device is of the ARM architecture, like a Raspberry Pi. With the increasing use of RISC-V, it may be beneficial to use a RISC-V embedded device in one of these classroom environments. This research intends to assist development on the SiFive HiFive1 RevB, which is a RISC-V …

The Authenticity Of Body Positivity In The Media: A Comparative Analysis Of Four American-Owned Companies, Emma Mink

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Marketing strategies are changing how businesses sell their products. The body positivity movement is causing consumers to examine companies to determine if their intentions are authentic. Some of the ways consumers evaluate company authenticity include examining corporate social responsibility reports, types of advertising, or the brand-cause fit between the company and the body positivity movement. The author of this study followed two companies (Dove and Aerie) that are known for body positive advertising messages and two companies (Mattel/Barbie and Victoria Secret) that are known for promoting unrealistic body expectations. The author examined each companies’ mission statement, annual report, and types …

Simulating Polistes Dominulus Nest-Building Heuristics With Deterministic And Markovian Properties, Benjamin Pottinger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

European Paper Wasps (Polistes dominula) are social insects that build round, symmetrical nests. Current models indicate that these wasps develop colonies by following simple heuristics based on nest stimuli. Computer simulations can model wasp behavior to imitate natural nest building. This research investigated various building heuristics through a novel Markov-based simulation. The simulation used a hexagonal grid to build cells based on the building rule supplied to the agent. Nest data was compared with natural data and through visual inspection. Larger nests were found to be less compact for the rules simulated.

May Cvm Library Newsletter

CVM Library Newsletters

May CVM Library Newsletter

Administering Change Orders In Highway Projects, Muaz O. Ahmed, Rayan H. Assaad, Islam H. El-Adaway, Emily Echele, Kyle Govro, John Watson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Change orders continue to be one of the main challenges faced by the construction industry. Despite many previous research efforts related to managing change orders in the construction industry, there is still a lack of research that investigates the contractual aspects of change orders for transportation projects. This paper tackles this knowledge gap within the context of Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) highway projects. To this end, the authors used an integrated research method comprised of (1) selection and analysis of ODOT case studies; (2) identification of the main change orders aspects that lead to conflicts, claims, and/or disputes in …

Master Of Agriculture Education Graduate Internship Report, Emma Swift

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This report details the role of an assistant coach with the Cal Poly Rodeo Program and the responsibilities associated with managing rodeo sponsorships.

Aged 539 Internship Report - Maureen Lagrande Photography, Maureen F. Lagrande

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

“Maureen LaGrande Photography” is a small business helping to capture images of agriculture, people and events. Specializing in agricultural promotion, Maureen LaGrande Photography’s website and Instagram allow clients to view images as well as design materials that promote and educate others about the agriculture industry. The website is easily accessible for clients to use where they can learn more about their photographer, services offered and choose a price package that best fits their photography needs. The following report details the creation of the photography website, promotional materials, social media pages, business plan and future plans for the small business.

The Determinants Of Banking Regulation In The Mena Region, Hanene Ksiaa Dr, Mohamed Imen Gallali Professor

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Theoretical foundations in banks' response to capital settlement suggest that the systems proposed by Basel are not sound. It is conceivable that regulators will consider alternative approaches to enhance the safety and soundness of the banking system. The regulation includes several decrees and ratios; the areas of interest encompassing the areas are subject to principal component analysis (PCA).The paper aims to present a regulatory framework based on balance sheet ratios, such as Capital requirements (equity ratio; Tier 1 ratio; Total Equity/Net Loans; Total Equity/Deposits); for liquidity needs (liquidity/deposits; liquidity/total assets; liquidity/deposits and loans, and net loans/total assets); for leverage requirements …

Determinants Of The Adoption Of Islamic Finance By Cameroonian Smes: Case Study From A Psycho-Sociological Characteristics Of Managers, Jérôme Gonne, Yaouba Mohamadou

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) today form the backbone of the African economy in general and Cameroon in particular. However, Cameroonian SMEs encounter many difficulties, one of the most important is the access to so-called conventional financing. Faced with this situation, some of them will seek alternative means such as Islamic finance. Despite its development over the past two decades, Islamic finance is struggling to find a place in the financial decisions of Cameroonian SMEs’ Managers. This study aims at highlighting the psycho-sociological characteristics of policymakers in directing their decision towards the Islamic finance product. Data collected from a sample …

Financial Inclusion And Gender Income Inequalities In Informal Entrepreneurship: The Case Of Cameroon, Faustine Kede Ndouna, Félix Zogning

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of access to different financial products in reducing income inequalities between men and women working in the informal sector in Cameroon. To this end, we use the World Bank database World Bank Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) dataset 2018 to assess the evolution of access to financial services through a descriptive analysis and the fourth Cameroonian survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics in 2014 to estimate a probit model and a Fairlie decomposition model. Empirical results suggest that indeed, income inequality between the sexes continues to increase in …

Effects Of Access To Credit On The Performance Of Smes In The Congo, Fabrice-Gilles Ndombi Avouba

The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance

This paper proposes to analyze the effects of access to credit on the performance of SMEs in Congo. To this end, we used the theoretical model developed by Stiglitz and Weiss (1981). From an econometric point of view, we estimated a multiple linear regression model using the ordinary least square technique due to the absence of endogeneity. This application, as well as the statistical and econometric analyses that followed, were carried out using microeconomic data from the survey of very small, small, medium-sized enterprises and artisans in the Congo, which was carried out thanks to the multiple contributions of the …

The Role Of Emotion In Constitutional Theory, J. Joel Alicea

Notre Dame Law Review

Although the role of emotion in law has become a major field of scholarship, there has been very little attention paid to the role of emotion in constitutional theory. This Article seeks to fill that gap by providing an integrated account of the role of emotion within the individual, how emotion affects constitutional culture, and how constitutional culture, properly understood, should affect our evaluation of major constitutional theories.

The Article begins by reconstructing one of the most important and influential accounts of emotion in the philosophical literature: that of Thomas Aquinas. Because Aquinas’s description of the nature of emotion accords …

Stare Decisis And Intersystemic Adjudication, Nina Varsava

Notre Dame Law Review

Interpreting and following precedent is a complicated business. Various reasonable but conflicting methods of ascertaining the legal effect of precedent exist. Differences between practices of precedent or doctrines of stare decisis are particularly salient between legal systems or jurisdictions. For example, a state’s judges might embrace different stare decisis norms than federal judges. This situation presents a major quandary for intersystemic jurisprudence that has been largely overlooked in the scholarly literature.

Are law-applying judges in the intersystemic context bound by the law-supplying jurisdiction’s methods of interpreting precedent? For example, when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals adjudicates a question of …

Brown, History, And The Fourteenth Amendment, Christopher W. Schmidt

Notre Dame Law Review

Legal scholars and historians in recent years have sought to elevate Reconstruction to the stature of a “second Founding,” according it the same careful inquiry and legitimating function as the first. Their work marks the latest iteration of a decades-long campaign to displace the far more dismissive attitude toward Reconstruction that permeated historical scholarship and legal opinions in the first half of the twentieth century. In this Article, I present the flurry of engagement with the history of the Fourteenth Amendment during the litigation of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) as a key transition point in how historians and …