Digital Commons Network^™

Turning Tadpoles: Effects Of Salinity And Lateralization On Hyla Versicolor Escape Behaviors, Victor Lopiccolo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Road salt, which is used as a roadway deicer in the winter time, is a major contributor to the salinization of freshwater habitats. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to the salinization of aquatic environments due to the reliance of many species on pond, lake, and stream habitat in their aquatic larval stage. This study examined how Northern Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) tadpole behavior is affected by salinity in a multiple t-maze. Alternate turning is sequential turning in opposite directions. Alternating turns lead the animal further from the starting point, and are innate behaviors associated with foraging, exploration, and escape. A multiple …

Spatial Distribution And Recruitment Of The Botrylloides Violaceus And Botryllus Schlosseri Tunicates In Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, Kaitlyn Maguire

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Botrylloides violaceus and Botryllus schlosseri, colonial ascidians, are known invasive species of the North American Atlantic coast. The tunicates take residence and grow on native eelgrass (Zostera marina) blades, potentially negatively affecting eelgrass growth rate by means of smothering which reduces the plants ability to photosynthesize. Zostera marina is an important habitat, food source, and an indicator of environmental health. Invasive tunicates can decrease the amount of light that eelgrass receives which in turn, decreases the rate of growth of eelgrass. In the summer months of 2021, the relationship and abundance between the invasive tunicates B. schlosseri and B. violaceus …

"Neither Here Nor There" : Migrant Women And The Cycle Of Cultural Masculine Superiority, Fiorella Medina

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis examines the way migrant fiction evolves the use of women's stories. By examining this evolution, I argue that many migrant women writers explore misogyny within their representations of their home and adopted cultures. Using The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (1983), The Affairs of the Falcons by Melissa Rivero (2019), and The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston (1976), I explain the techniques these writers use to establish the mistreatment and marginalization their protagonists face. I clarify these works by presenting examples of women gaining agency despite the struggles they …

Magic Squares Of Squares Of Order 5 Modulo A Prime Number, Imani L. Mosquera

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In this paper, I examine magic squares of squares (MSS) of order 5 over Zp where p is a prime number. The first approach to the problem is to find how many distinct elements an MSS may have (called the degree of the MSS). In the next step, I study the relationship between the magic sum and the center entry of any MSS. In order to develop construction methods and configurations for magic squares of squares of order 5 with desired degrees, I study Pythagorean triples and sequences of consecutive quadratic residues modulo p. Properties of these sequences are provided …

A Network-Based Analysis Of Student Learning Trajectories And Andragogical Design, John Kerry O’Meara

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The core goal of this thesis project is to formalize the complex system that exists naturally in a formal classroom environment. The three factors that are considered in this study are the roles of the student, the roles of the teacher, and the respective environments from which these members arise and how these act as determinants of curriculum development and design. At the curricular scale, educational practices should be treated as a complex system composed of various inherently connected concepts and exchanges of ideas and ways of knowing. This synthesis of previous work and ongoing research efforts employs a network …

Examination Of Social Cognition Impairments In Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury Through The Awareness Of Social Inference Test Performance, Brea Lenae Rivera

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Social cognition focuses on how people process, perceive, and apply information in social context in order to understand and infer their own behaviors and that of others. Impaired social cognition is a common, and often chronic, outcome of many neurological and psychiatric disorders, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). By lacking these social skills, there is a major disadvantage for social integration with others. In order to assess social cognition deficits in adult TBI populations, Part 1 and 3 of The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT) were administered to examine social cognition impairments. A sample of 58 participants (28 TBI, …

The Independence Polynomial Of A Graph At −1, Kyle Robbins

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

No abstract provided.

Literary Machiavellianism, The Vice Figure, And The Jewish Character : Anti-Semitic Perceptions In The Jew Of Malta And The Merchant Venice, Allison Schaechter

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis focuses on Anti-Semitism in Renaissance drama through the lens of attempting to weave an older literary idea into a newer one. By the Renaissance, the Vice figure, a literary tool to draw one-dimensional evil characters, began to raise questions about the rationale behind their villainy. Machiavellianism served to reclassify characters that were originally meant to be perceived by audiences as inherently evil, allowing them potentially to sympathize with them in the plight that led them to such deplorable acts.

Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare created Jewish characters who seek to remain in control of their families and wealth, …

Can Patent Trolls Be Stopped Without Interfering With An Individual’S Property Rights?, Talar Sahagian

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis seeks to analyze patent trolls and how they are able to prey on successful patented innovations to monopolize on profits, all while doing it legally. This research aims to answer the question if patent trolls can be stopped without infringing on an individual’s property rights. This study analyzes various legislation enacted to limit the actions of patent trolls, and if they are sufficient in their totality to prevent the trolls from making a profit off a patent(s), they have no intention of utilizing or have never used. The data will be analyzed to show if the enacted reform …

Gender Roles In Natural Resource Use In Madagascar, Sarahana Shrestha

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Understanding the role that gender plays in natural resource use is crucial for effective conservation efforts. While Madagascar is a priority for international conservation due to its high levels of endemism and unsustainable natural resource use, there is little information on how gender roles affect forest product use. This study uses over seven years of data on gender roles within the extraction, use, and sale of natural forest and marine resources near Madagascar’s largest national park to inform future conservation strategies. We found that gender significantly affects how one uses natural resources in Madagascar. Men were primarily responsible for the …

“The Delta Is Filled Up With Death” : Death As Avoidance And The Construction Of White Identity In Lewis Nordan’S Music Of The Swamp, Sarah Sturm

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Lewis Nordan’s Music of the Swamp has not been fully explored with an emphasis on Nordan’s personal history in relation to racism in the South. In Nordan’s autobiography, Boy With the Loaded Gun (2000), Nordan describes growing up in Itta Benna, Mississippi — just one town over from where Emmett Till was murdered in 1955 (Nordan 80). I argue Nordan’s depiction of death in the Music of the Swamp can be read as the early stages of him grappling with Till’s death through writing, along with the broader historical context of Southern racism. Nordan’s ambivalent relationship to this history informs …

In The Cities, There Is Violence : Do Higher Levels Of Police Militarization Correlate With Police Use Of Lethal Force?, Brennan B. Sumner

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Police violence has become a pressing issue in the United States. The topic of police militarization, as a consequence, has entered the public consciousness, and its effects have become a topic of concern. This paper will examine whether there is a correlation between higher levels of police militarization and higher rates of police use of lethal force from multiple perspectives. This paper will utilize a mixed methods research approach, combining historical analysis, critical literature review, and data analysis from thirty American cities. This paper will also discuss the public policy implications of police militarization and offer critiques therein.

Effect Of Soil Conditions On Invasive Purple Loosestrife Compared To Native Species, Madeline Ruth Baum

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is an invasive plant that has degraded many wetland habitats since its initial introduction to the United States in the early 19th century. To aid in managing purple loosestrife, it is important to study how purple loosestrife grows under variable environmental conditions compared to common native species, which can help managers understand which habitats are most at-risk of invasion. High or low salinity and pH are often barriers to plant growth, and the stress caused by these environmental conditions can cause plants to deplete their starch reserves. If native species are more negatively affected by stressful …

“Don’T Call Me A Crouton” : A Case Study On The Use Of Humor In Organizational Relationships On Twitter And Facebook, Hannah Grinberg

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

An organization using humor on social media can potentially engage in dialogue through participatory boundary-work that creates an in-group between themselves and their online user publics. The ability for an organization to use humor to form that in-group, where dialogic communication is achievable, is based on the organization’s ability to produce an instance of shared mirth with their online publics. The shared experience of mirth not only determines if the organization reaches shared meaning with their receiver publics, but also indicates who the humor is intended for, and who will be left out of the in-group created. To determine the …

Green Tea Polyphenols Egcg-S And P-Egcg Containing Formulations Effectively Inhibit Growth And Biofilm Formation Of Eskape Bacteria, Calvin William Taylor

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The field of medical microbiology has prospered for decades, finding treatments and cures for a multitude of bacterial infections. While success has been found in certain areas, challenges have arisen along the way. One of those challenges being the group of bacteria known as ESKAPE. The ESKAPE bacteria (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) have developed their multidrug resistance through adaptation to excessive drug use or prescription, unnecessary antimicrobial utilization, and substandard pharmaceuticals. They are the major cause of nosocomial infections throughout the world. With the ever-growing concern of antibiotic resistance in treating …

Evaluation Of Ranavirus Major Capsid Protein Gene Sequence Mutations In United States East Coast Frog And Tadpole Populations, Erin Marie Tyll

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Infectious disease is a leading cause of death in ectothermic taxa including amphibians, reptiles, and bony fish. Frog Virus 3 (FV3) Ranavirus is a prominent pathogen that infects frog and tadpole populations with lethal consequences, especially for pre-metamorphosed individuals. Wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) are particularly susceptible to FV3 infection and mortality events. Conservation of this animal is a critical effort for the maintenance of these ecologically significant animals. Amphibians contribute to the regulation of insect pest levels, energy transfer between aquatic and terrestrial habitats, algae community productivity and function, and vertebrate biomass. Understanding genetic variations of FV3 is crucial to …

Leadership Style On Shared Leadership And Team Performance Via Followership Style, Pasquale Alexander Tosto

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Recent work has demonstrated a strong link between shared leadership and team task performance. Despite these findings, there is still yet to emerge research on the degree to which leadership style on the part of a designated leader predicts the emergence of shared leadership in the established relationship between shared leadership and team performance. The present study aims to address this literature gap by manipulating leadership style in a teamwork study in order to observe the effect of directive versus participative leadership on the emergence of shared leadership, and its subsequent impact on team performance. Furthermore, the present study also …

Isolation And Analysis Of Single-Stranded Dna Aptamers For The Detection Of Ranavirus, Stephanie Zapata

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The current molecular diagnostic methods for detection of deadly pathogens within a population can be time consuming and expensive. When surveying a population for the presence of a disease, time is a valuable resource. Therefore, a rapid pathogen test to use in the field will allow for faster detection of disease that can lead to determining a course of action for conservation of a species. Ranavirus is a double-stranded DNA virus that can cause mass mortality events in amphibian, reptile and fish populations. The disease can have the potential to wipe out entire populations or species if not controlled, having …

The Impact Of Social Controls And Vaccination On The Spread Of Covid-19 In New Jersey, Ariel J. Bonneau

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The emergence of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in late 2019 has led to a global pandemic (COVID-19) which continues to cause enormous public health and economic challenges around the world. It is therefore important to improve our understanding of the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 as well as to investigate how one might contain or stop the spread of COVID-19 via different control measures. In this thesis, we consider a COVID-19 model based on an SEIR compartmental model. The model includes susceptible, vaccinated, exposed, pre-symptomatic, symptomatic infectious, asymptomatic infectious, hospitalized, recovered, and deceased compartments, each of which is sub-divided into …

Modeling The Dynamics Of Excitable Cells, Asja Alić

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

We consider an electrical parallel conductance membrane model which is an extension of the classical Hodgkin-Huxley neuronal model of excitability. This extended model describes the formation of the resting membrane potential and conductance, and the formation of action potentials in nodose A-type excitable cells. The model consists of a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations which are numerically solved using the Python programming language. The results show that the model is capable of accurately describing experimental results including resting membrane potential and conductance, duration and form of action potentials, amplitude of the spike, oscillations, and activitydependent changes in [Ca^{2+ …}

Forecasting Electricity Load In New Jersey With Artificial Neural Networks, Erik W. Raab

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Load forecasting is an important tool for both the energy and environmental sectors. It has progressed hand-in-hand with machine learning innovation, where recurrent neural networks, a type of artificial neural network, is primarily used. This thesis compares progressively complex, feed-forward artificial neural networks using a mix of weather and temporal data. We demonstrate that electrical load in New Jersey can be reliably predicted using memory-less algorithms with minimal predictors drawn from preexisting public data sources. The methods used in this thesis could be used to build competitive load forecasting models in other states, and if included in diverse model ensembles, …

Development And Validation Of The Muslim Identity Socialization Scale (Miss), Mamona Butt

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Racial ethnic socialization (RES) practices are the messages youth receive on race, racism, and prejudice. This paper aimed to extend racial-ethnic socialization (RES) literature to Muslim American families to understand youth identity development. In Study One, focus groups (k = 3, n = 15) were conducted to understand common RES practices in Muslim young adults and create initial items for the scale. Thematic analyses revealed parents promoted their Muslim American youth to have other Muslim friends, however there was a consensus that parent did not prepare them for bias. Additionally, participants varied on cultural socialization and egalitarianism practices. Study two …

Community-Based Programs As Spaces For Critical Consciousness, Not Containment : Exploring The Perspectives Of Black Youth, Carrie Bergeson

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Historically Black youth have been labeled as needing to be “saved” and “fixed” because they are “at-risk,” “broken,” and more likely to subscribe to deviant behavior. This deficit rhetoric frames community-based education programs (CBEPs) that serve Black youth as vital spaces that must prevent and save Black youth from subscribing to undesirable behaviors. Therefore, this study builds on the paucity of literature regarding CBEPs as spaces that view Black youth as valuable and worthy and encourage youth to critically examine the world around them, often withholding opportunities and resources. With critical consciousness (Freire, 1968) as the framework, this qualitative study …

Mediation Of Intergenerational Trauma Transmission By Family Variables In Children Of Rwandan Survivors Of The 1994 Genocide Against The Tutsi, Jessica L. Bonumwezi

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Twenty-eight years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, children of survivors are being increasingly documented to show increased risk for adverse mental health outcomes. However, no studies in Rwanda have empirically explored psychosocial factors underlying this intergenerational transmission of trauma. We investigated family factors that could underlie this transmission in 285 adult Rwandan children of survivors (mean age = 23.31; 50.2% female) who completed an online survey. We found that 42.2% of participants had clinically significant secondary PTSD symptoms and 37.8% had clinically significant symptoms of depression or anxiety. For participants with survivor mothers (n = 187), …

Good Science Teaching In An Urban Middle School Context : An Examination Of The Relationship Between Science Teachers And Their Students, William J. Brown

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Good science teaching within an urban middle school context was examined in this qualitative methods study. This research also examined what middle school science teachers prioritized in an urban science classroom and uncovered ways in which culturally responsive teaching showcased itself among inservice teachers. Good science teaching and culturally responsive teaching strategies have been investigated, but its impact on urban middle school science classrooms with marginalized students is where the research is minute.

The data from the study revealed that the following culturally responsive teaching strategies are prioritized to have an impact on marginalized students in urban middle school classrooms: …

Investigating The Collaboration Of Teachers Of Students With Disabilities And Teaching Assistants In The Classroom, Sa-Qwona S. Clark

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative dissertation study examined the complex dynamics and structures (i.e., people and/or explicit/implicit classroom-, school-, and district-wide behaviors and practices and school-wide structures) that influence collaboration between teachers of students with disabilities (TOSD) and teaching assistants (TAs). Specifically, I wanted to learn: (1) What are the complex dynamics (i.e., people and/or explicit/implicit classroom-, school-, and district-wide behaviors and practices and school-wide structures) that interact to influence collaboration between teachers and teaching assistants? (1a) What role does each participant stakeholder (i.e., teacher, teaching assistant, and principal) play in those complex dynamics? (1b) How do participants develop their understandings about the …

The Relationship Between Racial Microaggressions, Mental Health, And Academic Self- Efficacy In Black College Students : Is A Supportive Mentor Protective?, Devanté J. Cunningham

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Racial microaggressions are daily, often subtle, verbal, environmental, and behavioral slights and insults targeted at a person or their race. Racial microaggressions can have deleterious effects on the mental health and academic outcomes of Black college students. As research on this relationship increases, it is essential to assess factors that may moderate, or lessen, the impact of racial microaggressions. There is evidence that mentoring, a form of social support, may attune the adverse effects of racial microaggressions on mental health and academic outcomes. The current study explored the relationship between racial microaggressions and mental health and academic outcomes (social anxiety, …

Multiple Risk Factors For Schizotypy In A Non-Clinical Population : Exploring The Continuum Of Psychosis Two Years Later, Jill Del Pozzo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct that refers to a collection of cognitive and personality traits, impairments, and experiences thought to lie on a continuum for psychosis, which place an individual at increased risk for developing schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The expression of schizotypy varies along this continuum of psychosis (i.e., from healthy, to subclinical and prodromal symptomatology, to clinical and severe psychosis) and is dependent on several biopsychosocial factors and their interactions. Accordingly, it is important identify factors that correlate with higher levels of schizotypy over time, toward ascertaining knowledge about developmental pathways of risk and resilience for psychotic disorders. To …

Teacher Activism For Emergent Bilingual Learners : A Qualitative Study, Cyrene A. Crooms

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative dissertation study explored what informed the pedagogical moves of four teacher activists of emergent bilingual learners (EBLs). Quijano’s (2000) theory of coloniality of power served as a theoretical lens to examine the historical underpinnings of current education language legislation and policies impacting EBLs. There is a growing body of literature on teacher activism, but very few studies center teacher activism for linguistic justice. Picower’s (2012) framework for teacher activism was used to create data sources, which included interviews, artifacts, field visits, and personal communication. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding strategies. Findings were presented in four …

Telecommuting Antecedents And Outcomes Within A Turbulent Global Context : The Incremental Explanatory Utility Of Technostress And Role Strain, Renata Garcia Prieto Palacios Roji

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Due to a confluence of pre-existing trends, legislative action, and global health considerations, the nature of work arrangements is transitioning toward greater worker accommodation in the form of telecommuting. The current study focused on explaining telecommuter outcomes (job satisfaction, intent to quit, and general well-being) via retention of a general input-process-output (IPO) model. Within this framework the effects of role strain were explored as potential mediators of the relationships between telecommuting attitudes, networks of support, workload, and telecommuter outcomes. As an additional novel contribution, the presence and prevalence of technostressors was further specified as a potential moderator of these associations. …