Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Soil And Compost Tea: A New Restoration Technique?, Carol E. Day

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, prairie restorations have lacked the plant diversity seen in remnant prairies. Most restoration practices focus on reestablishing the plant community but overlook the soil microbial community even though microbes are critical to habitat functioning. Developing techniques that increase soil microbes in prairie restorations is critical to ensuring diverse restored habitats. We compared how microbial communities differed between remnant and restored prairie sites. We also investigated if soil and compost teas could be used to reintroduce microbes to restored prairie soil and if the teas affected native plant establishment. We found significant differences in the levels of bacterial taxa between …

Irradiance Source For Exoplanet Atmospheric Spectra, Savannah Lyons

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The quantity and diversity of the known exoplanets have grown in recent years. This has brought about a need for more efficient methods of narrowing down the list to those exoplanets most likely to sustain life. The Atmosphere in a Test Tube project, which began at the University of Padova, Italy, is accomplishing this in a laboratory setting through examination of exoplanet atmospheric responses to photosynthetic bacteria under simulations of the irradiance conditions of a planet’s host star. The goal of this project was to design and construct a second-generation apparatus at Eastern Michigan University. The team focused on an …

Polymer Chemistry Education To Increase Student Awareness Of Plastic Pervasiveness And Environmental Impact, Victoria Hill

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A polymer-pollution-focused laboratory sequence was written to teach general chemistry concepts in a course for pre-service elementary teachers. Students experienced the difficulties related to polymer pollution clean-up and made bio-based materials to see possible alternatives. In order to determine whether this laboratory sequence changed student understanding of the importance of polymers and their environmental impact, student opinions were gathered with pre/post-course sequence surveys, observations, post-laboratory surveys, and focus group interviews. These same data collection methods were also used to determine the likelihood that the pre-service elementary teachers would teach these polymer and environmental laboratories or their concepts in the future. …

The Effects Of Low-Level Pharmaceuticals On Stream Biofilm Structure And Function Across A Land-Use Gradient In Streams Of The Huron River Watershed, Elizabeth Mae Stover

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a contaminant class of worldwide concern. Their environmental omnipresence indicates they may be a potential source of global change, and ecosystem-scale impacts at non-lethal levels have not been fully explored. We used stream biofilms to assess ecosystem responses to PPCPs. Biofilms were cultivated in streams draining areas of different land use and then exposed to triclosan, diphenhydramine, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim treatments. We found evidence that low levels of these PPCPs affected some, but not all, aspects of biofilm processes and bacterial community composition. Bacterial carbon uptake was reduced (p = 0.06) and we found …

Climate Change Instruction In Higher Education: Pre-Service Teachers’ Engagement In An Interdisciplinary Pop-Up Learning Community, Mary Charlotte Bautistia

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

An interdisciplinary pop-up learning community (PLC) allowed students from various disciplines with different levels of content knowledge to discuss their perspectives and beliefs on climate change. The impact of this event on students was gauged by a survey from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. Furthermore, this project focuses on pre-service teachers who participated in the PLC. In order to investigate how pre-service teachers understand climate change and how they may or may not integrate these issues into their own instruction, individual interviews were conducted prior to and after the PLC to determine if the event had an impact …

Uv-Curable Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Polyurethane Coating, Shiyin Yu

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis explored a series of organic-inorganic hybrid polyurethane oligomers with varying molecular weights and functional groups (acrylate and/or silane) that were cured with a single ultraviolet (UV) trigger but two photo-initiators. Upon UV irradiation, the free-radical initiator initiated a free-radical reaction for acrylate cross-linking, and the photo-latent base initiated a sol-gel reaction for condensation of the silanes. This study explored the cure extent of both reactions by FTIR for acrylates and silanes and a weight-loss method for silanes as a function of functional group concentration and time. The general film properties were also studied. The results showed that the …

Polymerization Of Bromoundecylacrylate And Alkylating Methylimidazole, Shuziao Li

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Polymerized ionic liquids (PIL) generally are solids, but a few examples have been reported that also exhibit liquidity in the neighborhood of room temperature called liquid polymerized ionic liquids (LPIL). The development of a platform suitable for exploring LPIL properties based on the monomer 11-bromoundecylacrylate (AcC11Br) was reported. Poly(AcC11Br) is itself a liquid polymer and can be easily used to alkylate 1-methylimidazole to produce poly(AcC11C1ImBr-co- AcC11Br). Various reaction conditions were explored to examine how extensively 1- methylimidazole can be attached to this polymer, and the extent of alkylation is determined quantitatively by silver ion potentiometry. These polymers retain liquidity at …

The Effect Of Neonicotinoids On Apis Mellifera: A Revisit, Qingchen Liang

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Colony collapse disorder (CCD), which has caused high colony mortality rates in the European honeybee (Apis mellifera), is a pressing economical and ecological problem. I revisited Woodcock et al.'s (2017a) paper, "Country-specic Effects of Neonicotinoid Pesticides on Honey Bees and Wild Bees", in light of unsound statistical methods used in the original study. In the first part of this paper, I attempted to replicate the analysis underlying key findings in the original paper. In the second part, I reanalyzed the data using mostly non-parametric methods in order to obtain robust results. I did not find any evidence for a harmful …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Emerging Views On Educational Equity, Melody Wilson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

An equity-based Statistics course for pre-service mathematics teachers could play a role in the development of pre-service teachers’ equity literacy, encouraging conversations about equity in education and illuminating structural factors that contribute to the educational opportunity gap in the U.S. In the Winter 2019 semester, a faculty team at the author’s university piloted such a course. The course included data explorations dealing with structural inequities by race – one of the most difficult topics to address productively in a teacher preparation course. For the present study, a survey of pre-service teachers’ views on educational equity was administered in a required …

Designing A Modified Zeeman Slower For The Paschen-Back Magnetic Regime, Leo Michael Nofs

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Controlled study of high-density plasmas, such as those found in fusion reactions and stars, is difficult due to their highly-magnetized environments. A specialized high magnetic field (High-B) trap was developed at the University of Michigan in Georg Raithel's research group to study such highly magnetized, high density plasmas using rubidium atoms. By replacing the atom source with a Zeeman slower, a well-studied device to slow and cool atoms, the atom flux could be increased by a factor more than 1000, leading to higher High-B plasma densities. The goal of this project is to design a Zeeman slower that differs from …

Writing And Evaluating The Effectiveness Of A Modern Physics Laboratory Manual, Brendan Jacob Pickard

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Undergraduate physics laboratory activities are the main way that students get to apply physics concepts and develop experimental skills. Consequently, the presentation of experimental techniques is exceedingly important, and a poorly constructed guide could hinder student success. I have created a lab manual for use in PHY 372 Modern Physics Laboratory at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). This lab manual helps students develop experimental skills valuable in their future careers in a variety of fields. I evaluated the teaching effectiveness of the lab manual using a survey at the end of the Fall 2017 semester, revised the lab manual, and evaluated …

Synthesis And Study Of The Micellization Behavior Of A Dual Temperature- And Ph-Responsive Paa-B-Pnipam Block Copolymer, Ehsan Zarshenas Moghadam

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Amphiphilic diblock copolymers are composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. When they are exposed to water, the hydrophobic blocks aggregate to form a hydrophobic core surrounded by hydrophilic regions outside to give a core-shell micelle. These micelles have many potential applications, such as a drug delivery system, surfactants, or nanoreactor. Many studies have been done to optimize the performance of these copolymers. In this thesis work, nine dual temperature- and pH-responsive poly(acrylic acid-block-N-isopropylacrylamide) (PAA-b-PNIPAM) diblock copolymers with different relative chain lengths of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks were synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The preliminary results showed …

Polymerized Ionic Liquids By Condensation Polymerization: Stimuli Responsive Polyurethane Gels And Dispersions, Harshit Gupta

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Ionic liquids have been used in free radical polymerizations to make polymerized ionic liquid (PIL) materials of various types. PIL gels based on imidazolium cations have been found to exhibit an anion-exchange induced stimuli responsiveness. This thesis explores incorporation of ionic liquids in polyurethane (PU) polymers to make PIL PU gels and dispersions through condensation polymerization. PIL gels are synthesized through a single-pot approach that show stimuli response to solvents. This approach allows one to make these gels rapidly and cheaply on-site. These gels can reversibly porate in different solvents and are found to be porous when analyzed by scanning …

Design,Formulation And Synthesis Of Uv/Thermal Dual Cure, Bio-Based Polyurethane Coatings, Ozlem Kubra Akdogan

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

In the present work, polyurethane resins have been synthesized using soybean oil based polyols (> 80% bio-renewable content) as a primary component. To overcome some of the limitations associated with soft and flexible structure of soy-based polyols, the resin has been designed with two unique set of functional groups –OH and acrylate, as a means of crosslinking sites. Such resin system can be cured by two independent cure mechanisms – (a) thermal (or ambient) curing of –OH groups by use of isocyanate cross-linkers, and (b) by UV-curing of acrylate functional groups using appropriate photoinitiators. Thus, this dual-curable system can provide …

Examining The Response Of The Martian Atmosphere To Increases In Different Portions Of The Electromagnetic Spectrum During Solar Flares, Bradley R. Kumm

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This report describes the methods used to examine how the Martian atmosphere responds to increases in different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum during solar flares. On March 24, 2015 the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission satellite made measurements of the atmosphere and solar irradiance during a solar flare. These measurements were used by the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) to generate solar flux values for 59 wavelength bins describing flare event. The solar flux values at different wavelength bins were scaled by different amounts and input into the Mars Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (M-GITM) to create 16 distinct …

Exploring How Integrating Art & Animation In Teaching Text-Based Programming Affects High School Students' Interest In Computer Science, Hadeel Mohammed Jawad

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

As oil is the fuel of the industrial society, software is the fuel of our current information society. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be more demand for computing jobs in the future. By 2024, more than one million computing jobs will be available. Statistics show that there is more demand for computing jobs than there is a supply of qualified graduates from universities. In this experimental study, three groups of high school students were targeted to explore how integrating art, animation, and code sharing into programming affects their interest in pursuing a degree in computer science …

Synthesis And Catalytic Testing Of A Proline Functionalized Amphiphilic Block Copolymer, Eric Firestone

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Catalysts are reagents used to reduce the amount of energy that a reaction needs to execute, allowing it to proceed at a higher rate while not being consumed. The use of catalyst functionalized amphiphilic copolymer allows easier recovery of the catalyst at the end of the synthesis and allows for the reaction. In water, under appropriate conditions, the amphiphilic block copolymers will form micelles and allow the reaction to occur on the interior of the micelle. The synthesis of amphiphilic copolymer with a hydrophobic O-methacryloyl-trans-4- hydroxy-L-proline and methyl methacrylate end and a hydrophilic acrylic acid end was characterized. The polymer …

Expectations And Experiences In A Modern Physics Laboratory Course, Helen Mae Cothrel

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines students’ expectations for and experiences within a modern physics laboratory course. The course instructor and several students were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol at the beginning (pre) and end (post) of the semester. Interviews were video-recorded, then transcribed to text. This thesis presents the results of three students’ interviews as case studies; their interview transcripts were adapted to a more narrative style for inclusion in this report. An interpretation of each student’s responses from pre- to post-interview is given, followed by conclusions which incorporate all three students’ interviews. Particular attention is paid to students’ ideas about experimenting …

Access Granted: A Study Of The Factors Affecting The Development Of Technology Literacy In Black Males, Carlton Bernard Bell

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

One of the most urgent challenges of the digital divide is the need to expand technology literacy. Access to technology was believed to be one of the causes for the discrepancy that exists, but there is a deeper divide: the divide that exists between technology literacy, and career readiness. Although access to technology has improved over time, the educational outcomes for Black males in related fields have not. A critical area of concern is the lack of a Black male professional presence in technology fields, which has serious implications for the future of our society. These implications include a less …

Students’ Interpretations Of Categorical Data Using Dynamic Graphical Representations, Adam Eide

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Statistical association is an important concept in statistics. An exploratory study examined how students reason about statistical association utilizing graphical representations constructed with CODAP, a dynamic statistical graphing software. Task-based interviews were conducted with three 6th grade students prior to formal instruction. Students’ conceptions of a statistical relationship, proportional reasoning skill level, ability to interpret bivariate categorical graphs (particularly segmented bar graphs and two-way binned plots), and ability to identify association of two categorical variables were all investigated through interview tasks and responses to inquiry. Students were found to have developing proportional reasoning skills and struggled to correctly define and …

Impact Of Highway Work Zones On Traffic Crashes: A Case Study In Michigan, Qadri Hafez Shaheen

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Infrastructure in the US is severely aged and outdated. This presents a seemingly paradoxical problem in the field of construction management: In order to fix and make roads and highways more safe, construction zones must become inherently less safe in the process. There is a high cost to taxpayers and drivers, as work zones experience a significant amount of crashes and fatalities each year. To mitigate some of the factors that contribute to these crashes, this paper attempts to deliver guidelines on how to update relevant crash data, identify relevant factors, and create recommendations accordingly. The research focused particularly on …

Salt Retention In Wetland Soils And Effects On Dissolved Organic Carbon Export, Kayla Marie Mcguire

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Deicing salt runoff has negative effects on ecosystems. Wetland ecosystems can act as important filters for runoff pollution (e.g., nutrients), mitigating damage to plants and microbes. Wetlands are important sinks for nutrients and pollutants (e.g., road salt) and transformation spots for many nutrients including carbon. The interactions between deicing salt runoff and wetland soil carbon were explored by measuring chloride export and retention, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export, and carbon quality using mesocosm experiments. Net retention of Cl- was highest in soils receiving high salt treatments (5.0 g/L NaCl), although percent retention of Cl- was greater in soils receiving moderate …

Mechanically Driven Pendula For Instructional Laboratories, R. M. Pacheco

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

I present a new, low-cost approach to observing driven resonance with simple and physical pendula. I mount a pendulum on a dynamics cart that is made to oscillate along a horizontal line by a stepper motor and micro-controller. The pendulum pivot therefore has a position that varies sinusoidally with time with a constant, adjustable frequency. I designed and constructed the experiment to be easily implemented into any physics lab. I tested the apparatus and observed driven resonance for both types of pendula. All of the measured resonant frequencies I determined using the apparatus had percent uncertainties under 4% and all …

Examining The Influence Of Technology Acceptance, Self-Efficacy, And Locus Of Control On Information Security Behavior Of Social Media Users, Abdullah Almuqrin

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Due to recent advances in online communication technology, social networks have become a vital avenue for human interaction. At the same time, they have been exploited as a target for viruses, attacks, and security threats. The first line of defense against such attacks and threats— as well as their primary cause—are social media users themselves. This study investigated the relationship between certain personality factors among social media users—i.e., technology acceptance of security protection technologies, self-efficacy of information security, and locus of control—and their information security behavior. Quantitative methods were used to examine this relationship. The population consisted of all students …

The Effects Of Gender And Ethnicity On Students' Perceptions Of Small-Group Learning In Collegiate Mathematics Courses, Layla Potts

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Qualitative studies of students' perceptions on small-group work are limited, and few offer insights on the perceptions of women and minority students, for whom quantitative research suggests that small-group work is most beneficial. The aim of this research project is to conduct a qualitative analysis on the perceptions of women and minority students on their small-group learning experiences in collegiate mathematics courses. We conducted a Likert-scale survey of 114 Eastern Michigan University undergraduate students who were enrolled in a cross section of mathematics courses. The data were analyzed using statistical measures such as the frequency and modes of each response, …

Assessing Patient And Caregiver Intent To Use Mobile Device Videoconferencing For Remote Mechanically-Ventilated Patient Management, Brian R. Smith

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Michigan Medicine adult Assisted Ventilation Clinic (AVC) supports patients with neuromuscular disorders and spinal cord injuries and their caregivers at home, helping them avoid expensive emergency department visits, hospitalization, and unnecessary or excessive treatments. Mobile device videoconferencing provides an effective capability for remote mechanically-ventilated patient management but must rely upon an unknown infrastructure comprising patient and caregiver mobile device ownership, connectivity, and experience—and intent to use the service if provided. The purpose of this study was to measure the extent of this infrastructure and the perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and intent to use this mobile device …

The Anticancer Effects Of The Different Analogs Of Cysteine Deleted Tachyplesin On A549 Lung Cancer Cells, Nathan Riley Hendrickson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

It has been previously shown that cysteine-deleted tachyplesin (CDT) and its many analogs display antibacterial effects. However, little has been said about its possible anticancer effects and which analogs serve as the best inhibitors of the growing cancer cells. This research focused on CDT and four of its analogs: All D-CDT, Reverse DCDT, Reverse CDT, and Serine-Control CDT. MTT assays against the A549 adenocarcinoma lung cancer cell line showed All D-CDT to be the most effective analog in preventing cancer cell growth. Hyaluronidase and apoptosis assays were performed to better understand the mechanism by which the All D-CDT is preventing …

Personal Privacy: A Study To Determine Views On Privacy As It Relates To Technology Acceptance, Keith A. Wuotinen

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This descriptive correlation study sought to learn the relationships, if any, between a person’s concern for privacy and their acceptance of technology, in conjunction with the control factors of the Big Five personality factors. The study employed a modified Concern for Information Privacy (CFIP) scale and a modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach in conjunction with the Big Five personality factors using a 51-question survey.

The study surveyed students at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, who were enrolled in the College of Technology. The results indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the CFIP and the TAM. …

A Study Of Information Security Awareness Program Effectiveness In Predicting End-User Security Behavior, James Michael Banfield

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

As accessibility to data increases, so does the need to increase security. For organizations of all sizes, information security (IS) has become paramount due to the increased use of the Internet. Corporate data are transmitted ubiquitously over wireless networks and have increased exponentially with cloud computing and growing end-user demand. Both technological and human strategies must be employed in the development of an information security awareness (ISA) program. By creating a positive culture that promotes desired security behavior through appropriate technology, security policies, and an understanding of human motivations, ISA programs have been the norm for organizational end-user risk mitigation …

Synthesis And Structure Activity Relationship Of Novel Small Molecules As Inhibitors Of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1, Karl Michael Upman

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) is a member of the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) family. PAI-1 is involved in the regulation of fibrinolysis, which is the breakdown of blood clots. PAI-1 inhibits serine proteases tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), which are key factors in fibrinolysis. Excess levels of PAI-1 have also been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, stroke, and atherosclerosis, as well as tumor development. Previous attempts at synthesizing a practical drug for the regulation of PAI-1 have not been successful; therefore, it has been the purpose of this study to further advance progress …