Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Flow Regime Affects Predator-Prey Relationships Of Stream Darter And Shiner Species, Anna E. Richardson

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Analysis of the interactions between abiotic and biotic factors of environments and ecosystems is a highly valued area of research. This study focuses on the interactions between the biotic component of predation and foraging of certain stream fish species and the abiotic component of the flow regime that those species reside in. Gut content analysis followed by statistical calculations in the form of t-tests and chi -quared tests were performed on two fish species who both inhabited a stream with a groundwater flashy flow regime as well as a stream with a runoff flashy flow regime. The research showed that …

The Effects Of Water With Anti-Inflammatory Capabilities (Wac) On Circulating Inflammatory Biomarkers At Rest And Following Resistance Exercise, Brittany Martin

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Purpose: To determine the effects of waters with anti-inflammatory capabilities (WAC) influence circulating inflammatory biomarkers at rest and following resistance exercise. Methods: Participants completed a heavy lifting protocol and drank water with anti-inflammatory capabilities for a total of six weeks. Blood samples were taken at different at 9 different time intervals to assess concentrations of anti-inflammatory markers and to quantify inflammatory biomarkers. Those time intervals included pre-AHREP 1 and post-AHREP 1, 24-hr post-AHREP 1, 48-hr post-AHREP 1, 3-week check-up, pre-AHREP 2, post-AHREP 2, 24-hr post-AHREP 2, and 48-hr post-AHREP 2. Background: The biomarkers that were focused on were: IL-6 …

Female Students’ Perception Of Stem Identity At Utrgv, Kristen L. Hallas

Honors Theses

Despite the increase in representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate programs, they are still underrepresented in the workforce. Recent statistics published by the National Science Foundation show that the rate of females and Hispanic/Latina females earning degrees does not match the rate in which they earn STEM occupations, especially advanced degrees. Moreover, out of early career doctorate holders, women are less likely to hold post-doctoral scholar positions and are more likely to hold an academic, non-tenure track position. In response to these disparities, I sought to identify the strongest motivators driving the ambition of female …

Understanding And Improving The System: The Effects Of Weighting On The Accuracy Of Political Polling In Arkansas, Beck Williams

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an effort to increase the accuracy of statewide political polling in Arkansas, we explore the statistical strategy of weighting with a focus on one yearly opinion poll: The Arkansas Poll. We conduct over 70 weighting experiments on the 2016 and 2020 Arkansas Polls using a variety of variables and opinion questions. From these experiments, we find that while some weighted variables tend to create larger changes, weighting typically results in a single-digit percentage change that does not substantially shift or “flip” the majorities. Due to a greater rate of change through weighting in the 2020 Poll compared to the …

Permaculture As An Ecopedagogy Curriculum And Alternative Theory Of Development : An Exploration Of The Ecological Consciousness Of Rural Western Kenyan Farmers Using Photo-Voice With A Farmer Field School During Covid-19, David Yisrael Epstein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation explores two main questions of farmers in Western Kenya – how they see farming as a creative process and their role in that – and how change is made possible in their community. I explore stories from farmers themselves, using photographs they have taken and stories they tell about those photographs, which answer these two questions. In doing so, I attempt to understand the degree to which collective action has taken root in a community exposed to a permaculture based curriculum within a farmer field school. It also importantly seeks to understand what happens when such a curriculum …

An Investigation Of The Attitudes And Behavioral Outcomes Of Nebraskan Hunters Toward Tick-Borne Disease, Dominic J. Cristiano

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

As changes in climate, land-use, and vegetation alter the landscape of the Great Plains, new threats to public health are emerging. Incidences of tick-borne disease in Nebraska have increased nearly 250% over the past two decades – newly established species like Ixodes scapularis may introduce challenges for health practitioners, including more cases of Lyme disease. Strategies for tick-borne disease prevention must incorporate effective health messaging. Audience segmentation may be a useful technique to provide health communication, as it allows for targeted messaging that speaks to specific attitudes and beliefs of a given population. One tool for usefully segmenting populations is …

Multi-Criteria Evaluation Model For Classifying Marginal Cropland In Nebraska Using Historical Crop Yield And Biophysical Characteristics, Andrew Laws

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Marginal cropland is suboptimal due to historically low and variable productivity and limiting biophysical characteristics. To support future agricultural management and policy decisions in Nebraska, U.S.A, it is important to understand where cropland is marginal for its two most economically important crops: corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max). As corn and soybean are frequently planted in a crop rotation, it is important to consider if there is a relationship with cropland marginality. Based on the current literature, there exists a need for a flexible yet robust methodology for identifying marginal land at different scales, which …

The Use Of Hallucinogens In The Treatment Of Mental Health Disorders, Brianna Gagen

Honors College Theses

The percent of people with mental health disorders in the United States have skyrocketed over the past decade. With stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health and the symptoms associated with it, often those that are suffering do not receive sufficient treatment, as they might with a physical illness. The current, common treatment options for common psychological disorders, like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, are sometimes not effective in patients, due to resistance or poor response outcomes. Consequently, in order to research alternative therapeutic approaches for mental health disorders, scientists are researching the effects of several hallucinogenic drugs in …

Using Ai To Examine Nocturnal Moth Pollination, Conor Moriarty

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The importance of insect-mediated agriculture cannot be understated especially in the wake of pollinator population declines. Most research of insect-mediated pollination is focused on diurnal pollinators like the honeybee (Apis mellifera). Deepening our understanding of how other pollinators, such as nocturnal pollinators, can benefit agriculture and ecosystems will be very important as honeybee populations decline. I explored nocturnal moth interactions with flowering apple flowers during their pollination season to better understand how these nocturnal pollinators interact with the plants. To accomplish this, I used a University of Arkansas farm area with a dedicated apple orchard. I gathered my raw data …

Deviating From The Plan: Assessing The Impact Of Forest Management Delays On Ecosystem Function, Kathryn Joyce Murenbeeld

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Forests are under increasing stress due to changes in disturbance regimes, such as wildfire and pest or disease outbreaks, an increase in more severe and prolonged drought, and changes in land use. These stressors are already having an observable impact on forests in the western United States. Many forests within the western US are managed by the US Forest Service. Forest management is important as a tool for increasing a forest's ability to withstand or recover from these stresses. Additionally, because of the forest’s influence on interactions between the land surface and the atmosphere, forest management has implications for future …

Built Environment, Land Use, And Crime: A Las Vegas Study, Stacey Lynn Clouse

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined land use and crime against persons and crime against property in Las Vegas, Nevada at varying spatial levels of analysis. Using crime data provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County Assessor’s office, results at the macro-level of analysis reveal that property crime rates concentrated on commercial, transportation, communication and utilities, and industrial land use, whereas violent crime concentrated at commercial, multi-residential, and civic, institutional, and recreational land use. Upon examining the subtypes of land use that generate or radiate more crime, property crime concentrated on transportation land use, class 1 resorts, and …

Sensory Comparison Of Beer Carbonated Using Forced Carbonation And The Carbo Rock-It, Michala Smith

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Craft brewing is a growing market which represents over 12% of beer produced in the United States. Dr. G Scott Osborn, PE invented the Carbo Rock-It™ to improve the carbonation process for craft breweries. The invention allows for shorter carbonation time and uses less CO₂, saving companies money and time. Because of the lack of gas losses through bubbling, Osborn theorized that the Carbo Rock-It could also prevent the “stripping of the nose” that can occur in traditional forced carbonation. Existing research supports the mechanism, as beer flavor and aroma volatiles have been detected during the release of …

Justification For An Apparel-Based Sustainability Course At The University Of Arkansas, Sydney Taylor

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The University of Arkansas' Apparel Merchandising and Product Development program does not currently offer a course on sustainability in the apparel and textile sector. Due to a lack of sustainability information, students may not have a thorough understanding of their degree. If students had the opportunity to learn about current sustainability-related topics before entering the workforce, they would have a new perspective and a deeper understanding of the industry, allowing them to potentially make good change.

By elaborating on the need for an apparel-based sustainability course to be offered at the University of Arkansas in the Apparel Merchandising and Product …

Tiktok As A Digital Activism Space: Social Justice Under Algorithmic Control, Brittany Haslem

Institute for the Humanities Theses

TikTok, a video sharing application, has become the center of viral internet culture. The app has risen in popularity so quickly that scholarly literature investigating its vast societal impact is still nascent. TikTok is not only used to discuss popular culture topics and create trends, but also being utilized as a tool for social justice activism in the United States in the wake of a tumultuous year with major events such as the coronavirus pandemic, a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the 2020 presidential election. TikTok activism is not without critiques, ranging from concerns of foreign government …

Data-Driven Framework For Understanding & Modeling Ride-Sourcing Transportation Systems, Bishoy Kelleny

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Ride-sourcing transportation services offered by transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft are disrupting the transportation landscape. The growing demand on these services, along with their potential short and long-term impacts on the environment, society, and infrastructure emphasize the need to further understand the ride-sourcing system. There were no sufficient data to fully understand the system and integrate it within regional multimodal transportation frameworks. This can be attributed to commercial and competition reasons, given the technology-enabled and innovative nature of the system. Recently, in 2019, the City of Chicago the released an extensive and complete ride-sourcing trip-level data for …

Reconstructing Bison And Mammoth Migration During The Late Pleistocene And Early Holocene Of Central Texas Using Strontium Isotopes, Joshua John Porter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

During the Late Pleistocene (LP; past 130,000 years), over two-thirds of large mammal (>45kg) species went extinct globally. While the role of humans is hotly debated, the effect of these extinctions is growing clearer; the extinctions resulted in widespread and lasting faunal community reorganization. However, the impact of these extinctions on dietary and migratory behavior within faunal communities is unknown. Our study examines the impact of the megafaunal extinctions on the dietary and migratory behavior of surviving Bison individuals in Texas using carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopes. Strontium isotopes are incorporated into mammalian enamel during their tooth development and …

Multi-Trophic Biodiversity Increases With Increasing Structural Complexity Of Forest Canopy, Ayanna St. Rose

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the effects of forest canopy structural complexity on multi-trophic diversity is critical for conserving biodiversity and managing land sustainably. But multi-trophic diversity is often ignored when making decisions about land management due to lack of cost- and time-effective methods to evaluate it. Here, we explored a new method based on widely available remote sensing data to quantify canopy structural complexity and its relationships with multi-trophic biodiversity at landscape scale using 32 forested sites of the National Ecological Observatory Network. We investigated the influence of vertical and horizontal structural complexity of forest canopy on multi-trophic (primary producers, herbivores (beetles), omnivores …

Monitoring Sars-Cov-2 Risk With Co2. The Importance Of Ventilation, Masks, And Vaccinations., Preston Betz

Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations

To assess airborne pathogen infection risk, concentrations of interior carbon dioxide and changes in relative humidity serve as proxies for human respiration products. Yanes and Yapp, 2010, demonstrated that interior air carbon dioxide concentrations and ¹³C/¹²C ratios display a two-component mixing relationship between respiration carbon dioxide which is highly concentrated (>100x atmospheric) in respiration air CO₂ at >40,000 ppm compared with ambient air (~410 ppm). In the absence of combustion carbon dioxide, the concentration of carbon dioxide, in an interior space, depends on the rate of respiration CO₂ addition relative to the amount of …

Russia, Europe And Central Asia Energy Security And Pipeline Politics, Mehmet Kınacı

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Energy Security will continue to remain as one of the top security concerns for Europe. Depleting reserves and growing energy demand have increased European dependence on external energy resources. Today, Russia is by far the largest supplier of oil, coal and the natural gas to Europe. Oil and natural gas revenues have played a vital role to rebound the Russian economy and have supported Putin’s ambitions to reestablish Russia as a great power, increasing its influence over the former Soviet space. This complex energy relationship has increasingly been a cause of concern.

The main question this study seeks to answer …

Identifying Associations Between Human-Environmental Factors And Water Quality Trends Observed At Perennial Headwater Streams Of The San Bernardino National Forest, California, Anna Frey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Anthropogenic factors related to landscape activities, infrastructure, and alterations, coupled with severe climatic fluctuations (i.e., droughts and extreme hydrological events) are increasingly impairing the quality of surface water resources across multiple geographic scales, warranting the need for comprehensive investigations of the cumulative effects of human-environmental stressors at multiple scales within a watershed. This study assessed three perennial headwater streams of the San Bernardino National Forest, California. The streams were tested for one year from October 2019 to September 2020 for conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, turbidity, temperature, ammonium (NH₄+), nitrate (NO₃-), total coliform (TC), Escherichia coli …

Competition And Third-Party Platform-Integration In Ride-Sourcing Markets, Yaqian Zhou, Hai Yang, Jintao Ke, Hai Wang, Xinwei Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Recently, some third-party integrators attempt to integrate the ride services offered by multiple independent ride-sourcing platforms. Accordingly, passengers can request ride through the integrators and receive ride service from any one of the ride-sourcing platforms. This novel business model, termed as third-party platform-integration in this work, has potentials to alleviate market fragmentation cost resulting from demand splitting among multiple platforms. Although most existing studies focus on operation strategies for one single monopolist platform, much less is known about the competition and platform-integration and their implications on operation strategy and system efficiency. In this work, we propose mathematical models to describe …

Storm The Capitol: Linking Offline Political Speech And Online Twitter Extra-Representational Participation On Qanon And The January 6 Insurrection, Claire Seungeun Lee, Juan Merizalde, John D. Colautti, Jisun An, Haewoon Kwak

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The transfer of power stemming from the 2020 presidential election occurred during an unprecedented period in United States history. Uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing societal tensions, and a fragile economy increased societal polarization, exacerbated by the outgoing president's offline rhetoric. As a result, online groups such as QAnon engaged in extra political participation beyond the traditional platforms. This research explores the link between offline political speech and online extra-representational participation by examining Twitter within the context of the January 6 insurrection. Using a mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative thematic analyses, the study combines offline speech information with Twitter …

Neighborhood Cooperative Multiagent Reinforcement Learning For Adaptive Traffic Signal Control In Epidemic Regions, Chengwei Zhang, Yu Tian, Zhibin Zhang, Wanli Xue, Xiaofei Xie, Tianpei Yang, Xin Ge, Rong Chen

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Nowadays, multiagent reinforcement learning (MARL) have shared significant advances in the adaptive traffic signal control (ATSC) problems. For most of the researches, agents are all isomorphic, which disregards the situation in which isomerous intersections cooperative together in a real ATSC scenario, especially in epidemic regions where different intersections have quite different levels of importance. To this end, this paper models the ATSC problem as a networked Markov game (NMG), in which agents take into account information, including traffic conditions of it and its connected neighbors. A cooperative MARL framework named neighborhood cooperative hysteretic DQN (NC-HDQN) is proposed. Specifically, for each …

Diffusion Of A Salt In An Aqueous Media, Aldaly Pineda Hernandez

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Diffusion is defined as the net transfer of a molecule from a high concentration region to a low concentration region. The concept of diffusion is used in a very important process called "desalination." Desalination is a separation process used to reduce the salt content dissolved in brackish water to make it suitable for human consumption, irrigation, and industrial use.

In desalination plants, it is important to monitor the constantly changing salt content of water, partly due to the diffusive effect. The main purpose of this experiment was to study the diffusion of NaCl in water at two NaCl concentrations. The …

Interdisciplinary Studies Masters Degree In Anthropological & Science Based Education, Robert Porter

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The goal of this project is to develop anthropological and science-based curricula that will emphasize a place-based approach while actively engaging students in their education. I developed two curricula for elementary aged students in San Bernardino. The first curriculum was based anthropologically on the local history of indigenous groups and early San Bernardino history. The second was based on paleontology here in California with a focus on dinosaurs and fossils.

To improve and validate the curricula I sent the examples to educational experts and had them critique the lessons and information provided. Then I used their input to improve the …

Hci In Southeast Asia: The Journey Forward, E. Sari, J.A. Tedjasaputra, Y. Kurniawan, E. Zulaikha, A. Asfarian, M. Ghazali, A. Sivaji, J.A. Abu Bakar, C.Y. Wong, N.M. Norowi, Tamas Makany, D. Perera-Schulz, T. Chintakovid, S. Nuchitprasitchai, Ethel Ong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

SEACHI 2022 has been conducted to bring HCI and UX leaders in Southeast Asia to discuss the current state-of-the-art HCI and UX teaching, practice, and support they experience in their region. This activity aims to explore the potentials and challenges and identify the gaps amongst different sectors in different countries. Through this workshop, we will have a common understanding of what we face. It explores how we can work collaboratively to achieve a better purpose, i.e., to grow HCI and UX fields in Southeast Asia. This one-day online workshop was conducted as a collocated event of CHI 2022 and was …

Determining The Value Of Ecosystem Services Provided By Green Stormwater Infrastructure In Coastal South Carolina, Joan U. Ureta

All Dissertations

Rapid urbanization changes the natural hydrology of a landscape, making stormwater management a crucial aspect of land development. As the fastest growing ecosystem globally, an innovative way of managing stormwater is needed to address the increase in urban run-off. In coastal South Carolina, stormwater practices have been widely adopted at the neighborhood level, yet threat of flooding is becoming more evident as the urban population and development continue to rise.

To determine the importance of stormwater practices to coastal residents, we assessed perception on stormwater practices and programs at different decision levels— 1) household, 2) neighborhood, and 3) city/county. Results …

The Expansion Of Nocs: What Strengthening State-Owned Enterprises Means For Global Energy, Alexander L. Fretz

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The rise of National Oil Companies (NOCs) in the 20th century has been well documented. However, little work has been done with respect to how these entities have evolved in the 21st century. This study aims to measure the changing strength of contemporary NOCs by comparing them to their privatized counterparts. Using this comparative analysis, the study will explain the changing global energy landscape and the potential internecine effects on the international system.

The One Who Won, Jeanna Polisini

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

I am an adopted Asian American with an Italian last name who was raised in the Jewish faith. While I am one of the lucky ones, the One-Child Policy is responsible for how my life turned out. My intention is to confront the inhumanity of this horrific policy with my adoption story. Until policies personally affect someone’s life, many people do not think twice about the other country’s problems and their repercussions on a global level. For my senior exhibition, I created an autobiographical installation to explore my adoption story and how China’s inhumane dictatorship. The full immersive installation will …

Hci Education And Ux Practice: Highlights From Singapore, Tamas Makany, Dharani Perera-Schulz

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This position paper highlights trends in education, practice, and support of HCI/UX in Singapore, a small city-state island in Southeast Asia. The paper was prepared for the 2022 Southeast Asia Computer-Human Interaction (SEACHI'22) virtual workshop on Apr 14, 2022, as part of the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'22) international conference.