One of the most important French grammar rules is the rule of superiority: Masculine subjects always trump feminine subjects when there are multiple subjects. Superiority is closely followed by the acceptance that all nouns have a grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine. Since 1984, and over the span of forty years, these rules have been challenged on multiple levels of French society. The research conducted over the course of this thesis focuses on the mentality and reactions of the French people towards inclusive language made up of inclusive writing campaigns, the feminization of traditionally masculine names, career positions, and titles, and the introduction of gender-neutral forms of conjugating and neo-pronouns. The studied responses are be categorized into those of the French government, the Académie Française, as well as those from the Canadian government and the Office québécois de la langue française. Research demonstrates the existence of a clear division between "traditionalist" and progressive values at work within the afore-mentioned levels of French societal attitudes. While official government publications and committees seem to reflect a positive attitude towards the adoption of feminized terms, the lack of support for inclusive writing systems by the government contradicts this. This thesis outlines these responses …

The rise of nutraceutical health formulations has increased the need for more stringent analytical testing methods. Complex matrices present a new problem when determining concentration of compounds of interest. The presented method uses LC-MS analysis with a novel sample preparation method in the determination of Beta-hydroxybutyric acid in health formulations. The use of an aqueous analytical column allows for separations of polar compounds after non-polar compounds are removed through C18 packed column filtration. The samples were analyzed through time-of-flight mass spectrometry and results show that this is an effective method for the presented samples with a range of expected concentrations of total BHB was from 11.80% to 38.92%. It was seen that all samples exhibited a less than 10% percent deviation from the expected concentrations of the nutraceutical health samples with the highest being 9.74 % for sample 9 and the lowest being sample 3 with a deviation of 0.08 % from expected values.

This dissertation attempts to uncover systematic patterns regarding elite management in dictatorships. To do so, it describes how dictators manage their elites and what factors determine the outcomes of their decision. Although considerable literature has examined the various structural features of dictatorships and has identified different elite management strategies to explain the persistence of dictatorships, few, if any, have empirically tested any of the theoretical propositions generated by this increasingly large body of literature. This dissertation is the first empirical attempt to explore the elite management strategies of various dictatorships, ranging from the individual case of the most extreme dictatorship (North Korea) as well as different kinds of military dictatorships (South Korea), and global patterns of autocratic regimes. To address the main research question, "what determines the choice of the dictator's elite management strategies?" this dissertation identifies three key factors - dictator, elites, and structure. The relationship between dictators and elites is basically hostile. Conflicts between actors over power acquisition often emerge in violent ways. Nevertheless, dictators do not always treat elites with repression. They sometimes make efforts to embrace and cooperate with the other elites. The variation of their strategies toward elites is determined by various conditions. The results …

Various forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are increasingly being used in the United States and globally over time. Among CAM, natural products, including herbal medicines, are the most used type. However, the increase in the use of CAM has gone on with minimal or without a corresponding increase in the rate of disclosure of use to the health care providers. The theories of care-seeking behavior and the behavioral model of health services use guided most of the study. Data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed to determine the health factors that affect the nondisclosure of herbal medicine usage by respondents (N = 423) who used herbs as their first choice of CAM therapy. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic model. About one quarter of herb users did not disclose their use of herbs to the health care provider. Nondisclosures were likely to be associated with herb users who also used homeopathy and those who used herbs to treat diseases that are usually short-term. The nondisclosure rate of the use of CAM, including herbal therapy, remains a recurring concern. As part of the practical implications, the study creates and supports the awareness …

Although digital equity is a recognized challenge in our K-12 school system, there is little research in using a holistic framework to investigate pre-conditions necessary for K-12 students to participate in digital learning and online processes. A conceptual framework of students' digital opportunity (SDO) is developed to represent the essential components of digital connectivity. The four key components are broadband internet availability, broadband usage, digital device ownership, and speed quality. A composite measure of SDO was created to quantitatively represent and measure the differences across 3,138 counties in the United States. Furthermore, spatial autocorrelation was applied to evaluate if the distribution of the SDO score is associated with geographical characteristics at the county level. The result showed the presence of significant county-level clusters with concentrations of high or low SDO scores. While the spatial analysis provided evidence of where the gaps in digital opportunities are located, there are underlying factors at the micro level that would need further investigation. This study suggests a collective approach between private and public entities to address the K-12 digital equity issue. The necessary conditions presented in the SDO model must be addressed first in order to bring change to K-12 students and schools in …

Most horse owners administer oral deworming medication to their horses on a set schedule, often six times per year. The deworming process involves using a plastic syringe to inject a thick paste into the horse's mouth. Most horse owners do not specifically train their horses to accept this procedure. Consequently, many horses resist the procedure and some horses engage in behaviors, such as head shaking, pulling away, or even rearing, that may be dangerous to humans or to themselves. This study used a negative reinforcement shaping procedure to train six horses to accept dewormer medication. The procedure consisted of a food sampling phase followed by three shaping phases that simulated the deworming task, first using only the experimenter's hand, then a small syringe, and finally a large syringe. Once the horse was acclimated to the syringe, the horse's preferred liquid food was delivered through the syringe at the end of each trial. By the end of the study, all participants successfully completed the procedure and were able to stand still with no or minimal head movements while being dewormed.

Naming refers to encountering a new word and subsequently being able to use it both expressively and receptively. Sometimes, this can happen in as little as a single experience. Several recent studies have explored factors that influence the acquisition of naming in adults. However, these studies used familiar stimuli for which the participants already had names. In these studies, preexisting stimulus-response relations with the stimuli could have impeded the acquisition of new names for some participants. In contrast, the present study used unfamiliar ("arbitrary") stimuli. In addition, an equivalence test was used to validate the findings because some theorists have claimed that naming is required for equivalence. The results revealed some advantages to teaching naming with arbitrary stimuli. Interestingly, a subset of participants had high scores on equivalence tests without having high scores on expressive tests. This indicates that, contrary to naming theory, naming may not be necessary for equivalence and match-to-sample tests may not be the best test of equivalence. These findings support the independence of the expressive and receptive repertoires both in the development of naming and equivalence.

This dissertation addresses research questions related to defining user's trust and risk perceptions associated with social networking usage behavior in relation to the repeated privacy and security breaches. The general research question is explored in the dissertation via the conduct of three related studies. The finding from these three investigations are presented in the results section as 3 essays that collectively examine the social networking sites usage behavior. Essay 1 proposes a conceptual model based on the review of multiple breaches. The review provides a conceptual model which is further analyzed using a quantitative survey in the second essay. Essay 2 measures the trust and risk perceptions associated with different sources of information when presented with multiple breaches. This portion of the research used a quantitative method that included surveying of college students from University of North Texas (UNT) to understand the relation between user's trust and risk perceptions. Essay 3 examines the social networking usage behavior on account of repeated privacy and security breaches. This essay uses the insights from the other two essays to identify the usage behavior and how it is affected. The proposed model was tested using a survey questionnaire method. Results show a significant relationship …

In this work, wear and scratch behavior of four different bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) namely Zr41.2Cu12.5Ni10Ti13.8Be22.5 (LM 1), Zr57Cu15.4Ni12.6Al10Nb5 (LM 106), Ni60Pd20P17B3 (Ni-BMG), and Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 (Pt-BMG) were compared. Shear band formation on the edges of the scratch groove with spallation was found to be the primary failure mechanism in progressive scratch tests. The wear behavior and the scratch response of model binary Ni-P metallic glasses was systematically studied as a function of composition, with amorphous alloy formation over the narrow range of 10 at% to 20 at% phosphorus. Pulsed current electrodeposition was used to obtain these binary amorphous alloys, which offers a facile and versatile alternative to conventional melt quenching route. The electrodeposited metallic glasses (EMGs) showed hardness values in the range of 6.6-7.4 GPa, modulus in the range of 155-163 GPa, and friction coefficient around 0.50. Among the studied alloys, electrodeposited Ni80P20 showed the lowest wear rate. The wear mechanism was determined to be extensive plastic deformation along with mild ploughing, micro tears, and formation of discontinuous lubricious oxide patches. The effect of phosphorus content on the structure, mechanical properties, and the tribological response was systematically investigated for biocompatible Co-P metallic glasses. With increase in phosphorus content, there was …

This dissertation is organized in a traditional format while including three essays that address specific research questions. Essay 1 examined the relationship between physical activity and community engagement and their effect on mental well-being among older men and women. Data from National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) from 2018 to 2020 were explored and the posited relationships were tested. This essay provides empirical support that older adults who are reasonably active and involved in the community have greater mental well-being than those who isolate themselves. Essay 2 provides insight into older adults' motivation to improve their physical activity through the use of a fitness tracker. The key finding from this study is that wearables, especially fitness trackers, can significantly facilitate increased physical activity. Essay 3 is a mixed-methods study to understand older adults' perception of the usefulness of fitness trackers and interaction with such devices. Findings suggest that to increase the adoption of fitness trackers among older adults, makers could improve the esthetics and quality of the wristband in addition to the battery life of the tracker.

Dieter Schnebel's String Trio from 2007-2009 is a spatial sound composition that features unique visual components within a traditional string trio setting. This research provides performers and audiences a more thorough understanding of the String Trio and its evocative aesthetic qualities, by identifying and organizing the ways in which the visual and musical material interact. To provide context for String Trio, a brief overview of Schnebel's compositional style and influence on avant-garde musical trends of the latter half of the twentieth century is provided in chapter 2. Special consideration is given to his instrumental chamber music and works for string instruments. In chapter 3, the prior musical analysis and aesthetic context provides a basis for the many conceptual implications resulting from the incorporation of theatricality into a typically non-theatrical genre. The performers' roles within the ensemble and the ways in which they relate to one another as well as their audience, are illuminated and ultimately contribute to a deeper, enhanced experience of the piece. Expectations and traditional notions concerning formal, classical music etiquette are also explored through Schnebel's complex directional changes in orientation and unconventional utilization of the performance space.

In this lecture we introduce a new transfinite dimension function for metric spaces which utilizes Henderson's topological D-dimension and ascribes to any metric space either an ordinal number or the symbol Ω. The construction of our function is motivated by that of Urbański's transfinite Hausdorff dimension, tHD. Henderson's dimension is a topological invariant, however, like Hausdorff dimension and tHD the function presented will be invariant under bi-Lipschitz continuous maps and generally not under homeomorphisms. We present some original results on D-dimension and build the general theory for the D-variant of transfinite Hausdorff dimension, \mathrm{t}_D\mathrm{HD}. In particular, we will show for any ordinal number α, existence of a metrizable space which has \mathrm{t}_D\mathrm{HD} greater than or equal to α and less than or equal to \omega_\tau, where τ is the least ordinal which satisfies α < \omega_\tau.

What defines demagogues and what sort of threat do they pose to democracy? Contemporary politics has recently witnessed a rise in demagogic leaders around the globe. Following this trend, many notable scholars have sought to better define the ancient term and to provide politics with advice on how to handle them. However, demagogy is hard to define, and research is divided over what truly makes for a demagogue. Scholars tend to either focus on the intention, the tools, or the effects of leaders to categorize demagogy. While they might disagree over which aspect of demagogy is most salient, they are more unanimous in their claims regarding the threat that demagogy poses to democracy. Before we outright condemn demagogy, I argue that we should better understand the phenomenon and its relationship to democracy. This dissertation turns to Machiavelli and Aristotle in order to better grasp and better define the phenomenon of demagogy. I first build a concept of demagogy through Aristotle's Politics and then use that concept to detect a similar phenomenon within the work of Machiavelli. In many ways Aristotle and Machiavelli affirm the claims of contemporary scholars, especially regarding the threat that demagogy poses to democracy. According to both …

Habitual (i.e., average or typical) sleep duration and sleep efficiency vary widely by demographic characteristics, including age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity. Despite a wealth of studies on demographic patterns in habitual sleep, these results are often based on cross-sectional surveys, which ask participants to retrospectively recall their "typical" or "recent" sleep. Yet, sleep is a highly dynamic behavior and may fluctuate substantially from night-to-night. This intraindividual variability (IIV) in sleep/wake patterns can be captured a multitude of ways, most commonly by using formula-based calculations. Although there is growing attention on the importance of IIV in sleep, findings on demographic differences are still inconclusive, and there are no guidelines for typical values of IIV in sleep. The present study quantitatively synthesized 8 international data sets (N = 2847 participants, 29,832 total days of sleep data), focusing on examining age, gender, and racial/ethnic identity differences in IIV in sleep measured via sleep diaries, actigraphy, and electroencephalography. Sleep duration and sleep efficiency varied widely from night-to-night within people (duration: 64-119 minutes; efficiency: 5-8%). Different metrics of IIV were strongly correlated within and across sleep measurement types. Younger adults had more IIV in diary and actigraphy sleep duration. Gender differences in IIV in sleep …

The flute music of Anna Bon di Venezia (1738–ca. 1767) belongs to the group of long-overlooked compositions by women composers throughout history worthy of rediscovery. This dissertation includes a discussion of Bon's life and music, as well as the artistic, historical, and theoretical significance of her compositions. It also presents biographical research on Bon, including Michaela Krucsay's dissertation, which provides new evidence of Bon's birth date, which had been uncertain up until 2015. Bon's Sonata in F Major for flute and basso continuo is analyzed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the work. A table is provided explaining specific ornaments and articulations added to the performance edition. In addition, this dissertation includes analyses of sonatas by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) and Johann Joachim Quantz (1697–1773) to contextualize Bon's sonatas within the standard flute repertoire. This dissertation expands the music scholarship on this distinguished composer and performer and provides a historically informed performance edition of the Sonata in F Major, op. 1, no. 2, for flute and piano, to serve as a model to modern flutists for historically informed performances of Bon's entire opus 1.

Is there a significant difference in the design of deep networks for the tasks of classifying object-centric images and scenery images? How to design networks that extract the most representative features for scene recognition? To answer these questions, we design studies to examine the scales and richness of image features for scenery image recognition. Three methods are proposed that integrate the scale factor to the deep networks and reveal the fundamental network design strategies. In our first attempt to integrate scale factors into the deep network, we proposed a method that aggregates both the context and multi-scale object information of scene images by constructing a multi-scale pyramid. In our design, integration of object-centric multi-scale networks achieved a performance boost of 9.8%; integration of object- and scene-centric models obtained an accuracy improvement of 5.9% compared with single scene-centric models. We also exploit bringing the attention scheme to the deep network and proposed a Scale Attentive Network (SANet). The SANet streamlines the multi-scale scene recognition pipeline, learns comprehensive scene features at various scales and locations, addresses the inter-dependency among scales, and further assists feature re-calibration as well as the aggregation process. The proposed network achieved a Top-1 accuracy increase by 1.83% on …

Stereotypical beliefs about emotion have been shown to influence perceptions of competence. While emotional White women are often presumed to be generally less competent, emotional Black women receive variable competence ratings due to the intersecting stereotypes concerning both their race and gender. However, it is unclear how perceptions of competence fluctuate in response to anger, a stereotypically male emotion, in comparison to sadness, a stereotypically female emotion. The project at hand utilized participants' responses to a scenario of White and Black leaders engaging with subordinates in their workplace expressing either neutral, angry, or sad responses to an interaction. We aimed to identify if a Black woman leader's expression of anger garnered a more favorable response than a White woman leader's expression of anger in addition to whether both leader's expression of sadness would garner similarly low ratings of competence. Results reveal that perceptions of a woman leader's competence can be influenced by race alone with no significant influence from emotional expression. Specifically, a Black woman leader's competence can on average be rated lower than a White woman's competence regardless of emotional expression. This study provides further evidence that group stereotypes manifest differentially based on context.

In this dissertation work, the study focuses on large areal growth of MoS2 monolayers and a study of the structural, optical and electrical properties of such monolayers before and after transfer using a polymer-lift off technique. This work will discuss the issue of contact resistance and the effect of defects (both intrinsic and extrinsic) on the overall quality of the monolayer films. The significance of this dissertation work is that a reproducible strategy for monolayer MoS2 film growth and quantification of areal coverage as well as the detrimental effects of processing on device performance is presented.

Roughly 1 million Blacks fled from the South to cities in the North, and with this shift New York City saw a 66% increase in its Black population between 1910 and 1920. By the end of the 1920s Harlem had become home to approximately 200,000 Black residents. But during the period 2000 to 2016 three of the nation's top ten gentrifying zip codes could be found in Harlem, and Harlem's Black population decreased by 23,166 residents, while Harlem's white population increased by 33,442 during this era. Similar to Harlem having played a pivotal role in Black culture throughout the United States, the Black church has been a pillar and resource in the Black community. In sustaining its congregants, the Black church has played a critical role in Black liberation. But despite the potential that Black churches may hold, many are experiencing declining attendance and presence. This study aims to examine the racially nuanced dynamics of Harlem's spaces confronting gentrification by looking at the interrelated dynamics of gentrification and the Black church. Data was collected via participant observation and semi-structured interviews in Harlem. The research elucidates findings regarding Harlem's gentrification, the Black church in Harlem, tactics for survival of the Black …

Water quality of a stream or river is influenced by the surrounding landscape and vegetation. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used to characterize landcover and vegetation density. Benthic macroinvertebrates are ubiquitous in freshwater streams and are excellent indicators of the quality of freshwater habitats. Data from one NDVI remote sensing flight and one macroinvertebrate sampling event for eight wadeable stream study sites in the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) were acquired. Proportions of high, moderate, and sparse vegetation were calculated for each stream watershed using ArcGIS. Functional feeding groups and tolerance values were assigned to macroinvertebrate taxa. The Fourth-corner and RLQ methods of analysis, available in the ade4 package for R software, were used to evaluate the relationships of macroinvertebrate traits with environmental variables. Hypothesis testing using Model 6 in the ade4 package resulted in p-values of 0.066 and 0.057 for global (overall) significance. Mean NDVI values of moderately vegetated areas and proportion of sparse vegetation were found to be significant to percent shredders at alpha ≤ 0.05. Results of these methods of analysis, when combined with traditional macroinvertebrate sampling metrics, show that NDVI can be a useful, additional tool to characterize a watershed and its effects …

The results from this study, on a few commercial and model metastable beta titanium alloys, indicate that the growth restriction factor (GRF) model fails to interpret the grain growth behavior in the additively manufactured alloys. In lieu of this, an approach based on the classical nucleation theory of solidification incorporating the freezing range has been proposed for the first time to rationalize the experimental observations. Beta titanium alloys with a larger solidification range (liquidus minus solidus temperature) exhibited a more equiaxed grain morphology, while those with smaller solidification ranges exhibited columnar grains. Subsequently, the printability of two candidate beta titanium alloys containing eutectoid elements (Fe) that are prone to beta fleck in conventional casting, i.e., Ti-1Al-8V-5Fe (wt%) or Ti-185, and Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (wt%) or Ti-10-2-3, is further investigated via two different AM processing routes. These alloys are used for high-strength applications in the aerospace industry, such as landing gears and fasteners. The Laser Engineered Net Shaping and Selective Laser Melting (the two AM techniques) results show that locally higher solidification rates in AM can prevent the problem of beta fleck and potentially produce β-titanium alloys with significantly enhanced mechanical properties over conventionally cast/forged counterparts. Further, the detailed investigation of microstructure-mechanical property …

The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used in this study to evaluate the faculty's perceptions of online learning. This study adopted a deductive approach that involved a move from theory formulation to data gathering. This study utilized a descriptive, correlational design to describe the study variables, which included the participants'' perceptions and attitudes. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of technology have statistically significant correlations with technology competence levels of technical college faculty members, influencing their behavioral intentions to use online learning. Specific strategies that bolster perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of technology in learning should be prioritized. These strategies include improving technological infrastructure, offering technology competency training, instituting facilitative technology use policies, and improving teacher-student motivation to use technology in learning.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 (CAA) was an omnibus spending bill that changed Pell grant funding in response to a budgetary shortfall after a four-year investment in student financial aid. The CAA occurred at a time of state disinvestment coupled with increasing tuition and fees. Through the lens of resource dependence and academic capitalism as a conceptual framework, I used panel data in an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to explore the impact of the CAA on Pell grant revenues. I included an interaction term to specifically address the impact of the CAA on public regional universities (PRUs) versus other institutions. Results indicated that the interaction effect between CAA and PRU was jointly significant. The average Pell award per student at PRUs was $13 less than other institutions before the implementation of the CAA. The average Pell award per student at PRUs increased after the implementation of the CAA; however, the average Pell award per student at PRUs was still $20 less than other institutions. Results indicated that the percentage of students receiving Pell awards was a significant and positive predictor of an average Pell award. Interestingly, institutions designated as minority-serving institutions (MSIs) were also significant and positive predictors …

Piano teachers tend to approach pedagogy by treating technical studies and repertoire as separate parts of the curriculum, often using etudes by Charles-Louis Hanon, Josef Pischna, and Carl Czerny to build the student's technique. Yet, although these methods are popular, pedagogues disagree about their value. In any case, many pieces suitable for intermediate pianists integrate technique and musicality, such as Friedrich Burgmüller's 25 Etudes, Op. 100, Muzio Clementi's Preludes and Exercises, Op. 43, and Ignaz Moscheles's 24 Etudes, Op. 70. Although these exercises can indeed build technique through intermediate-level recital pieces, many similar piano works from the Russian school are rarely used, and yet they could better serve students who will eventually move on to the advanced Russian piano repertoire. This paper provides a pedagogical guide for introducing technical skills through various levels of the Russian piano repertoire. The guide focuses on technique in the context of musical expression, especially tone production, wrist motion, and finger technique, progressing systematically through elementary, intermediate, and advanced Russian piano pieces, composed in a Romantic style—both elegant and rich with melody and expression. The repertoire used as examples should develop the finger technique as well as the musicality of the student. The examples come …