This study was conducted as part of a parent grantwhich examined the relationship between components of sleep and antibody responses to the flu vaccine in a population of 392 nurses working at two large hospitals. During/after sleep data was collected, nurses had blood drawn at four time points: immediately pre-vaccination, 1-, 6-, and 11-months post vaccine to obtain serum for detection of anti-influenza antibodies measured with an HI (hemagglutination inhibition) assay. Additionally, the inflammatory biomarkers IL6, IL1-β, TNF-α and CRP were measured at the pre-vaccine time point only to determine any correlation between the markers and antibody response. Data was analyzed using a hierarchical regression. In the first step, analyses assessed whether each change/average in cytokines over the one-month period had an impact on vaccine response for each of the four viral strains in the flu vaccine. In a second step, analyses assessed whether variables such as insomnia, stress, age, smoking, BMI, and race had any impact on vaccine response beyond the effects exerted through inflammation. The change in association (β) between the primary independent variable and primary dependent variable were examined in order to determine whether there are any suppression effects caused by baseline covariates on the relationship between …

Value-added models (VAMs) have become widely used in evaluating teacher accountability. The use of these models for high-stakes decisions making has been very controversial due to lack of consistency in classifying teachers as high performing or low performing. There is an abundance of research on the impact of various student level covariates on teacher value-added scores; however, less is known about the impact of teacher-level and school-level covariates. This study uses hierarchical linear modeling to examine the impact of including teacher characteristics, school characteristics, and student demographics aggregated at the school level on elementary mathematics and reading teacher value-added scores. Data for this study was collected from a large school district in north Texas. This study found that across all VAMs fitted, 32% of mathematics teachers and 37% of reading teachers changed quintile ranking for their value-added score at least once across all VAMs, while 55% and 65% of schools changed their quintile ranking of value-added scores based on mathematics and reading achievement, respectively. The results show that failing to control for aggregated student demographics has a large impact on both teacher level and school level value-added scores. Policymakers and administrators using VAM estimates in high-stakes decision-making should include teacher- …

In 2018, global gross domestic product (GDP) was US$86.3 trillion, and almost a quarter of that value was due to international trade with a value of US$19.6 trillion. Air cargo accounts for about 35 percent of that trade value (approximately US$6.86 trillion). Moreover, from the perspective of the airport sector, air cargo revenue contributes between 20 to 70 percent of airport revenue. The global airport revenue for freight in 2018 was US$250 billion. Despite the interest and research activities surrounding competition and competitiveness of airports and specifically among airlines and passengers, it appears scholars have overlooked research concerning the competitiveness of airports when it comes to air cargo. This study attempts to fill the gap in the supply chain and logistics literature by putting forward a framework and ultimately operationalizing the framework highlighting the pivotal role of air cargo in the supply chain domain and within the global economy. Specifically, the framework is operationalized within the freight forwarding air cargo supply chain domain – providing insight into this important yet understudied phenomenon. The population of interest is freight forwarders from the Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates. The Middle East represents 18 percent of the world's air cargo volume and …

In this dissertation, I report the results of my research on twisted moiré photonic crystals which can be formed through multi-beam holographic interference without a physical rotation and later fabricated by electron-beam lithography. Their optical properties, such as photonic bandgaps, multiple resonance modes, and quality factor are presented. Randomized moire photonic crystals in lattice are also studied. The applications of moire photonic crystals in improving light extraction efficiency are simulated and verified in light emitting devices. Furthermore, I simulated the light extraction efficiency in OLED when the Al layer is patterned with a triangular GPSC, square moiré PhC with defects in the uniform area, and random locations of the photonic lattice, and obtain light extraction efficiency of 78.9%, 79.9%, 81.7%, respectively. Also, the ratios of photoluminescence intensity of LED integrated with twisted moiré PhCs and random moiré PhCs over that without moiré PhCs are measured to be (1.3-1.9) and 1.74, respectively, in a good agreement with simulated ratios of 1.69 and 1.8.

This research builds on social exchange theory and self-determination theory to better understand the relationships between employee engagement, demographic and personal attributes, and public service motivation (PSM). It hypothesizes that employee engagement and demographic and personal characteristics (education, income, gender, and parents working in civil service) will directly affect PSM. I also hypothesize that education, income, and gender will have an indirect effect and moderate the relationship between employee engagement and PSM. This dissertation uses a quantitative approach to investigate the hypotheses introduced with the conceptual model. This research uses structural equation modeling as a data analysis technique. Based on 704 valid questionnaires distributed to Saudi public employees in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Assir, the analysis shows that a higher level of employee engagement will lead to a higher level of public service motivation. It also reveals that a higher level of education will lead to a higher level of PSM.; the hypothesis that income positively affects PSM is not supported. Thus, this study finds that there is no significant relationship between income and PSM. Being female is found to be negatively associated with PSM. Therefore, the hypothesis that females are lower PSM than males is supported. Parents of public …

This dissertation work is a study of positronium formation for positron-hydrogen and positron-helium collisions in the Ore gap (the energy region between the threshold for ground-state positronium formation and the first excitation level of the target atom) using variational K-matrices. We have fitted the K-matrices using multichannel effective range theories and using polynomials. Using the variational K-matrices and their fits, we have located zeros in the positronium-formation scattering amplitude and corresponding deep minima in the positronium-formation differential cross section. The zeros are related to the vortices in the extended velocity field associated with the positronium-formation scattering amplitude. For positron-hydrogen collisions, we have found two zeros in the positronium-formation scattering amplitude, and corresponding deep minima in the positronium-formation differential cross section, while we have obtained a zero in the positronium-formation scattering amplitude for positron-helium collisions. We have connected the zeros in the positronium-formation scattering amplitude to vortices in the extended velocity fields. Our work shows that vortices can occur for charge exchange in atomic collisions.

This research studied the relationship between social capital and household resilience. In particular, how bonding and bridging relationships affect household resilience was the question selected to illustrate this relationship between social capital and household resilience. Moreover, how the vulnerability of household impacts household resilience was also empirically examined. Social capital theory and vulnerability paradigm studies were used to discover explanations for why and how social connectedness and social vulnerabilities impact household resilience. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data in the main two cities in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh and Jeddah. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data. Statistical descriptions and inferences were conducted. In fact, multiple linear regression, T-test, and one way ANOVA were the three principal technics used to make statistical inferences. This study empirically found evidence there are relationships between bonding relationships and household resilience, and also relationships between the economic level of the household and household resilience. However, no evidence was found for relationships between bridging relationships and household resilience, or between other vulnerability factors and household resilience. Other vulnerability factors included gender, minority group, and language.

Citation analysis, which provides insights into the influence of particular scholarly work in a field of study, can also show epistemological "turns" through patterns of citations over time. This study explored the impact of postmethod epistemology on the shared knowledge of the English-as-a-second-language (L2) education community over a 26-year period. The approach consisted of tabulating and analyzing citations in 125 articles from two major journals, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Quarterly (TESOL Qrtrly) and English Language Teaching Journal (ELT). The time period covered was 1994, when the term postmethod was introduced in TESOL Qrtrly, through 2019. Attention went to the following questions for each journal and for both journals together: (i) who is the most influential of the three major postmethod authors, B. Kumaravadivelu, Richard Allwright, or Hans Stern? (ii) what was the most cited postmethod publication? and (iii) have there been patterns over time for citations of postmethod authors and publications and for the use of the term postmethod? Of the three postmethod authors, Kumaravadivelu was the most cited in the two journals combined. For TESOL Qrtrly, Kumaravadivelu was the most cited, and Stern was second. For ELT, Kumaravadivelu and Allwright had an equal number of citations, …

The main objective of this thesis is to propose a localization method for a UAV using various computer vision and machine learning techniques. It plays a major role in planning the strategy for the flight, and acts as a navigational contingency method, in event of a GPS failure. The implementation of the algorithms employs high processing capabilities of the graphics processing unit, making it more efficient. The method involves the working of various neural networks, working in synergy to perform the localization. This thesis is a part of a collaborative project between The University of North Texas, Denton, USA, and the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The localization has been divided into three phases namely object detection, recognition, and location estimation. Object detection and position estimation were discussed in this thesis while giving a brief understanding of the recognition. Further, future strategies to aid the UAV to complete the mission, in case of an eventuality, like the introduction of an EDGE server and wireless charging methods, was also given a brief introduction.

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.

When it comes to hospice care, patients and their families residing in rural counties need competent rural community-based hospice social workers on their team. The study of information seeking behaviors of rural community-based hospice social workers during the global COVID-19 pandemic is significant as there is a need to fill gaps regarding how this specific medical discipline performs their job responsibilities when duties become more complicated due to evolving infection control protocols, decreased direct access to patients, and poor internet services. Community-based rural hospice social workers rely on up-to-date information and resources when providing support services to patients and their families. This has become particularly important during the global pandemic COVID-19. Utilizing Chatman's small world theory, this research lends itself to community-based hospice social workers identifying solutions to the challenges of finding timely and accurate COVID-19 information and resources for hospice patients and their families. Purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews, and qualitative social network analysis (SNA) with ATLAS.ti comprise the methodology for this research. The purpose of this study is to investigate the information seeking behaviors of community-based hospice rural social workers in order to understand how they select their COVID-19 information resources.

The increasing demands of efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector encourage political leaders and policy makers to adopt and apply advanced techniques and solutions to overcome flaws in public organizational performance. Entrepreneurship was introduced in several Western countries as a way to improve their processes and management through adopting private sector management principles and market-oriented techniques. In 2015, Saudi Arabia announced its 2030 vision, which introduced hundreds of innovative and creative initiatives aiming to overcome issues of the turbulent environment, future oil depletion, budgetary pressures, and public demands for efficiency and effectiveness. Building on interdisciplinary perspectives, this study investigates entrepreneurial orientation among Saudi public employees from all administrative regions across the country. Building on McClelland's theory of motivation, this study hypothesizes that the motives of need for achievement, need for affiliation, and need for power are positively associated with entrepreneurial behavior. It also hypothesizes that excessive organizational hierarchy, formalization, and lack of autonomy constrain employees' entrepreneurial activities. Moreover, this study adopts a sociological perspective in proposing solutions for facilitating entrepreneurial orientation among public employees by hypothesizing that human and social capital promote an entrepreneurial orientation. Multiple regression analysis reveals that Saudi public employees with a higher level of need …

This publication of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society includes information about research, prominent scientist, organizational business, and various other stories of interest to the community.

This publication of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society includes information about research, prominent scientist, organizational business, and various other stories of interest to the community.

This publication of the Dallas-Fort Worth Section of the American Chemical Society includes information about research, prominent scientist, organizational business, and various other stories of interest to the community.

Improving growth, lowering mortality rates, and having a faster turnaround to harvest is essential for the future of commercial aquaculture. The primary goal of this study was to determine if introducing a single strain probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501 into the feed regimen of a commercially important aquaculture freshwater fish, Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), would decrease mortality; change metabolic rates; and increase tissue wet mass (MW), standard length, growth rate and feed conversion rate (FCRs). IMC501 was added to the fishmeal in four increasing concentrations and compared to a control without probiotics. Results from two-way ANOVAs showed that both treatment levels and elapsed time had a significant effect on both mean standard length and wet mass; in the latter case, time points and treatments interacted with one another, showing that tilapia grew best with a moderate level of probiotics present. The growth benefits of probiotics continued for months after the initial treatments. Oxygen consumption (metabolic rate) was measured using closed respirometry and resulted in recording the first values for juvenile tilapia treated with probiotics. For oxygen consumption, there were significant treatment and time effects with significant interactions, indicating that metabolism increased with probiotics once the dosage exceeded three times the …

This dissertation contextualizes Brahms's vocal quartets within a largely forgotten discourse about Hausmusik that flourished in German-speaking lands in the second half of the nineteenth century. In numerous texts about Hausmusik from ca. 1848-1900, authors conceived the genre as an aesthetically and politically conservative expression of German identity and connected its accessible style to an ideal of social cohesion in the pre-industrial age. Similar issues of national identity and musical style arise in the reception of Brahms's quartets, which, I contend, was informed by the works' generic status as Hausmusik. Critics either praised Brahms's works for their simple, folk-like style or disparaged their complexity, artifice, and foreignness. Ultimately, I argue, Brahms sought to elevate the genre of Hausmusik in his vocal quartets by integrating aesthetic and cultural values associated with this genre with a more sophisticated musical style. The works' stylistic and generic ambiguity and the disparity in critics' responses reveal competing aesthetic, political, and cultural world views immediately before and after German unification. Chapter 2 shows how discourse about Hausmusik constructed German identity in the private sphere by promoting a folk-like aesthetic and accessible musical style over the perceived cosmopolitanism and commercialism of Salonmusik and other repertoires. Chapter 3 …

This thesis is focused on understanding the correct method to simulate atomistic models to calculate coefficient of diffusion of water through the membrane. It also aims to fix the method previously used in molecular modelling in which the simulation results did not match the experimental results. These membranes will be used in air dehumidification systems. The four types of membranes namely, polyurethane, polyurethane with silica nano particles, polyurethane with silica nano particles and amine surface modifier, and polyurethane with silica nano particles and aniline surface modifier. These membranes were also simulated to understand the effects of temperatures and pressure using molecular dynamics. The software packages used are MAPS 4.3, Avogadro, EMC, OVITO, and LAMMPS. MAPS, Avogadro and EMC were used to model the membrane at an atomistic level while LAMMPS is used to simulate the model generated. OVITO is used to analyze the simulation visually. The movement of water vapor molecules were tracked through the membrane in the simulation and diffusion coefficient was calculated using Mean square displacement equation. To create a realistic model, silica was dispersed in the Polyurethane matrix, simulated under standard atmospheric conditions. These results will help in further optimizing the membrane for air dehumidification. This will …

Creativity can be a useful skill in today's classrooms and workplaces. When individuals talk about creativity, it's unclear what the controlling variables are when we tact behavior as "creative." Research in understanding the processes behind behaviors that are considered "creative" would assist in identifying functional relations and provide insight on how to teach creativity. Since creativity is often described as doing something different from the norm, behavioral variability may be a potential aspect of creativity. This study aimed to replicate previous findings by investigating the effects of discrimination training in a multiple schedule of varied and repetitive responding in the context of a video game. Participants played through a 2D online video game made in Bloxels. Different alternating-colored platforms served as the discriminative stimuli for the vary and repeat components. Three parameters of variability were measured (e.g., left jumps, right jumps, and double jumps). The results of the study indicate that participants were able to learn the discrimination of when to repeat and vary their responses depending on which colored platform they encountered.

Louisiana Saturday Nights is a collection of poetry and accompanying critical introduction written for the doctorate in Literature and Creative Writing.

The Ends of Smaller Worlds is a collection of short stories set in Indiana. The preface is about the representation of the information age using elements of dirty realism and Gothic fiction.

Little is known about the current state of multicultural training within sport psychology master's programs. The study explored students' perceptions of their multicultural training and program climate. Importantly, differences in perceptions were investigated based on students' demographic factors, given that students with marginalized identities tend to report less favorable perceptions of and experiences in graduate training. Participants (N = 107) consisted of students and recent graduates of master's level sport psychology programs. Participants reported moderate levels of feeling safe, valued, and comfortable within their master's program, low to moderate levels of multicultural training integration within their curriculum and supervision, and low to moderate satisfaction with their multicultural training. Asian, Asian American, bi/multiracial, Black, African American, Hispanic, and Latino/a/e students, compared to their White peers, reported less satisfaction with their multicultural training, felt less safe, comfortable, and valued within their programs, and perceived less integration of multiculturalism into curriculum and supervision. A multiple regression analysis revealed that, for all students, perceptions of multicultural training integration and reports of feeling safe, comfortable, and valued was significantly related to students' satisfaction with their multicultural training. Discussion focuses on possible explanations for these findings, training implications, and future research directions.

The purpose of this research was two-fold: (1) further validate the Virtual Reality Stroop Task HMMWV [VRST; Stroop stimuli embedded within a virtual high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle] via a comparison of the 3-dimensional VRST factor structure to that of a 2-dimensional computerized version of the Stroop task; and (2) model the performance of machine learning [ML] classifiers and hyper-parameters for an adaptive version of the VRST. Both the 3-D VRST and 2-D computerized Stroop tasks produced two-factor solutions: an accuracy factor and a reaction time factor. The factors had low correlations suggesting participants may be focusing on either responding to stimuli accurately or swiftly. In future studies researchers may want to consider throughput, a measure of correct responses per unit of time. The assessment of naive Bayes (NB), k-nearest neighbors (kNN), and support vector machines (SVM) machine learning classifiers found that SVM classifiers tended to have the highest accuracies and greatest areas under the curve when classifying users as high or low performers. NB also performed well but kNN algorithms did not. As such, SVM and NB may be the best candidates for creation of an adaptive version of the VRST.

With the reliability requirements of automobile microelectronics pushing towards near 0 ppb levels of failure control, halide induced corrosion issues in wire bonded devices have to be tightly controlled to achieve such a high reliability goal. With real-time corrosion monitoring, for the first time we demonstrated that the explosive H2 evolution coupled with the oxygen reduction reaction, occurring at the critical Al/Cu interfaces, is the key driving force for the observed aggressive corrosion. Several types of passivation coating on Cu wire surfaces to effectively block the cathodic H2 evolution were explored with an aim to disrupt this explosive corrosion cycle. The properties of the protective coating were evaluated using various analytical techniques. The surface coating exhibited high thermal stability up to 260 °C (evaluated using TGA analysis). A uniform, highly hydrophobic coating (surface contact angle of >130° with water), was achieved by carefully controlling CVD parameters such as time of deposition, surface control of Cu metal, amount of inhibitor compound loading, temperature of coating process etc. FTIR spectroscopy combined with corrosion screening was used to optimize the CVD passivated coating with strong chemisorption. SEM and EDX, XPS were carried out on various coated surfaces to understand the composition and selectivity …