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Title: A meditation on loss within games
Creator: Tokarski, Justin C.
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Failure is something which we are all familiar with, but when we look at games and the rules which govern them failure takes on a different form. This kind of failure, unique to games, is what I term Loss. To be truly unique to games, Loss must be the result of gamic actions taken by the player, must be constrained by the limitations of the game, and must represent a unique occurrence or state within the game. Taking these constraints into account I propose the following as a definition of...
Show more"Failure is something which we are all familiar with, but when we look at games and the rules which govern them failure takes on a different form. This kind of failure, unique to games, is what I term Loss. To be truly unique to games, Loss must be the result of gamic actions taken by the player, must be constrained by the limitations of the game, and must represent a unique occurrence or state within the game. Taking these constraints into account I propose the following as a definition of Loss. Loss is a player state in a game, entered into when a 'Loss Condition' has been met by the direct actions of the player, wherein something valued by the player within the game is removed. This definition, upon inspection, leads to several different and unique aspects, or dimension, of Loss which provide useful tools for understanding, analyzing, and creating Loss within games. The Digital Dimension of Loss consists of the binary triggers, Loss Conditionals, which lead the game to enter a State of Loss. The Design Dimension of Loss is the method of translating Loss Conditionals into unique game events understandable to the player. The Value Dimension of Loss consists of the gamic measures of effort that are taken away from the player by Loss. Finally, the Experience Dimension of Loss concerns the subjective effects of Loss on the player and methods for predicting what these effects will be. Together, this definition and the 4 aspects of Loss provide us new tools for understanding Loss as unique to games and distinct from failure in non-game contexts."--Page ii.
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Title: Porous titanium dioxide nanomaterials for photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications
Creator: Li, Yan (Graduate of Michigan State University)
Date: 2016
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "The huge demand for fossil fuels and the risks of the environmental crisis have spurred an interest in renewable energies. Using the clean and abundant solar energy, semiconductor photocatalysis and photovoltaics have evoked tremendous interest. Titanium dioxide (titania, TiO2) has been the focus of the research trend because of its excellent crystallinity, photoreactivity, chemical and thermal stability, and low cost. The research objective presented in this dissertation is to fabricate...
Show more"The huge demand for fossil fuels and the risks of the environmental crisis have spurred an interest in renewable energies. Using the clean and abundant solar energy, semiconductor photocatalysis and photovoltaics have evoked tremendous interest. Titanium dioxide (titania, TiO2) has been the focus of the research trend because of its excellent crystallinity, photoreactivity, chemical and thermal stability, and low cost. The research objective presented in this dissertation is to fabricate titania nanomaterials with tunable porosities, large surface area, unique morphologies, and enhanced capacities of adsorption, electron transport, diffusion, and then apply them in photocatalysis and photovoltaics. A modified non-hydrolytic sol-gel system with calcium carbonate templating was developed to create macro/micro/nano porous anatase titanium dioxide. The hydrolysis rate was lowered by chelating ligands of valeric acid for slow and sufficient precursor coating. CaCO3 was completely removed via acidification, resulting in titania powders with a surface area ranging from 197 to 239 m2/g. The templated TiO2 with a surface area of 239 m2/g and pore diameters of 6-109 nm showed a promising 27% photocatalytic improvement compared to commercial particles, and a 180% increase compared to template-free TiO2. This increase is attributed to the increased catalyst loading capacity and active photocatalytic sites. From hard templates to soft biodegradable natural templates, the rate-controlled sol-gel method was combined with homogenized micro/nano-fibrillated cellulose (MFCs) with an average diameter below 50 nm. Cellulose was removed completely by thermal treatment, and an in-situ coating technique created thin titania films on substrates with a porous structure. The degradation efficiency of the photocatalytic films was related to film thickness and to the Ti(IV)-to-cellulose ratio. Photocatalyst on film eliminated the post separation treatment related to powder catalyst and simplified the purification process. The sol-gel/MFCs precursor was also coated in-situ as the photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells. It was found that the thickness of the anode film was a dominant factor to the overall performance and efficiency. The 6-layer cell showed a 400303% increase in solar-to-electricity efficiency (1.75%) compared to commercial paste at the same thickness under a simulated solar light irradiation of 100 mW cm-2 (AM 1.5). From non-hydrolytic to hydrolytic, a modified liquid phase deposition (LPD) approach was combined with MFCs. An optimized solvent composition of isopropanol/water ratio of 4 to 1 was found to yield coatings with uniform spherical TiO2 possessing a chain-like morphology oriented along the axis of the decomposed cellulose fibers. The average rate constant and degradation percentage were 0.72±0.09 min-1, 95% for TiF4-cellulose-4IPA1Water films, which increased by 1.88 times over the film prepared without cellulose templates due to the beneficial surface area, pore size, and the unique morphology. The three-dimensional web structure with pseudo one-dimensional sphere-chain could retard the recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and improve the charge transport."--Pages ii-iii.
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Title: Analyzing and reducing energy consumption on the Michigan State University campus
Creator: Renny, Alexander
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The reliance on fossil fuels to generate most of the world's energy has led to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the associated negative effects on the climate. The application of energy reducing retrofits allows for significant reductions in total energy use, providing the opportunity to achieve cost savings as well as emissions reductions. Students Planning Advanced Retrofit Technology Applications (SPARTA) was founded to pursue implementation of these retrofits at...
Show moreThe reliance on fossil fuels to generate most of the world's energy has led to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions and the associated negative effects on the climate. The application of energy reducing retrofits allows for significant reductions in total energy use, providing the opportunity to achieve cost savings as well as emissions reductions. Students Planning Advanced Retrofit Technology Applications (SPARTA) was founded to pursue implementation of these retrofits at Michigan State University (MSU). Under this framework, lighting, device, and HVAC retrofits are examined. In commercial spaces, lighting comprises 170303% of total electricity used. The economic viability of retrofitting LEDs in place of fluorescent ceiling fixtures as well as various control methods are determined. The energy use intensity of the average office space on the MSU campus is also analyzed and equipment changes are recommended to decrease the total energy footprint. Conversion from electricity driven cooling to steam driven cooling is evaluated as a method for increasing efficiency of the co-generation power plant and decreasing total fuel consumption. Finally, activities aimed at engaging the public on renewable energy generation are described, which are based on the development of paintable luminescent solar concentrators that combine art and energy. A number of techniques for reducing energy use on the MSU campus have been analyzed which can be applied across a broad spectrum of spaces. Continuing to aggressively pursue the implementation of this framework as well as tracking key economic indicators outlined will ultimately make MSU cleaner and more sustainable. -- Abstract.
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Title: The design and organisation features of two online courses : a case study of their emergence and evolution
Creator: Richards, Kari
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This study reports the findings of a qualitative case study that examined how elements of design and organization were conceptualized and enacted in two graduate level online courses, and, how these conceptualizations and enactments evolved. Data was collected through interviews and ‘think-alouds’ with the course instructors and through screen captures of the course home pages. The Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) was used as a lens to analyze the data...
Show moreThis study reports the findings of a qualitative case study that examined how elements of design and organization were conceptualized and enacted in two graduate level online courses, and, how these conceptualizations and enactments evolved. Data was collected through interviews and ‘think-alouds’ with the course instructors and through screen captures of the course home pages. The Community of Inquiry Framework (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) was used as a lens to analyze the data for the Design & Organization element of the framework’s concept of Teaching Presence. The analysis identified patterns in the five features of the Design & Organization element: Setting Curriculum, Designing Methods, Establishing Time Parameters, Utilizing the Medium, and Establishing Netiquette. The data shows variation in the way most of the features are conceptualized and enacted in the online courses, with some exceptions. These variations reflect the different experiences, expectations, and logic of the two instructors, while the exceptions reflect the influence of external norming agents such as the Learning Management System or institutional guidelines. The results indicate a wider range of possibilities in course design and organization than the CoI framework has been conceptualized to account for, which has implications for the various programs and institutions using the framework as an instrument for their evaluation of online courses.
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Title: Filtration of Phytophthora and Pythium zoospores in irrigation water
Creator: Jeon, Sangho
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Phytophthora and Pythium are commonly known as water molds, and can cause enormous damages to many floriculture and vegetable crops worldwide, including seedling damping-off, stunting, and crown, stem and root rot. It is challenging to control these pathogens because plants can be infected and do not show symptoms until the disease is too advanced to respond to treatment. The pathogens can also easily develop resistance to effective fungicides. As the zoospore movement with water flow is a...
Show more"Phytophthora and Pythium are commonly known as water molds, and can cause enormous damages to many floriculture and vegetable crops worldwide, including seedling damping-off, stunting, and crown, stem and root rot. It is challenging to control these pathogens because plants can be infected and do not show symptoms until the disease is too advanced to respond to treatment. The pathogens can also easily develop resistance to effective fungicides. As the zoospore movement with water flow is a major transmission pathway of these pathogens, understanding the transport of zoospores in natural and engineered systems is critical to developing strategies to control the pathogens in both field and greenhouse crops. Thus, the first study investigated the transport and retention of Phytophthora. capsici zoospores in saturated columns packed with iron oxide coated sand (IOCS) or uncoated sand in Na+ or Ca2+ background solution at pH 7.2 or 4.4, in combination with XDLVO interaction energy calculations and microscopic visualizations. Significantly more encysted zoospores were retained in IOCS than in uncoated sand, and at pH 4.4 than at pH 7.2, which likely resulted from increased electrostatic attraction between zoospores and grain surface. At pH 7.2, up to 99% and 96% of the encysted zoospores were removed in IOCS and uncoated sand, respectively, due to a combination of strong surface attachment, pore straining, and adhesive interactions. Motile biflagellate zoospores were more readily transported than encysted zoospores, thus posing a greater dispersal and infection risk. The second and third studies were conducted in a greenhouse to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of using fast-flow filtration to control Phytophthora and Pythium diseases in greenhouse floriculture and vegetable crops. The second study showed that Pythium aphanidermatum could be effectively removed by the fast-flow sand and AC filters at low water pressure. The rapid sand filter had the best performance because no decrease in the poinsettia quality was observed when compared to the non-inoculated control plants. Because the AC filter could also remove the essential nutrients from the irrigation water, and cause the Fe deficiency in the poinsettias, it is less desirable to be used unless the nutrients can be supplied separately instead of through irrigation water. The third study found that the filter with iron oxide coated media [IOCM] could effectively protect the squash plants from Phytophthora capsici, but caused the nutrient deficiency in the squash. The sand filter could not prevent, but only slow the disease development in the squash. Again, it shows that the IOCM filter has the potential to be used in treating irrigation water in the greenhouse vegetable production, but sufficient nutrients also need to be provided. Overall, the results suggested that physical removal of pathogens using fast-flow filtration can overcome many limitations of fungicide application, and may be a promising alternative for disease management in greenhouses."--Pages ii-iii.
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Title: Resistance is not futile : exploring user resistance in technical communication
Creator: Nguy1EBDn,0302 Minh Tâm (Graduate of Michigan State University)
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Despite ongoing investments to technology and usability in technical communication—and despite ongoing commitments to humanistic perspectives concerning those two domains—scholars of technical communication have yet to explore the topic of “user resistance” explicitly. User resistance gained prominence in fields like Information Technology (IT), Management Information Systems (MIS), and related fields and has traditionally been conceptualized as oppositional, hostile, or adversarial—a...
Show moreDespite ongoing investments to technology and usability in technical communication—and despite ongoing commitments to humanistic perspectives concerning those two domains—scholars of technical communication have yet to explore the topic of “user resistance” explicitly. User resistance gained prominence in fields like Information Technology (IT), Management Information Systems (MIS), and related fields and has traditionally been conceptualized as oppositional, hostile, or adversarial—a phenomenon meant to be avoided before it occurs. Because of this, traditional definitions of user resistance value the systems with which users engage, with little work theorizing the contexts, behaviors, and agencies of actual users. My dissertation responds to this lack of a user-centered approach by offering a thick literature review that examines how resistance is defined and situated across a range of scholarship. From this literature review, I offer a theory of user resistance that draws on the concept of “everyday resistance” (Vinthagen & Johanssen, 2012) to value users and their contexts. By situating the work done on resistance and providing a theoretical concept of user resistance, I then rhetorically analyze two examples of user resistance on the social networking site, Tumblr to illustrate how and why users resist in dynamic online spaces. The first example demonstrates how users resist within a system to design changes and the second illustrates the how users resist systems of power and oppression created and upheld (implicitly and explicitly) by the site developers and designers. Through an analysis and discussion of these examples, my dissertation seeks to start conversations about user resistance in the domain of technical communication and pivot existing conversations outside the field from a negative phenomenon meant to be avoided before it occurs, to a productive area of inquiry for technology design. Ultimately, I argue that attending to user resistance allows for a more nuanced and engaged approach to user-centered, participatory, and ethical design principles. By examining user resistance, technical communication researchers and practitioners can attend to the local, contextual, and most importantly dissonant needs of users.
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Title: The limits of sympathy : professional philanthropy and detachment in narrative, 1869-1914
Creator: Beard, Erin Elizabeth
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The Limits of Sympathy intervenes in the scholarly conversation surrounding the relationship between philanthropic reform and the novel as well as the role of women in philanthropic work during late Victorian England. Importantly, this project brings archival texts, such as the philanthropic case reports of the Charity Organisation Society, into the conversation in order to demonstrate how the professionalization of philanthropy eliminated the role of sympathy in philanthropic work and...
Show moreThe Limits of Sympathy intervenes in the scholarly conversation surrounding the relationship between philanthropic reform and the novel as well as the role of women in philanthropic work during late Victorian England. Importantly, this project brings archival texts, such as the philanthropic case reports of the Charity Organisation Society, into the conversation in order to demonstrate how the professionalization of philanthropy eliminated the role of sympathy in philanthropic work and narrative. Where philanthropic texts created new narrative forms to grapple with the New Poor Laws and the changing urban environment of late Victorian London, novels by George Eliot, Walter Besant, H. G. Wells, Edith Johnstone, and Isabella Ford considered how the adoption of professionalized, distanced discourse affected women's perception of and participation in philanthropic work. These novels demonstrate how our current critical reliance on sympathy as a way to mediate the relationship between philanthropic and poor characters, as well as between reader and novel, no longer works within the context of professionalized philanthropy. -- Abstract.
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Title: Accusing Muslims of terrorism : Islam, secularism, and religious violence in the United States
Creator: Sadequee, Sharmin
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: This dissertation describes the ways in which the securitized secular laws of the state act to regulate and control Muslims and the practices of Islam through "terrorism" prosecutions in the United States. In order to eliminate terrorism violence, the security state has created an exception to regular legal norms by establishing a court within a court and a prison within a prison, where normal legal procedures are not followed for those Muslim immigrants and American Muslim citizens accused...
Show moreThis dissertation describes the ways in which the securitized secular laws of the state act to regulate and control Muslims and the practices of Islam through "terrorism" prosecutions in the United States. In order to eliminate terrorism violence, the security state has created an exception to regular legal norms by establishing a court within a court and a prison within a prison, where normal legal procedures are not followed for those Muslim immigrants and American Muslim citizens accused of "terrorism" related offenses. I address the ways in which Muslims have been conditioned and affected by the securitized secular laws that are applied in "terrorism" cases, and I also discuss how human-rights advocacy around the accused challenge and resist these discriminatory practices. Based on 24 months of ethnographic fieldwork; observations of federal terrorism trials; a review of prison writings; and interviews with families of the accused, activists, lawyers, and human-rights advocates, I address the legal practices of securitized laws concerned with preventing "terrorism," their impact both inside and outside of judicial institutions, and the power of these practices on the lived experiences of Muslim Americans. While some authorities claim that preventive "terrorism" prosecutions are necessary to eradicate violence, I suggest that the main concerns of the security state are really about eradicating religious thought and practices that contradict the secular definition of acceptable religion. -- Abstract.
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Title: The political determinants of agricultural policy in sub-Saharan Africa
Creator: Lewis, Dominique Helena
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: My thesis investigates the political determinants of agricultural policy in sub-Saharan Africa, but my work also has implications for broader questions of development economics and public policy formation. Agricultural producers are vital engines of economic development in this region of the African continent. For this reason, policies that enhance the stability and growth of agricultural production are among the most crucial to development more generally. Yet across much of sub-Saharan...
Show moreMy thesis investigates the political determinants of agricultural policy in sub-Saharan Africa, but my work also has implications for broader questions of development economics and public policy formation. Agricultural producers are vital engines of economic development in this region of the African continent. For this reason, policies that enhance the stability and growth of agricultural production are among the most crucial to development more generally. Yet across much of sub-Saharan Africa, pricing policies often work to disadvantage agricultural production, while governmental spending on agricultural research and development remains low. Even more puzzling is the fact that rural constituents uniformly support incumbent policy makers at higher rates than their urban counterparts, even in the face of policies that are manifestly antithetical to their interests. The answer to this puzzle lies in the importance of collective action to policy creation and change and, in particular, how institutional constraints and other such barriers to collective action shape representation in the agricultural sector. Utilizing both the cross-country and temporal variation in policy environments and outputs, I show that institutional contexts which facilitate collective action are associated with pro-agricultural policies, including lower taxes on agricultural products and higher national-level spending on agricultural R&D. Such contexts -- which include institutional protections for civil liberties and higher levels of electoral competition -- allow marginalized groups such as the rural poor to mobilize more effectively, which in turn result in policies more favorable to their interests. Such policies are further facilitated by sector-specific features and practices which enhance mobilization, typically by decreasing the associated costs of such actions. My findings underscore the importance of the broader political and institutional forms on agricultural policy. That is to say, my analysis demonstrates that prescriptions and suggestions for reforms that are designed to enhance agricultural development should not and cannot be limited to those with agriculture as their sole and central focus.
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Title: Examining the relationship quality of fathers with their young children
Creator: Keller, Terry Michael
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Examining the relationship quality of fathers with their young children is a multi-manuscript dissertation. Three studies were conducted using the Dynamic Maturation Model of Attachment [DMM] as a framework for exploring the relationship of fathers with their young children. The first study explored the father as a driver in the attachment relationship through phenomenological interviews. The second study explored how the infant becomes actively involved in the attachment relationship through...
Show moreExamining the relationship quality of fathers with their young children is a multi-manuscript dissertation. Three studies were conducted using the Dynamic Maturation Model of Attachment [DMM] as a framework for exploring the relationship of fathers with their young children. The first study explored the father as a driver in the attachment relationship through phenomenological interviews. The second study explored how the infant becomes actively involved in the attachment relationship through phenomenological interviews. The final study explored using the CARE-Index as a way to measure the quality of the relationship based on video-taped interaction of the father and child in a play setting.
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Title: What it do? : Houston hip hop, ciphers, migration, and borderlands
Creator: Del Hierro, Victor
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: In this dissertation, I migrate through Houston Hip Hop culture from 1991-2000 to understand the history and legacy of DJ Screw, Screw Tapes, and Screw and Chopped style. The purpose of this project is to understand the relationship between local communities and the Global Hip Hop Nation (GHHN) by migrating through the borderland spaces that exists both physically and metaphorically. Using Hip Hop practices and knowledges, this dissertation understands Hip Hop as a culture made up of multiple...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I migrate through Houston Hip Hop culture from 1991-2000 to understand the history and legacy of DJ Screw, Screw Tapes, and Screw and Chopped style. The purpose of this project is to understand the relationship between local communities and the Global Hip Hop Nation (GHHN) by migrating through the borderland spaces that exists both physically and metaphorically. Using Hip Hop practices and knowledges, this dissertation understands Hip Hop as a culture made up of multiple Hip Hop Ciphers. Locating borderlands between ciphers by purposefully migrating between them, this study combines the analysis of mixtapes, archival material, and interviews, this project works to create an emic view of Hip Hop as a culture that has always, and continues to create, re-imagine, and sustain knowledge and history through technological innovation, writing, and community building. This dissertation focuses on Houston because of DJ Screw and his development of a style (Screwed and Chopped) and mixtape series (Screw Tapes) that continues to impact and define a community’s identity. Through Screw Tapes, DJ Screw and the Houston Hip Hop community negotiation the relationship between Hip Hop and local styles in the production of diverse forms of communication.
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Title: Social influence on the Net : a mindset approach
Creator: Sah, Young June
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Social media afford a context within which users interact with other users. Recognizing variations in contexts afforded by social media, the current study classified social media into two types, i.e., relational media, which allow users to build individual social connections, and categorical media, which support group-based connections. Effects of relational and categorical media were examined, employing a mindset approach as a theoretical framework. The mindset approach manifests the...
Show moreSocial media afford a context within which users interact with other users. Recognizing variations in contexts afforded by social media, the current study classified social media into two types, i.e., relational media, which allow users to build individual social connections, and categorical media, which support group-based connections. Effects of relational and categorical media were examined, employing a mindset approach as a theoretical framework. The mindset approach manifests the situated nature of cognition, emphasizing individuals’ tendency to harness immediate contexts in meaning-making processing. Based on this postulation, the current study proposed that social media induced distinctive mindsets, entailing self-concept, goal-orientation, and concrete-abstract level in perceiving others.The current study also examined effects of social media on users’ group identification and belief change. Based on previous literature on social identity, it is proposed that distinctive mechanisms determine group identification in relational and categorical media. For relational media users, perception of individual relations to other users was expected to mediate the effect of relational media on group identification. In contrast, for categorical media users, perception of being a member of a group and perception of a homogeneous group were expected to mediate the effect of categorical media on group identification. Furthermore, based on the automatic social influence literature, the present study proposed that relational and categorical media, compared to non-social media, induce greater belief changes, and the belief changes are mediated by group identification. The predictions were tested using an online experiment (N = 705), in which participants used a mock-up social media, in which they formed social connections of either relational or categorical type, or used it without building social connection. Participants read others’ posts and comments revealing their opinions on health-related issues. Participants’ mindset, social perception, group identification, and belief changes were assessed. Results revealed that using social media influenced participants’ mindset: The relational group reported greater in-group self-concept and considered in-group goals more important, and used less concrete terms when describing their group members. Also, the categorical group considered in-group goals more important. Furthermore, using social media influenced group identification: The relational and categorical group reported greater group identification than the control group. Yet, the relative contributions of predictors of group identification differed across the conditions. For the relational media, relational perception was a dominant determinant of group identification and homogeneity perception was the least influential. For the categorical group, homogeneity perception was a predictor as significant as others. Lastly, effects of social media use on belief changes was not different across the social media type.The current study contributes to our understanding of how social media influence users by employing a novel theoretical framework, mindset approach, in examining subtle differences generated by social media. The mindset approach enables us to find nuanced effects: Different types of social media afford distinctive mindsets and psychological mechanisms for group identification.
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Title: Affective and cognitive responses to insects and other arthropods
Creator: Lorenz-Reaves, Amanda R.
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Insects are the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth. Though as a group they do far more ecological good than harm, previous studies have shown that human attitudes toward insects are mainly negative. Attitudes have affective (emotions) and cognitive (beliefs, mental representations) components that interact to influence behavior. Negative attitudes toward insects are associated with negative affect such as disgust and fear, and can have negative consequences, such as a lack...
Show more"Insects are the most abundant and diverse group of animals on Earth. Though as a group they do far more ecological good than harm, previous studies have shown that human attitudes toward insects are mainly negative. Attitudes have affective (emotions) and cognitive (beliefs, mental representations) components that interact to influence behavior. Negative attitudes toward insects are associated with negative affect such as disgust and fear, and can have negative consequences, such as a lack of conservation funding. In addition, negative attitudes can cause people to avoid insects and/or feel distress when insects are present, prompting a disconnection between the public and the insect world. To explore affective responses to insects, Chapter Two focuses on the emotion of disgust. Disgust is associated with avoidance of objects that cause sickness (e.g. rotten meat) or undesirable social conduct (e.g. moral disgust). Disgust is partitioned into distinct domains - pathogen, moral, sexual, etc. To determine whether disgust stimulated by insects belongs in a unique domain, incoming freshmen at a large public university were surveyed (Chapter Two). Survey items pertained to moral, pathogen, and insect-specific disgust. Factor analyses indicate that insect disgust and pathogen disgust are part of the same construct, unique from moral disgust. This implies that insects are perceived with the same feelings of disgust felt for pathogens. To explore cognition associated with insects, Chapter Three and Appendix One focus on mental models of insects and other arthropods. Mental models are internal representations of external entities that are used to reason, make inferences, conduct thought experiments, and anticipate future events. Drawings reflect important qualities of mental models including knowledge categorization and organization. Drawings of insects were collected from participants with high and low expertise in entomology. Salient insect features were indexed and principal components analysis applied to detect underlying patterns. Two distinct components emerged - (1) a non-winged "crawling" insect, and (2) a legless winged "flying" insect, implying that flying and crawling insects are perceived as distinct from each other (Chapter Three). A similar analysis of children's drawings of insects also showed a distinction between crawling and flying insects (Appendix One). Finally, to explore the interaction between affective and cognitive responses to insects, drawings of "disgusting" and "not disgusting" insects from participants sampled in Chapter Three were compared. Participants were also surveyed to gain a quantitative measure of disgust associated with insects. Experts exhibited significantly lower disgust responses than novices. Additionally, the inclusion of legs on drawings of insects deemed not disgusting correlated negatively with disgust. In contrast, the inclusion of legs on drawings of disgusting insects correlated positively with disgust. This suggests that crawling insects may be regarded as being more disgusting than flying insects. A multiple linear regression was conducted on the not disgusting insect drawings to determine whether drawing a crawling insect as well as one's expertise level, could predict insect-associated disgust. Approximately 35% of the variation in disgust was attributable to subject group (expertise) and the degree to which drawings aligned with the crawling insect model. In addition, this study also demonstrates that examining drawings of insects can be a useful tool to shed light on affect and cognition associated with insects."--Pages ii-iii.
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Title: Physics-based crystal plasticity modeling of single crystal niobium
Creator: Maiti, Tias
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Crystal plasticity models based on thermally activated dislocationkinetics has been successful in predicting the deformation behavior ofcrystalline materials, particularly in face-centered cubic (fcc) metals.In body-centered cubic (bcc) metals success has been limited owing toill-defined slip planes. The flow stress of a bcc metal is stronglydependent on temperature and orientation due to the non-planar splittingof a/2<111> screw dislocations. As a consequence of this, bccmetals show two...
Show moreCrystal plasticity models based on thermally activated dislocationkinetics has been successful in predicting the deformation behavior ofcrystalline materials, particularly in face-centered cubic (fcc) metals.In body-centered cubic (bcc) metals success has been limited owing toill-defined slip planes. The flow stress of a bcc metal is stronglydependent on temperature and orientation due to the non-planar splittingof a/2<111> screw dislocations. As a consequence of this, bccmetals show two unique deformation characteristics: (a) thermally-activated glide of screw dislocations - the motion of screwcomponents with their non-planar core structure at the atomistic leveloccurs even at low stress through the nucleation (assisted by thermalactivation) and lateral propagation of dislocation kink pairs; (b)break-down of the Schmid Law, where dislocation slip is driven only bythe resolved shear stress.Since the split dislocation core has to constrict for a kink pairformation (and propagation), the non-planarity of bcc screw dislocationcores entails an influence of (shear) stress components acting on planesother than the primary glide plane on their mobility. Anotherconsequence of the asymmetric core splitting on the glide plane is adirection-sensitive slip resistance, which is termed twinning/atwinningsense of shear and should be taken into account when developingconstitutive models.Modeling thermally-activated flow including the above-mentionednon-Schmid effects in bcc metals has been the subject of much work,starting in the 1980s and gaining increased interest in recent times.The majority of these works focus on single crystal deformation ofcommonly used metals such as Iron (Fe), Molybdenum (Mo), and Tungsten(W), while very few published studies address deformation behavior inNiobium (Nb). Most of the work on Nb revolves around fitting parametersof phenomenological descriptions, which do not capture adequately themacroscopic multi-stage hardening behavior and evolution ofcrystallographic texture from a physical point of view. Therefore, weaim to develop a physics-based crystal plasticity model that can capturethese effects as a function of grain orientations, microstructureparameters, and temperature.To achieve this goal, first, a new dilatational constitutive model isdeveloped for simulating the deformation of non-compact geometries (foamsor geometries with free surfaces) using the spectral method. The modelhas been used to mimic the void-growth behavior of a biaxially loadedplate with a circular inclusion. The results show that the proposedformulation provides a much better description of void-like behaviorcompared to the pure elastic behavior of voids. Using the developeddilatational framework, periodic boundary conditions arising from thespectral solver has been relaxed to study the tensile deformationbehavior of dogbone-shaped Nb single crystals.Second, a dislocation density-based constitutive model with storage andrecovery laws derived from Discrete Dislocation Dynamics (DDD) isimplemented to model multi-stage strain hardening. The influence ofpre-deformed dislocation content, dislocation interaction strengths andmean free path on stage II hardening is then simulated and compared within-situ tensile experiments.
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Title: Mechanisms mediating life history traits in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta
Creator: Lewin, Nora Shannon
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: My dissertation focuses on understanding the mechanisms underpinning growth, reproduction, and survival in the spotted hyena. Following a general introductory chapter, my dissertation is composed of four independent research chapters. I begin with Chapter 2 in which my colleagues and I document a positive linear relationship between social dominance rank and telomere length. We also report significant variability in telomere length of high-ranking females among different social groups,...
Show moreMy dissertation focuses on understanding the mechanisms underpinning growth, reproduction, and survival in the spotted hyena. Following a general introductory chapter, my dissertation is composed of four independent research chapters. I begin with Chapter 2 in which my colleagues and I document a positive linear relationship between social dominance rank and telomere length. We also report significant variability in telomere length of high-ranking females among different social groups, suggesting that both social dominance rank and group membership influence this important biomarker of aging. In Chapter 3, we describe the role of juvenile concentrations of the hormone, insulin-like growth-factor -1 (IGF-1), in predicting trade-offs between early-life growth and later-life reproduction and survival among female hyenas. In Chapter 4, I explore IGF-1 as a potential mechanism of female-biased sexual size dimorphism by documenting sex-biased concentrations, sensitivities, and adaptive values of IGF-1 during the early postnatal period. Finally, in Chapter 5, I describe that age-related improvement and senescence in reproductive performance varies with social dominance rank among female hyenas. Cumulatively, my dissertation is an exploration of how physiological mechanisms may be used to understand social, physiological, and evolutionary forces operating in a free-living social carnivore. My work offers a unique contribution to the field of life-history evolution and furthers our understanding of the mechanisms that give rise to it.
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Title: Expanding the survivor support net : a qualitative evaluation of a flexible funding program for intimate partner violence survivors
Creator: Bomsta, Heather
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects nearly one in four US women in their lifetime. IPV survivors need access to material and community resources - whether they are leaving their abusers or choosing to stay in the relationship. Previous research has found that women who have experienced IPV are four times as likely to experience housing instability. The current IPV system focuses mainly on providing shelter, support groups, counseling, and legal advocacy, but has fewer financial resources...
Show more"Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects nearly one in four US women in their lifetime. IPV survivors need access to material and community resources - whether they are leaving their abusers or choosing to stay in the relationship. Previous research has found that women who have experienced IPV are four times as likely to experience housing instability. The current IPV system focuses mainly on providing shelter, support groups, counseling, and legal advocacy, but has fewer financial resources. This qualitative study focused on a pilot program in Washington D.C. that offered select survivors financial grants to address whatever the survivor defined as threatening their housing stability. Survivors were interviewed 30-days post-grant to assess their housing status and explore other grant impacts. All survivors in the sample were still housed 30- days post-grant. Survivors described the impact of the grants as extending beyond financial issues, resulting in stress relief, improved parenting, increased ability to focus on work and family and improvements in physical and mental health. The financial aspect of the grant was important, but the role of advocacy also appears crucial to these survivors."--Page ii.
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Title: A global modeling framework for plasma kinetics : development and applications
Creator: Parsey, Guy Morland
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: The modern study of plasmas, and applications thereof, has developed synchronously with com-puter capabilities since the mid-1950s. Complexities inherent to these charged-particle, many-body, systems have resulted in the development of multiple simulation methods (particle-in-cell,fluid, global modeling, etc.) in order to both explain observed phenomena and predict outcomesof plasma applications. Recognizing that different algorithms are chosen to best address specifictopics of interest, this...
Show moreThe modern study of plasmas, and applications thereof, has developed synchronously with com-puter capabilities since the mid-1950s. Complexities inherent to these charged-particle, many-body, systems have resulted in the development of multiple simulation methods (particle-in-cell,fluid, global modeling, etc.) in order to both explain observed phenomena and predict outcomesof plasma applications. Recognizing that different algorithms are chosen to best address specifictopics of interest, this thesis centers around the development of an open-source global model frame-work for the focused study of non-equilibrium plasma kinetics. After verification and validationof the framework, it was used to study two physical phenomena: plasma-assisted combustion andthe recently proposed optically-pumped rare gas metastable laser.Global models permeate chemistry and plasma science, relying on spatial averaging to focusattention on the dynamics of reaction networks. Defined by a set of species continuity and energyconservation equations, the required data and constructed systems are conceptually similar acrossmost applications, providing a light platform for exploratory and result-search parameter scan-ning. Unfortunately, it is common practice for custom code to be developed for each application-an enormous duplication of effort which negatively affects the quality of the software produced.Presented herein, the Python-based Kinetic Global Modeling framework (KGMf) was designed tosupport all modeling phases: collection and analysis of reaction data, construction of an exportablesystem of model ODEs, and a platform for interactive evaluation and post-processing analysis. Asymbolic ODE system is constructed for interactive manipulation and generation of a Jacobian,both of which are compiled as operation-optimized C-code.Plasma-assisted combustion and ignition (PAC/PAI) embody the modernization of burning fuelby opening up new avenues of control and optimization. With applications ranging from engineefficiency and pollution control to stabilized operation of scramjet technology in hypersonic flows,developing an understanding of the underlying plasma chemistry is of the utmost importance.While the use of equilibrium (thermal) plasmas in the combustion process extends back to the ad-vent of the spark-ignition engine, works from the last few decades have demonstrated fundamentaldifferences between PAC and classical combustion theory. The KGMf is applied to nanosecond-discharge systems in order to analyze the effects of electron energy distribution assumptions onreaction kinetics and highlight the usefulness of 0D modeling in systems defined by coupled andcomplex physics.With fundamentally different principles involved, the concept of optically-pumped rare gasmetastable lasing (RGL) presents a novel opportunity for scalable high-powered lasers by takingadvantage of similarities in the electronic structure of elements while traversing the periodic ta-ble. Building from the proven concept of diode-pumped alkali vapor lasers (DPAL), RGL systemsdemonstrate remarkably similar spectral characteristics without problems associated with heatedcaustic vapors. First introduced in 2012, numerical studies on the latent kinetics remain immature.This work couples an analytic model developed for DPAL with KGMf plasma chemistry to bet-ter understand the interaction of a non-equilibrium plasma with the induced laser processes anddetermine if optical pumping could be avoided through careful discharge selection.
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Title: Freshwater resources : an evaluation of Michigan residents' perception of wetland ecosystem services
Creator: Walkowiak, Toni Anne
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Thus, this research serves two purposes: (1), to gather information about Michigan residents' overall knowledge of wetlands ecosystems; (2), to establish whether residents can accurately distinguish between wetland functions and values. Two activities: semi-structured focus group interviews and online digital card sorts were conducted within Chippewa, Huron, and Macomb Counties of Michigan, to evaluate individuals' environmental perceptions of wetland ecosystems." -- Abstract.

Title: Ultrafast transient states in nonequilibrium quantum systems
Creator: Hwang, Bin
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: Photo-induced phase transitions (PIPT) in quantum systems are the epitome of challenging non-equilibrium many-body phenomena, that also have a wide range of potential applications. Recently interest in light-matter coupled states with an energy gap have yielded evidence for Floquet topological states. In this study we demonstrate nonequilibrium Floquet band formation under ultrafast optical excitation using a one-dimensional topological insulator. As an example, the effects are illustrated...
Show morePhoto-induced phase transitions (PIPT) in quantum systems are the epitome of challenging non-equilibrium many-body phenomena, that also have a wide range of potential applications. Recently interest in light-matter coupled states with an energy gap have yielded evidence for Floquet topological states. In this study we demonstrate nonequilibrium Floquet band formation under ultrafast optical excitation using a one-dimensional topological insulator. As an example, the effects are illustrated using a new Zig-Zag Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model of polyacetylene, which is a paradigmatic Hamiltonian exhibiting nontrivial edge states. Our results indicate short optical pulses feasible in experiments can induce novel topological states, local spectral selection and novel pseudospin textures in polyacetylene. Pump-probe photoemission spectroscopy is able to study these states by measuring Floquet band formation and sizeable energy gaps on femtosecond time scales. We find that optically activated nontrivial variations of sublattice mixing could lead to novel topological phenomenon.The rich variety of states induced by lasers have a wide range of potential applications so that control of these states has become a key objective. We present a computational approach to finding optimal ultrafast laser pulse shapes to induce target states and population inversion in pump-probe PIPT experiments. The Krotov approach for Quantum optimal control theory (QOCT) is combined with a Keldysh Green’s function calculation to describe experimental outcomes such as photoemission, transient single particle density of states and optical responses. Results for a simple model charge density wave (CDW) system are presented, including generation of almost complete population inversion and negative temperature states.
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Title: A practical approach for ultra high performance concrete construction
Creator: Chen, Yang (Graduate of Michigan State University in civil engineering)
Date: 2017
Collection: Electronic Theses & Dissertations
Description: "Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with compressive strengths in excess of 150 MPa promise to enhance the structural efficiency and durability of concrete-based infrastructure systems. In order to transition UHPC materials into mainstream construction practices, there are needs to develop refined mix design procedures that enable production of UHPC using primarily locally available materials, resolves the problems with production of homogeneous UHPC mixtures using commonly available...
Show more"Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) with compressive strengths in excess of 150 MPa promise to enhance the structural efficiency and durability of concrete-based infrastructure systems. In order to transition UHPC materials into mainstream construction practices, there are needs to develop refined mix design procedures that enable production of UHPC using primarily locally available materials, resolves the problems with production of homogeneous UHPC mixtures using commonly available concrete mixers, develop convenient fresh mix workability test methods that consider the peculiar rheology of fresh UHPC mixtures, and quantify some aspects of the UHPC material properties that have not been fully characterized. The UHPC materials were tested for fresh mix flow and hardened concrete compressive strength. The trends in the effects of packing density, water film thickness and excess paste film thickness on compressive strength and fresh mix flow were investigated. The results were used to identify viable ranges of these defining characteristics of UHPC mixtures. Response surface analysis of the fresh mix flow and the hardened concrete compressive strength test results led to identification of the optimum values of mix design parameters. The optimum mix was prepared, and was found to produce a highly desired balance of fresh mix flow and hardened concrete compressive strength, which occurred within the ranges predicted by response surface analysis of experimental results."--Page ii.
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