Middle Tennessee State University
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Confidence Levels of Athletic Trainers when Performing The Lachman’s Test
No full textAthletic trainers need to use special tests, such as Lachman’s special test, to determine the integrity of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Proper assessment of an ACL allows athletic trainers to provide proper care and referral. The purpose of this study is to examine the confidence levels of athletic trainers when performing the Lachman’s Special test. Participants were recruited using the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) research survey request service to complete a study survey through Qualtrics. One hundred and twelve athletic trainers completed the survey and only 76 responders met the required criteria. Participants reported a wide range of perceived limitations when performing the Lachman's Test with 77.8% of participants feeling confident in their ability to accurately assess the integrity of the ACL using the Lachman’s Test. These results suggest that most athletic trainers have confidence in performing the Lachman’s Test, but may need modifications to complete an accurate assessment.M.S
Macro-Driven Virtualization of Rust Binaries
No full textThis thesis presents a proof-of-concept macro-driven virtualization-based obfuscator
for the Rust programming language. The implementation demonstrates how macro systems
can be leveraged to achieve code obfuscation through virtualization transformations,
providing a novel approach to software protection specifically targetting Rust. In addition
to the working prototype, this thesis proposes an advanced obfuscation design that, while
currently constrained by Rust’s compiler, outlines a path for future implementation once
the compiler evolves to support the necessary features. The research contributes both a
practical demonstration of Rust obfuscation techniques and a theoretical framework for
more sophiscated protection mechanisms, providing a blueprint for future work
The Ages of Children: An Examination and Contextualization of Youth in Medieval Literature
No full textThere has been little scholarship addressing the characterization and understanding of children in medieval English literature, especially in conjuncture with medieval conceptions of the Ages of Man and with modern developmental schemes for growth. In an effort to fill this gap, I use both medieval and contemporary paradigms of human growth and development to analyze and contextualize infant, child, and young adult characters in selected Old and Middle English works. I use Aristotle’s biological three-stages, Pythagoras’s physiological four-stages, Bede’s four-stages microcosm, Byrhtferth of Ramsey’s aspects of men, Dante Alighieri’s arch of ages, Augustine of Hippo’s biblical six ages, Ptolemy’s seven astrological ages, Jean Piaget’s four operational stages, Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, Lawrence Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning, and Mary Helen Immodino-Yang and Kurt Fischer’s theory of neuroconstructivism as the bases of analysis of these characters. After first establishing the consistencies among the stages of growth expressed in both medieval and contemporary paradigms of mental, physical, psychological, and moral growth, I then use these paradigms to situate and compare the characterizations of children and young adult characters in medieval English literature. The young characters in Beowulf, the Dream of the Rood, the “Christ I” lyric, one of Grimestone’s lyrics, Geoffery Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and the Pearl-poet’s Pearl, illustrate both secular and religious characterizations of children (including the Christ Child), allowing me to draw conclusions about consistencies across time and region, while also pointing out important irregularities in representation. This study reveals that the authors of these various works, when they deviated from the medieval and modern paradigms in their depiction of children and young adults, did so with specific intentions.Ph.D
DEEP LEARNING ALGORITHMS FOR TIME-DEPENDENT PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
No full textDeep learning algorithms have demonstrated encouraging outcomes in resolving Partial Differential
Equations. The advent of physics-informed Neural Networks has greatly enhanced the precision and effectiveness
of Deep Learning-based approaches for solving partial differential equations. The basic idea
of such Deep Learning algorithms is constraining the output of neural networks to satisfy the physics
laws and certain conditions by incorporating the physical laws and boundary conditions directly into the
loss function for training the neural networks. Using this technology, we propose a variant of the Physics-
Informed Neural Network to identify time-varying parameters of the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered-
Deceased model for COVID-19 by fitting daily reported cases. The learned parameters are verified with
an ordinary differential equation solver, and the effective reproduction number is calculated. Additionally,
a Long Short-Term Memory network predicts future weekly time-varying parameters, demonstrating
the accuracy and effectiveness of combining these two models.
Then, we explore the method that can solve the partial differential equations using the sparse data.
We combine a neural network with a numerical approach to address time-dependent partial differential
equations using initial conditions and limited observed data. The Gated Recurrent Units network estimates
time iteration schemes, integrating prior knowledge of governing equations. A numerical implicit
approach is applied to calculate new time iteration schemes, with the loss function incorporating the difference
between these schemes. After that, we propose a novel physics-informed encoder-decoder gated
recurrent neural network to solve time-dependent partial differential equations without using observed
data. The encoder approximates the underlying patterns and structures of solutions over the entire spatiotemporal
domain. The approximated solution is processed by the decoder, a Gated Recurrent Units layer,
utilizing the initial condition as the initial state to retain critical information in the hidden states. Boundary
conditions are enforced in the final prediction to enhance model performance. The effectiveness of
these two methods has been validated through their application to several problems.
Additionally, we observe the traditional physics-informed neural network often fails to converge due
to imbalances in the multi-component loss function within the back-propagated gradients during training.
The standard approach to mitigate this issue involves adding appropriate weights to each component of
the loss function, but determining the correct weights is challenging. Therefore, we introduce the Self-
Learning Physics-Informed Neural Network to solve some non-linear partial differential equations. In
this method, weights are learned by separate neural networks, eliminating the need for hyper-parameter
fine-tuning. The effectiveness of our method is demonstrated by the Burgers’ and Burgers-Fisher equations.Ph.D
A History of Gerrymandering: Effects, Issues, Solutions
No full textGerrymandering has been affecting the American political system since the country’s inception. To better understand the problem that it poses to democratic nations, the history of gerrymandering and its evolution through modern political machines must be understood. Likewise, being able to recognize gerrymandering and react appropriately is a skill that must be developed, and political scientists and mathematicians alike have stepped up to the task so that the public can be informed. Many studies on gerrymandering focus on specific issues and how they relate to the overall political climate at certain time periods. The intent of this article is to follow the threads of gerrymandering all the way through to potential solutions and inform the reader of where gerrymandering can, might, or does exist. I find that to understand the problem you have to know the history of it. Gerrymandering must be examined as a standalone political phenomenon as well as a factor that affects other aspects of political activity.
Keywords: gerrymandering, politics, redistricting, election
Online Harassment of Women in Sports Media: Is the Glass Ceiling Merely Cracked?
No full textThis empirical content analysis investigates the challenges encountered by women in the sports media industry as they strive to overcome the barriers to advancement known as the glass ceiling. As social media has become an essential aspect of the journalistic career path, online harassment has followed suit. Notably, female sports personalities have been attacked within online internet spaces. Social media content about these women is overwhelmingly focused on their physical appearance and their capability and knowledge of reporting within sports. This research builds on existing knowledge by investigating the online harassment faced by women. This study is analyzed through a postfeministic lens, where manifestations of hegemonic masculinity are evident. Additionally, second-level agenda-setting is examined to observe how sports personalities are portrayed within sports media. It reveals explicit comments directed at sports figures and analyzes how these comments differ between male and female professionals in the industry, highlighting that women are at the forefront of this ongoing issue. Given the persistent adverse environment, it appears that the glass ceiling for women remains merely cracked.M.S
Identities in Flux: Social Media as Insight into Cultural Identity - A Case Study of Japanese-Brazilian migrants in Belém, Brazil
No full textThis thesis examines cultural identity formation and preservation among Japanese-Brazilian immigrants (Nikkei) in the Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil. The thesis builds on studies documenting Nikkei migration, cultural maintenance, and changes occurring since the early 1900s in Brazil. The principal focus of this proposal is engagement with social media. Within this context, I focus on music and its role in cultural identity formation, preservation, and/or acculturation. The study combines online research (netnography) with offline qualitative and ethnographic methods. The research occurred during my five-month internship at the Museum Paraense Emílio Goeldi (or Goeldi Museum) in Belém, Brazil, as part of an MTSU Study Abroad semester program
OVERWORKED AND UNDERCOMPENSATED: AN ANALYSIS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARD INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS AND PRISON LABOR
No full textDespite increased levels of concern and academic attention on the ever-growing incarcerated population in the United State., little is known about public attitudes toward incarcerated individuals (Dumitru 2023). Furthermore, it has not yet been established how individuals in the United States view employment and working conditions within the nation’s prisons. Drawing upon surveys and quantitative analyses, this study examines a convenience sample of students (n = 187) from a state university to understand their current level of knowledge of the inner workings of a typical prison and analyze their attitudes towards incarcerated individuals and incarcerated labor. The findings from this study show that, while there are generally positive views regarding the value of incarcerated people, there are mixed opinions on the notion of prison work being punitive, what types of jobs are suitable for incarcerated workers, and to what extent they should be compensated for their work.M.A
Opening the Gate for All: Practices of Equity Focused Principals that Lead to Academic Success for Diverse Populations of Students
No full textSchool leaders are constantly challenged to be everything for everyone as student populations become more diverse and the needs of students become more complex. The classroom environments and instructional practices that have been utilized in public school settings are no longer rendering growth for all students. Principals are challenged with figuring out how to be leaders in these continuously changing school environments that are struggling to provide an equal education to all. A case study was utilized to understand the beliefs, actions, and practices of school principals that support inclusive learning environments that contribute to academic achievement in Title I schools with larger populations of diverse students. The study found that equity-focused principals invest heavily in establishing inclusive school cultures and in building teacher capacity to assist with providing equitable learning opportunities that impact the academic achievement of all students. The results of this study also determined that more research is needed to understand and support equity-focused leadership within schools to aid in the efforts to decrease the achievement gap of underrepresented populations of students.Ed.D
Essays on Capital Account Liberalization, Growth and International Trade
No full textThis dissertation comprises three papers on the impact of capital account liberalization on the economy from three perspectives: consumption growth, firm performance, and the export industry. It employs instrument variable (IV) models to mitigate potential endogeneity biases. Though acquiring a valid instrument for this purpose can be challenging and time-consuming, it consistently conducts endogeneity tests and overidentification restriction tests to ensure the validity and appropriateness of the instruments.
Abstract Chapter 1 focuses on the extent to which a country with larger trade openness benefits from capital account liberalization. It explores the impact of capital account liberalization associated with trade openness on consumption growth. It uses panel data from 141 countries between 1970 and 2019 to explore the impact of capital account liberalization associated with trade openness on consumption growth. Findings show that a country with larger trade openness experienced smaller consumption growth after capital account liberalization. It underscores the importance of liberalizing capital accounts within each country’s economic framework and trade openness level.
Abstract Chapter 2 examines how firms in liberalized countries benefit from capital account liberalization. Using a large dataset covering 106 countries from 1980 to 2019, it investigates the effect of capital account liberalization on firm performance. The results show that firms’ performance improved after capital account liberalization, characterized by grown profitability and reduced leverage. It shows the significance of the well-developed financial markets of liberalized countries for firms’ performance. It highlights the need for domestic economic development, especially for low-income countries, to strengthen the effects of capital liberalization on firm performance.
Abstract Chapter 3 investigates the influence of capital account liberalization on firms’ decisions to enter the export market (extensive margin) and the volume of exports (intensive margin). Substantial initial investments and fixed operational costs often hinder entry into export markets, compounded by financial constraints. This chapter uses a sizeable firm-level dataset from 2006 to 2023 across 169 countries. It uses advanced econometric models to address endogeneity concerns, including the IV-Probit and IV-2SLS models. The findings show that capital account liberalization significantly enhances firms’ likelihood of engaging in export activities, particularly for foreign-owned entities. It also identifies a positive correlation between capital account liberalization and the intensive margin of trade, particularly among firms reliant on external capital for asset financing. It underscores the potential of capital account liberalization to incentivize market penetration and alleviate financial constraints inhibiting firms’ participation in international trade.Ph.D