Middle Tennessee State University
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2D Versus 3D
No full textThis thesis goes through the history of 2D and 3D animation, and debates why 2D
animation rarely receives 2D animated movies in theaters anymore. Along with this
investigation of animation, I also created an animated short film in 2D and then recreated
it in 3D to give direct comparisons between the two mediums. I cover topics such as why
2D dominates television even though it fails to come back to theaters, how Pixar led the
3D animation renaissance, and much more. This link leads to my 2D and 3D animated
short films that will be compared in this essay.
https://www.behance.net/gallery/167803433/Creative-Thesis-Projec
Re-enchanting Nature: Mythic and Medieval Environmentalism in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legendarium
No full textThis thesis seeks to examine the ways in which J.R.R. Tolkien uses the literary theory of enchantment, as described in “On Fairy Stories,” in order to dramatize environmental destruction and the relationship between humanity and nature. Inspired by Patrick Curry’s work placing Tolkien’s use of enchantment within Max Weber’s theory of disenchantment, I seek to highlight the way enchantment is connected to environmentalism and disenchantment with industrialism, commodification, and ecological destruction. Following the work of Jefferey Jerome Cohen, who proposes medieval literature and philosophy as a source of inspiration for stories that inspire enchantment and environmentalism, I draw a direct line between Tolkien’s environmentalist stories and the medieval traditions, myths, and folklore that inspired his mythopoetic fantasy. I then propose that Tolkien uses fantastic actions within his stories as a way to re-enchant both his characters and his readers, allowing them to see nature as something with inherent value.M.A
Computational Prediction of pH-Dependent Binding Energies in HPV Capsid Antibody Interactions
No full textHPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. In high-risk types, HPV infection is associated with virtually all cervical cancers and a significant proportion of anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers. Neutralizing antibodies can prevent HPV infection with their effectiveness depending on the way they interact with HPV capsid proteins. The ability of antibodies to attach to capsid proteins is influenced by pH variations, which can impact the characteristics and stability of both the viral capsid and the antibody. In this thesis, we apply a computational simulation pipeline to predict the pH-dependent binding energies in HPV capsid-antibody interactions. Our results predict that there is a strong preference for binding to antibody 28F10 for HPV subtypes 6, 16, 18, 33, and 58 while A12A3 shows a strong preference for HPV 35 and 59. The results also predict that both antibodies bind non-preferentially to the HPV 11 capsid.M.S
Does This Building Make Me Look Fat? The Relationship Between Work from Home, Barriers and Facilitators to Nutrition and Exercise, and the Role of Stress By
No full textWork-related stress has become a public health crisis, which is deeply concerning given the detrimental effects it can have on an individual's mental and physical well-being. It was hypothesized that barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making would be associated with healthy decision making. It was also hypothesized that work from home would be associated with barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making, as well as that barriers and facilitators would be associated with stress. Lastly, a mediation relationship was hypothesized of work from home and stress through barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making. A total of 214 participants engaged in a daily diary survey over a span of five consecutive workdays, reporting their daily dietary and exercise choices, daily factors that acted as barriers or facilitators of those choices, daily stress, and whether they worked from home. This study found support for the association of facilitators with healthy decision making, as well as support for the potential of remote work to decrease the barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making. There was also no support for the mediation relationship hypothesized. Organizations can use the knowledge of various barriers and facilitators of healthy decision making to redesign the organizational practices, create healthy interventions, and promote employee well-being to make it easier for employees to make healthy decisions. Implications and future directions are also discussed.M.A
EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOOD SECURITY AND OTHER DETERMINANTS OF HYPERTENSION USING NHANES 2017-2018 DATA
No full textThis study examined the relationship between hypertension determinants and food security using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dataset from 2017-2018. The analysis utilized both descriptive methods and logistic regression. The results showed that households with low food security were more likely to experience hypertension than those with full food security. The study also found that a significant proportion of the population had suboptimal dietary habits, with only a small percentage reporting an excellent diet. Healthy diets and physical activity was found to be significantly associated with a lower likelihood of hypertension. The possibility of developing hypertension was higher for individuals with a lower-quality of diet and no physical activity. The study also revealed that high fast-food consumption and food insecurity were associated with a higher risk of hypertension. The results suggested that food insecurity was a significant public health concern associated with many health conditions. Additionally, the study found that a considerable proportion of households experienced a degree of food insecurity, which could contribute to unhealthy diets and increased hypertension risk. The association between food security and high blood pressure suggests that factors such as income, access to food, and food quality may play a role in developing high blood pressure.M.P.H
Pap Therapy and Sleep Stage Classification with Statistics, Signal Processing, and Deep Learning
No full textThis paper focuses on PAP (Positive Airway Pressure) therapy compliance and automated sleep staging. These are related to sleep medicine, data science, and signal processing. During a sleep study, an EEG (electroencephalogram) recording is labeled with sleep stages by a technician. The sleep stage labels combined with other recordings, observations, and analysis are used to diagnose a patient with obstructive sleep apnea. PAP therapy is the primary treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Compliant use of the PAP thereapy is considered 4 hours of use on 70% of nights. The PAP therapy focus is a retrospective study on patients from OSA In Home (formerly Sleep Centers of Middle Tennessee) to find the impacts of the dispenser of PAP therapy between durable medical equipment (DME) supplier (DME group) versus those provided directly by an integrated sleep practice (ISP group). The ISP group had a significantly higher rate of PAP adherence at 30 days (71% vs 66%; P = .004), 90 days (66% vs 56%; P < .00001), and 1 year (52% vs 33%; P < .00001) following initiation of PAP therapy, relative to the DME group. There was a significantly higher duration of PAP use among the ISP group at 30 days (357 vs 345 minutes; P = .002), 90 days (348 vs 319 minutes; P < .00001), and 1 year (312 vs 164 minutes; P < .00001). The automated sleep stageing focus is a study on REM sleep classification with interpretable models. The interpretability of the model is based on relating the filters of the CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) part of the model to clincal sleep markers used by technicians to grade EEGs during a sleep study. The model is created using CNNs, full connected neural networks, and GRUs (gated recurrent unit). The data is a unprocessed or raw single channel EEG from ”The Sleep-EDF Database [Expanded]”. The best results produced 97% accuracy, 93% precision, and 89% recall. The data is then preprocessed by DWT (multilevel discrete wavelet transform) with 45 different mother wavelets and reconstructed as input to the CNN. The best f1 score with DWT preprocessing and with raw data are 95% with coiflet 4 mother wavlet and 93% respectively. The filters of the CNNs are compared with Spearman's rank coefficient to find filters that are most correlated in each EEG frequency band. The most correlated filter was preprocessed with Daubechies order 8 mother wavelet had an aboslute value of the Peasron's corelation coefficient of greater than 0.3415 with 15% of the other filters related to the same frequency band.Ph.D
A Study in Scarlet: A Survey of Sexism and Classism Through the Eyes of Rose Dawson in James Cameron’s Titanic
No full textThis project is an evaluation of how class and gender inform each other
when examining Rose Dewitt-Bukater from James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic.
Rose evolves from a young girl who caters to the male gaze and is a manifestation
of the patriarchal ideals of the Victorian era to a woman who exhibits elements of
both first- and third-wave feminism in her personal life. Rose is a manifestation of
the patriarchy in the beginning of the film, and she does so by her upholding of
the English Rose stereotype, an ideal that calls for women to be demure and
obedient. She adheres to the standards that her upper-class peers have set for her,
and she perpetuates these norms by her inability to fully rebel against them.
Although she tries to do so, her attempts are futile as she is shut down by her
peers. As the film progresses, she begins to showcase her individuality in
comparison to her upper-class peers, which is a tenet of the first wave of
feminism. She wears looser clothing and her hair down, contrasting the corsets
and immaculate up-dos the other first-class women don. At the end of the film,
Rose becomes a sexually awakened young woman, showing that she has become
a manifestation of fully-fledged feminism. She consummates a relationship with a
man who is not her fiancé and returns her heart to him at the end of the film. By
evaluating Rose’s character in this manner, one can trace the evolution of
feminism during the twentieth century from the first to the third wave as well as
teaching women of that time that they are able to gain control of their lives in the
same way Rose did
Sing With Me: An analysis and Live Performance of Songs that Facilitate Audience Participation
No full textThis creative project analyzes various methods used to engage audiences,
including the age-old tradition of call and response, storytelling through parables found
within the scriptures of the Bible, and sing-along strategies commonly found in many
children’s songs. This analysis also includes a live performance of selected songs to
demonstrate and explore avenues of musical leadership that create connection and
fulfillment between community participants. The conclusion of this study is that the
songs and tools engaged within the Celebrate Antioch event increased group interaction,
connection, and enjoyment for all involved. Following post-Covid lockdowns and social
isolation, many communities crave these basic needs of human experiences that our event
provided. My hope is that this project inspires others to create opportunities like this one
for their own communities
Collage
No full textStudent-produced creative journal containing art, photography, poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, song lyrics, audio, and video.Collage is a creative journal published by Middle Tennessee State University since 1968. It is produced by a student staff to showcase creative work of MTSU students. The MTSU Honors College oversees the journal
CREDIT HOUR ENROLLMENT: DOES THE AMOUNT IMPACT COMMUNITY COLLEGE ADULT LEARNER PERSISTENCE?
No full textState and national initiatives focused on meeting student completion goals have been established for higher education to help produce a stronger workforce and meet economic labor market demands. Some of these initiatives have been centered around improving adult learner enrollment and completion. More adult learners are returning to higher education and often seek advice from an academic advisor regarding suggestions for educational planning, including credit hour recommendations. However, research encompassing credit hour recommendations is often concentrated on those 18-24-year-old students who can enroll full-time.
This study aimed to investigate if credit hour enrollment impacts student persistence among adult learners enrolled in a two-year community college. Utilizing retrospective data provided by a two-year community college in Tennessee, chi-square analyses were performed to analyze of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and credit hour variables on student persistence. Although the results of the Cramer’s V test indicated a weak association, all the variables resulted in being statistically significant indicators of persistence. Moreover, the weak association values indicate that there may be many additional factors related to student persistence, retention, and graduation that exist in addition to the variables used in this study.
Future research involving credit hour enrollment and adult learner persistence should include research designs with a qualitative approach or questionnaire that could help better understand credit hour enrollment decisions related to additional responsibilities that adult learners often encompass. Additionally, dedicated research on adult learners should be continued so that higher education can better support them and their efforts in persistence and completion.Ed.D