Middle Tennessee State University
JEWLScholar @MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University)Not a member yet
7964 research outputs found
Sort by
Flooding in Bangladesh: A Race Against Time
No full textFlooding is the most common type of natural disaster and is a major problem in Bangladesh that especially harms the disadvantaged. People are uniquely vulnerable to flooding in Bangladesh due to its low elevation, numerous rivers, coastal location, and high rainfall intensity. I estimate the number of people vulnerable to sea-level rise by overlaying a raster of the population over a raster of elevation. The population of Bangladesh is then broken into five risk groups based on their elevation above sea level. Nearly 4% of the population of Bangladesh, over six million people, live less than one meter above sea level. This puts them in the highest risk group, and the sea will rise one meter in the not-too-distant future. High economic growth has made Bangladesh, previously one of the poorest countries in the world, able to take substantial action to address the flooding problem
The Angle Through The Rings: College Students’ Perception Of The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
No full textWhen the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, shutdowns occurred across the globe to protect human lives, including the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to July 2021. Despite Japan locking down its citizens for months leading up to the opening ceremonies and members of the media calling for the Games to be cancelled, the Olympics still occurred, opening the door for various citizens around the world to give their opinions after the event concluded. This thesis examines the opinions of college students attending Middle Tennessee State University who were surveyed shortly after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to gain opinions on public perception and the framing effects used by media outlets that covered the delayed Olympiad. An independent sample t-test found that students born outside of the United States of America had a higher enjoyment level than those born in the U.S.A., but the results were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Although inconclusive, the data set has provided insight into opinions of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, compared the similarities and differences between USA-born college students and students born outside of the country, and has provided a relevant framework for future studies to be conducted on college students and future Olympics.M.S
Noise Exposure: How It Affects Hearing in Music Majors Compared to Non-Music Majors
No full textThere has been minimal research comparing the daily noise exposure of student music majors to student non-music majors. There has also been limited research on the hearing of these individuals and their audiometric findings. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine and compare the noise exposure and hearing of music majors and non-music majors. In addition, the current study compared the attitudes and perspectives of the two student populations through a qualitative interview process.
The following questions were addressed:
1. How does the noise exposure of Student Music Majors differ from that of Student Non-Music Majors?
2. Is there a difference in hearing thresholds between the Hughson-Westlake procedure (5dB step size) and the modified procedure (2 dB step size)?
3. Do Student Music Majors exhibit different hearing thresholds than Student Non-Music Majors?
4. What are the attitudes and perceptions of Student Music Majors and Student Non-Music Majors about noise exposure and how it affects hearing?
KEYWORDS: noise exposure; hearing; hearing protection devices; noise induced hearing loss; student music majors; student non-music majors; hearing threshold
A STUDY OF SKELETAL BASED IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUE FOR CNN BASED IMAGE CLASSIFICATION
No full textIn the twenty-first century, significant advancements in the field of computer vision facilitated a surge in the application of image classification in different industries. This work proposes an image classification technique that utilizes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to simplify training by transforming raw images into reduced representations. This proposed technique is used in developing two CNN models. The first model is applied in a human-robot interactive game of Simon Says. In contrast, the second is applied in a fall detection system classifying human subjects’ actions as sitting, falling, or on-feet. An accuracy of 92.55% was achieved for the human-robot interactive game, while the fall detection algorithm yielded an accuracy of 90.79%. We hope this work will be a great addition to the research community as it can further be expanded to incorporate different areas of computer vision, such as human gesture recognition for autonomous vehicles.M.S
The Effect of Postactivation Potentiation on Gluteus Medius Muscle Activation During Rehabilitation Exercise in Division l Athletes
No full textThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of postactivation potentiation
(PAP) on the activation of a lower-extremity stabilizer muscle (gluteus medius) in female division 1 collegiate athletes when performing an integrative rehabilitation exercise. Ten female collegiate athletes actively participating in sport were recruited from the women’s soccer, track and cross country teams. Participants were asked to perform one set of three repetitions of a single leg glute bridge (SLB) rehabilitation exercise with and without a PAP protocol. Mean, peak and time to peak muscle activation data were obtained via surface electrode electromyography (EMG). Results of this study revealed a statistically insignificant increase in peak, mean and decrease in time to peak muscle activation when comparing baselines EMG values of SLB to SLB performed after a PAP protocol within a 10-second time interval. These results suggest a PAP protocol may be implemented in the rehabilitation of a lower-extremity stabilizer muscle without harm to the patient however, potentiation may or may not occur within the 10-second time interval between PAP protocol and rehabilitation exercise performance task. Future studies should investigate different methodologies such as PAP prescription parameters, population injury status and EMG data analysis.M.S
DUAL LANGUAGE WRITING ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY SPANISH-SPEAKING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
No full textIn public school classrooms across the United States, approximately one in ten students is learning English as a second language. These students, often referred to as English language learners (ELLs), comprise one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States, with approximately 5 million ELLs enrolled in public schools across the country. The majority of ELLs, however, do not exit high school with the proficiency they need to succeed, and standardized outcomes even at the elementary level show the beginnings of a discrepancy between ELLs and their native English-speaking counterparts. This troubling literacy achievement gap is particularly evident in the domain of writing and persists even after students have had several years of supplemental language support.
This study seeks to address the writing gap and assessment issues by administering a dual language writing assessment designed for ELLs. The assessment was selected to meet the need for a multifaceted writing assessment that was normed and validated specifically for upper elementary Spanish-speaking ELLs. The study seeks to analyze in detail the writing of intermediate ELL (grades 3-5) in order to determine how the features of their writing differ from those used by native English speakers and the writing features students display in their native languages that maybe overlooked by English-only writing assessments. The purpose of study, however, is not to identify perceived errors, but rather to add to the understanding of second language writing for native Spanish-speaking upper elementary school students. Results of the study have wide-ranging pedagogical and cultural implications that could help inform instruction, educational policy, and teacher education as they relate to the writing assessment and instruction of multilingual learners in increasingly diverse classrooms.Ph.D
The Weight of Living: An Analysis of Anti-Fat Bias and Fatphobia in Women's Working Relationships
No full textSocietal ideas about obesity, fatness, and overweight permeate the social institutions that govern our lives. From employment, romantic relationships, education, and more, our society reinforces the stereotypes and mistreatment of fat people. Women in particular are faced with the stigma of existing in a larger body, which frequently results in fat women facing lower hourly and lifetime earnings, and limits on their occupational attainment (Fikkan and Rothblum 2011). Through ten qualitative interviews with fat women, I explore how these women navigate their workplace and working relationships. This research centers fat women and their experiences, while providing insight on the inequalities members of this group face in the working world. My findings indicate that fat women experience stigma at work and use various techniques to manage this stigma. I argue that negative perceptions about fatness manifest in the relationships women form at work and provide obstacles for fat women in attaining career success. Further, I assert that workplace cultures can reinforce the deviance of fatness.M.A
MEASURING “WHAT COUNTS”: A NOVEL APPROACH TO EXAMINING BIOLOGICAL SEX AND ORIENTATION BASED DIFFERENCES IN HOW SEX AND LOSS OF VIRGINITY ARE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED
No full textSeveral studies have explored which sexual behaviors constitute having sex and losing virginity. These studies have examined participants’ definitions of sex and virginity across gender, age, and religiosity using a variety of methodologies. However, few have explored these behaviors across sexual orientation. This study adds to the current body of knowledge by utilizing hypothetical heterosexual, gay, and lesbian actors to explore which sexual behaviors constitute having sex and virginity loss.
Article one covers the design, creation, and implementation of the survey tool—The Sexual Behaviors Scenario Questionnaire (SBSEQ). Previous studies have used qualitative and quantitative survey tools that require participants to place themselves directly in the sexual scenario. However, the SBSEQ is a quantitative tool designed to (1) limit pressure placed on participants during the survey by providing hypothetical actors and (2) explore definitions of sex and virginity for a heterosexual couple, male couple, and female couple. To our knowledge, this is the second study to use hypothetical actors in the survey tool and the first employ multiple sexual orientations.
Article two is a quantitative study that utilized the SBSEQ. The purpose of the study was to examine which behaviors (e.g., penile-vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral intercourse, manual stimulation, and penetration with a sex toy) participants counted as having sex or virginity loss across couples with varying sexual orientations. Results suggest that (1) female participants hold slightly broader definitions of sex than male participants across all couples as well as sexual behaviors outside manual stimulation and (2) female participants hold a broader definition of virginity loss than male participants across all sexual behaviors and couples. Additionally, resulted suggest participants who self-identified as members of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB+) community hold broader definitions of sex and virginity loss than heterosexual participants across all sexual behaviors and hypothetical couples.Ph.D
The Future of Soul Music
No full textThis paper discusses the origins of the rhythm and blues genre in the United States and how it has shaped the soul music of today. Discussed are pioneering artists in the rhythm and blues genre of the 1960s through 2022. The genre of r&b has always been a combination of other genres. As decades pass, new styles are created and combined with others to create a “new” style of soul music. KEYWORDS: soul music; rhythm & blues; music; gospel; neo-sou