Announcements

Saad Ashraf - Dissertation for the Ph.D. in Business Administration - Management
Title: Investigating the Antecedents and Consequences of Workplace Gaslighting: Interdependence Theory and Affective Events Theory Perspectives
Major Professor: Ye Dai
Committee Members: Steve Karau, Omid Kamran Disfani, Xiaoyan (May) Bao, Taeho Yoh
Date: June 13, 2024
Location: Virtual https://zoom.us/j/96854739337
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 pm

Mckenna Bennett – Thesis for M.A. in Criminology & Criminal Justice
Title: Obtaining Employment with a Criminal Conviction
Major Professor: Breanne Pleggenkuhle
Committee Members: Raymund Narag, Kylie Reale
Date: June 27, 2024
Location: Faner 4321 and virtual on Zoom
Time: 8:00 am
Previous research has indicated that employment search experiences can vary greatly among individuals based on their backgrounds and previous experiences, particularly for those with a criminal history. However, there is limited understanding of the specific skills that program participants with a criminal background bring to the employment search and what they are missing. This research study asks the questions (1) What skills do employment program participants bring to the employment search and what are they missing? (2) What are the stigmatic experiences they are having during the employment search? (3) What did the individuals gain from the schooling experience? What do they find most important/valuable? (4) What are the differences between the individuals who are justice involved versus those who have no criminal record? Using secondary data from a previous research project, this study conducts a qualitative analysis using interviews to investigate the employment navigation process. The findings highlight the role of stigma and strain in shaping employment experiences and suggest that holistic programs are most beneficial for participants.

Mukesh Bhattarai – Dissertation for Ph.D. in Environmental Resources & Policy
Title: The Impact of Community Forestry on the General and Specified Resilience of Communities and Households in Nepal
Major Professor: Kofi Akamani
Committee Members: Logan Park, Leslie Duram, John Groninger, Clay Nielsen
Date: June 11, 2024
Location: Faner 4523
Time: 8:00 - 9:00 am
Community forestry is one form of community-based forest management which is considered as a promising forest management model for achieving ecological sustainability and community well-being. Although extensive literature exists that covers various aspects of community forestry, studies on the performance of community forestry programs in the face of change and uncertainty are limited. In Nepal, for instance, community forestry programs have been implemented since late 1970s and flourished after the adoption of the Forest Act of 1993. However, the impacts of these programs on the resilience of communities and households have not received enough attention. To address these gaps, this dissertation employed a mixed methods approach in analyzing the impact of Nepal’s community forestry program on the general resilience of forest-dependent communities, as well as their specified resilience to the 2015 earthquake. Data for the qualitative component of the study were generated through the review of documents, as well as interviews with 27 purposively sampled key informants from two rural communities in the Gorkha district of Nepal, whereas quantitative data were generated through the administration of a survey questionnaire among 237 households who were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. The results of this dissertation showed that community and household participation in the community forestry program resulted in mostly positive impact on all forms of capital assets (social capital, economic capital, natural capital, physical capital and human capital) which were used to measure general resilience outcomes; household participation in the community forestry program also had a significant positive effect on some of the key indicators of earthquake resilience. In all, the results of this dissertation highlight the importance of local institutions in community resilience and adaptation processes. The results also highlight the need for forest policy to prioritize local institutional capacity-building. As global climate change policy has shifted towards community-based adaptation in recent decades, this study shows the potential for community forestry to serve as an entry point for global climate change policy through its contributions to community capacity for adaptation to various drivers of change.

Charles Sanders – Research Paper for M.S. in Agribusiness Economics
Title: Weather and Technology Trends in U.S. Durum Wheat Yields
Major Professor: Ira Altman
Date: July 19, 2024
Location: 225 Agriculture Building
Time: 9:00 am

Di Wu – Dissertation for Ph.D. in Environmental Resources & Policy
Title: Improving Hydrologic Connectivity Delineation Based on High-Resolution DEMs and Geospatial Artificial Intelligence
Major Professor: Ruopu Li
Committee Members: Jonathan Remo, Guangxing Wang, Justin Schoof, Banafshedh Rekabadar
Date: June 17, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 10:00 am
Hydrological connectivity is crucial for understanding and managing water resources, ecological processes, and landscape dynamics. High-Resolution Digital Elevation Models (HRDEMs) derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data offer unprecedented detail and accuracy in representing terrain features, making them invaluable for mapping hydrological networks and analyzing landscape connectivity. However, challenges persist in accurately delineating flow networks, identifying flow barriers, and optimizing computational efficiency, particularly in large-scale applications and complex terrain conditions. This dissertation addresses these challenges through a comprehensive exploration of advanced techniques in deep learning, spatial analysis, and parallel computing. A common practice is to breach the elevation of roads near drainage crossing locations to remove flow barriers, which, however, are often unavailable or with variable quality. Thus, developing a reliable drainage crossing dataset is essential to improve the HRDEMs for hydrographic delineation. Deep learning models were developed for classifying images that contain the locations of flow barriers. Based on HRDEMs and aerial orthophotos, different Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models were trained and compared to assess their effectiveness in image classification in four different watersheds across the U.S. Midwest. The results show that most deep learning models can consistently achieve over 90% accuracies. The CNN model with a batch size of 16, a learning rate of 0.01, an epoch of 100, and the HRDEM as the sole input feature exhibits the best performance with 93% accuracy. The addition of aerial orthophotos and their derived spectral indices is insignificant to or even worsens the model’s accuracy. Transferability assessments across geographic regions show promising potential of best-fit model for broader applications, albeit with varying accuracies influenced by hydrography complexity. Based on identified drainage crossing locations, Drainage Barrier Processing (DBP), such as HRDEM excavation, is employed to remove the flow barriers. However, there's a gap in quantitatively assessing the impact of DBP on HRDEM-derived flowlines, especially at finer scales. HRDEM-derived flowlines generated with different flow direction algorithms were evaluated by developing a framework to measure the effects of flow barrier removal. The results show that the primary factor influencing flowline quality is the presence of flow accumulation artifacts. Quality issues also stem from differences between natural and artificial flow paths, unrealistic flowlines in flat areas, complex canal networks, and ephemeral drainageways. Notably, the improvement achieved by DBP is demonstrated to be more than 6%, showcasing its efficacy in reducing the impact of flow barriers on hydrologic connectivity. To overcome the computational intensity and speed up data processing, the efficiency of parallel computing techniques for GeoAI and hydrological modeling was evaluated. The performance of CPU parallel processing on High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems was compared with serial processing on desktop computers and GPU processing using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). Results demonstrated substantial performance enhancements with GPU processing, particularly in accelerating computationally intensive tasks such as deep learning-based feature detection and hydrological modeling. However, efficiency trends exhibit nonlinear patterns influenced by factors such as communication overhead, task distribution, and resource contention. In summary, this dissertation presents a GeoAI-Hydro framework that significantly advances the quality of hydrological connectivity modeling. By integrating deep learning for accurate flow barrier identification, employing DBP to enhance flowline quality, and utilizing parallel computing to address computational demands, the framework offers a robust solution for high-qua

Diogo Seixas – Dissertation for Ph.D. in Business Administration
Title: Individual Differences in Perceptions of Organizational Career Culture: A Fit Theory Perspective
Major Professor: Steven Karau
Committee Members: Pete Mykytyn, John Goodale, Gregory DeYong, Craig Engstrom
Date: June 20, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 2:00 pm
Attracting and retaining talent has been one of the most critical elements for business success. As organizations have different cultures within themselves, the organizational career culture communicates the organizational beliefs and practices valued for career success through organizational signals about career priorities. Using a scenario-based study, we explore individual preferences regarding four career cultures built on two dimensions of career signals: assimilation versus differentiation and intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards. We choose group beliefs, desirability of control, competitiveness, and protean career orientation as important traits because they clearly relate to the career signals and fit nicely in the organization’s career cultures. We found that individuals with high group beliefs perceived significantly higher person-organization fit and attraction, and marginally significantly higher career culture fit in cultures with high assimilation and intrinsic rewards. Individuals high in the desirability of control perceived higher career culture fit in Prestige career cultures (high in both assimilation and extrinsic rewards). Highly competitive individuals perceived higher career culture fit in cultures high in extrinsic rewards. Lastly, individuals high in protean career orientation had no perceived preferences regarding the two dimensions. The findings are important for both companies and individuals. Companies can create a unique culture that communicates the critical organizational processes and strategic outcomes to gain a competitive advantage while improving the general organizational culture with motivated employees with a favorable view of the organization. The present research provides an essential foundation for the future, offering critical insights and motivating future investigations to enrich the literature on organizational career culture and personality research.

Abigail Spiers - Thesis for M.S. in Forestry
Title: Impacts of Intensifying a Corn-Soybean Rotation with Winter Wheat on Nutrient Leaching, Plant Available Nutrients, Crop Yields, and Nitrogen Dynamics in Southern Illinois
Major Professor: Karl Williard
Committee Members: Jon Schoonover, Amir Sadeghpour
Date: June 5, 2024
Location: Agriculture Building Room 209
Time: 1:00 pm

Hongnai Zhang - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing)
Title: Bridging the Gap: Examining the Role of Physical Store Presence in Boosting Consumer's Online Purchase Intention in Hybrid Retail
Major Professor: Terry Clark
Committee Members: Taeho Yoh, Omid Kamran Disfani, Sevincgul Ulu, Chen Wu (Southeast Missouri State Univ)
Date: June 24, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 11:00 am

Bhaskar Upadhyaya Subedi - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Business Administration (Marketing)
Title: The Power of Labels: How Certification Labels Affect Consumers' Purchase Intentions and Willingness to Pay Higher Prices for Plant-Based Non-Food Products
Major Professor: Nwamaka Anaza
Committee Members: John Fraedrich, Mavis Adjei, Sevincgul Ulu, Delancy Bennett (Howard Univ)
Date: June 18, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 1:00 pm

Danielle LaPradd – Thesis for MA in Criminology & Criminal Justice
Title: Understanding Geographic Profiling: A Scope Review
Major Professor: Julie Hibdon
Committee Members: Matthew Giblin, Hamdi Yesilyurt
Defense Date: August 5, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 12:01 pm
Abstract: This scoping review delves into the breadth and depth of geographic profiling research, a technique rooted in criminology and forensic psychology for assisting law enforcement in identifying likely locations of criminal offenders. Stemming from principles of environmental criminology and spatial analysis, geographic profiling has garnered scholarly attention due to its potential in enhancing investigative strategies and aiding in criminal apprehension. The following review addresses whether geographic profiling research has experienced increased growth since its formalization in the late 1990’s to now by evaluating the characteristics of articles related to publishing (i.e., publishing rate over time, types of journals, and concentration of publishing between authors) while also evaluating the commonalities and broader narratives within the content published. This evaluation revealed geographic profiling as a relatively small scientific field attempting to gain traction in the realm of application and implementation amongst policing agencies. Furthermore, trends of methodological refinement, application hurdles, and future research recommendations are discussed within. Overall, this review underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, innovation, and methodological rigor to address challenges and propel geographic profiling research forward.

Carlos A. Batres - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Anthropology
Title: Artificial Intelligence, Machines, Devices and Robots: Mobilizing Humanness and Intelligence in the American Techno-Landscape
Major Professor: David Sutton
Committee Members: Paul Welch, Janet Fuller, John McCall, Anthony Webster
Date: August 12, 2024
Location: Virtual
This dissertation is an ethnographic inquiry of artificial intelligence (AI) in the techno-landscape of three major metropolitan areas in the United States. It traces the ways in which both experts and non-experts talk about their interactions with AI via machines, robots, and other devices, and how the ways in which people deal with AI-technologies have come to shape how we think about our own ways of going about doing things. The goal is to discern what the social ramifications of this technology may be as relationships and relations are formed betwixt and between people and artificially intelligent things.

Duane J. Lickteig - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Education (Curriculum and Instruction)
Title: Development of Nature of Science Understandings and Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Pre-Service Elementary Science Education Content and Methods Courses
Major Professor: Harvey Henson
Committee Members: Lingguo Bu, Christina McIntyre, Heidi Bacon, Bruce DeRuntz
Date: August 27, 2024
Location: Wham 219
This study investigates the relationships between Nature of Science (NOS) understandings and Self Efficacy (SE) beliefs among preservice elementary teachers (PSETs). The dissertation addresses gaps in the literature concerning the longitudinal growth of NOS understandings and SE beliefs from content science courses to methods courses, which are crucial for effective science teaching.

Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the research reveals complex relationships between PSETs' evolving conceptions of NOS and their SE in teaching science through mqmry.

Quantitative analyses utilizing Spearman Rank Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression Models to highlight significant correlations between PSETs' NOS understandings and SE beliefs. The qualitative thematic analysis provides profound insights into NOS's complex yet often partial grasp. This study highlights the need to address the misconceptions held by PSETs and the challenges they face in grasping the NOS, which are critically related to their SE beliefs and, subsequently, teaching practices. It underscores the importance of thoroughly integrating epistemological knowledge with pedagogical skills in science teacher education programs.

This research makes a substantial contribution to the preparation of future elementary teachers by exploring the intricate relationship between NOS understandings and SE beliefs. The study's insights aim to help teacher educators equip PSETs to engage students in authentic scientific practices, thus fostering a more scientifically literate society. The findings provide crucial insights for educational strategies and policy reforms to improve future science educators' preparation and confidence.