Archived Announcements
Past Announcements
2025
Morgan A. Young – Master's Research Paper for M.S. in Agribusiness Economics
Title: U.S. Bison Industry: An Analysis of Production, Health, and Market Dynamics
Major Professors: Dwight R. Sanders
Co-Chair: Ira J. Altman
Date: April 29, 2025
Location: 225 Agriculture Building
Time: 2:00 p.m
Kelsey R. Knebel – Master's Research Paper for M.S. in Agribusiness Economics
Title: An Analysis of Milk Hedging Effectiveness in Madison County, Illinois
Major Professors: Dwight R. Sanders
Co-Chair: Ira J. Altman
Date: April 29, 2025
Location: 225 Agriculture Building
Time: 2:00 p.m
Jennifer Schultze – Master's Thesis for M.S. in Forestry
Title: Efficacy of Predator Control as a Management Method for Northern Illinois Raccoons
Major Professor: Clay Nielsen
Committee Members: Brent Pease, Elizabeth Bach
Date: April 28, 2025
Location: Agriculture Bldg Room 209 and Virtual on Teams
Abstract: Raccoons (Procyon lotor) are opportunistic and highly adaptable mesopredators that negatively impact several vulnerable avian and reptilian species. While predator removal has been used for decades, wildlife managers require more information about the efficacy and long-term feasibility of using predator removal to control raccoon populations. I determined the efficacy of raccoon removal within an urban-rural gradient by placing 109 camera traps (n=204 unique camera trap placements) across 6 study sites during February-August 2022-2024 to monitor raccoon occupancy before, during, and after trapping efforts were performed. During April-June 2022-2024, collaborators removed raccoons (n=771). Based on pre-removal abundance estimates, collaborators removed 81-100%, 38-100%, and 57-100% of raccoons from each study site from 2022 to 2024, respectively. Each year, 4 out of the 5 removal sites exhibited a decrease in raccoon detections directly after removal and remained below the estimates observed before removal for the rest of each camera trapping season (i.e., for 2-3 months). However, each subsequent year displayed abundance and raccoon detection estimates that returned closer to pre-removal levels for each study site (i.e., 10 to 12 months following removal). Each year, single-season occupancy models indicated detection and occupancy probabilities were highest before removal and decreased after removal for the following 2 to 3 months. From 2023 to 2024, multi-season occupancy models indicated colonization rates decreased across all removal sites from 49 to 8%, and extinction rates increased by 9%. In 2023 and 2024, the control site had extinction rates close to zero and colonization rates that increased to 80% by 2024. My results were generally similar across all removal sites for all years, suggesting that the observed results were not influenced by site-specific factors and thus generalizable across larger landscapes. These findings demonstrated a successful short-term population reduction and provided evidence for long-term feasibility, as indicated by a decrease in colonization and an increase in extinction at the removal sites. Establishing a long-term trapping program (i.e., 5 to 10 years) with bi-annual or multiple trapping
Sarah Willes - Art Exhibition for M.F.A. in Art-Ceramics
Title: Thereafter, We Became
Major Professor: Pattie Chalmers
Committee Members: Alex Lopez, Carey Netherton
Date: April 1, 2025
Location: Surplus Gallery at the Glove Factory
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Abstract: The thesis exhibition by Sarah Willes addresses connections between humans and plants and animals. Thereafter We Became presents a series of ceramic sculptures that are hybridizations between nature and objects. Starting with a realistic vision of nature and the objects, the show twists reality and adds surreal elements to merge subjects to be one individual. Flora and fauna magically grow into the shape of an object. By distorting logic, I explore a world where the lines between humans and nature blur to draw parallels.
Paul Utsler-Master's Research Paper for M.S. in Professional Media and Media Management
Title: Special Forces Portrayal in Video Games
Major Professor: William Freivogel
Date: April 7, 2025
Location: Virtual (Contact William Freivogel for the virtual link.)
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Ashleigh Spence - Master's Research Paper for M.S. in Professional Media and Media Management
Title: Planned Parenthood Generation Action: An Advertising and Marketing Plan
Major Professor: Bridget Lescelius
Date: April 8, 2025
Location: Communications Building 1214
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Noah Mardian - Master's Thesis for M.S. in Forestry
Title: Long-term effects of cover crops and tillage on nutrient loss in southern Illinois corn-soybean rotations
Major Professor: Karl Williard
Committee Members: Jon Schoonover, Jackie Gillespie
Date: April 23, 2025
Location: Morris Library, Guyon Auditorium, and Virtual on Teams https://msteams.link/7K4W
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Abstract: Cover crops can sequester nutrients in the winter and spring fallow seasons, thereby reducing nutrient loss. However, short-term studies cannot adequately capture cover crop benefits because their impacts are expected to accrue over many years. In 2015, a long-term study was initiated to determine cover cropping and tillage practices' effects on nutrient loss at Southern Illinois University’s Research Farms. Six treatments comprising the interaction of three cover crop rotations (hairy vetch, an oats and radish mix, and no cover crop) and two tillage practices (reduced-tillage and no-tillage) were applied to corn and soybean rotations. Treatments with cover crops were planted with cereal rye following corn harvests and hairy vetch and oats and radish following soybean harvests. Soil leachate samples from each treatment were taken within 24-48 hours following each significant rain event (>12.7mm) via gravity-drained lysimeters installed below the undisturbed A horizon. Throughout the five seasons when cereal rye was planted, no cover crop plots leached on average 0.33 kg nitrate-N ha-1 or 15.36% more than cover crop plots (p≤0.080). Treatments had no effect on nitrate-N leaching during hairy vetch/oats and radish seasons (p≥0.164), though there was a weak increase in nitrate-N leaching under the oats and radish rotation compared to the no cover crop rotation (p=0.142). Treatments had no effect on dissolved reactive phosphorus leaching in either cereal rye or hairy vetch/oats and radish seasons (p≥0.299). Soil phosphorus stratification was evident in all treatments, but the greatest differences between 0-5 cm and deeper soil depths occurred in the NCxNT treatment. Treatments had an inconsistent effect on dissolved nutrients in plant-available micropore soil water. HV and OR rotations significantly reduced nitrate-N concentrations in all soybean and cereal rye seasons (p
Cereal rye minimized nitrate-N leaching compared to no cover crop rotations by scavenging nitrate-N from the soil water but did so at rates less than other long-term studies. It’s suspected that hairy vetch’s capacity to fix nitrogen and the rapid mineralization of the low C:N biomass supplied the soil water with nitrogen at rates higher than it assimilates, leading to similar nitrate-N losses between hairy vetch and no cover crop plots.
Prashant Adhikari - Master's Thesis for M.S. in Civil Engineering
Title: Prediction of Horizontal and Vertical Components of Earthquake Response Spectrum using Support Vector Machine
Major Professor: Jale Tezcan
Committee Members: Debarshi Sen, Prabir Kolay
Date: April 10, 2025
Location: Virtual on Microsoft Teams- Meeting ID: 238 257 556 372
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Marlon Mike Toro-Alvarez - Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Title: Integrated Approach to Explaining Digital Violence Victimization Experiences in School Milieus
Major Professor: Dr. Tammy Kochel
Committee Members: Daryl G. Kroner, Breanne Pleggenkuhle, Raymund Narag, Kyung-shick Choi
Date: April 23, 2025
Location: Faner 4235 SJPS Conference Room
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Abstract: This study investigates digital violence in schools by examining cyberbullying victimization among students in the St. Louis Public Schools system across three distinct periods: pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic. Grounded in Flag Theory as a key integrative framework, the research incorporates elements from well-established criminological perspectives, including the General Theory of Crime and Routine Activities Theory. This theoretical integration enables a multidimensional analysis of both the stability and transformation of cyberbullying dynamics amid changing social and digital environments. Findings reveal that cyberbullying victimization remained largely stable across all three waves. However, the influence of key predictors shifted over time. Parental supervision consistently emerged as a protective factor, significantly reducing victimization across all periods, although it declined notably in the post-pandemic phase. Time spent online increased sharply during the pandemic and remained elevated afterward, yet its impact on victimization diminished over time, challenging traditional assumptions and suggesting a need for reinterpretation in light of post-pandemic digital behavior. Engagement with delinquent peers decreased across the waves but showed a modest positive effect on victimization in the post-pandemic period. Although the study did not reveal significant indirect effects, the findings underscore the enduring influence of direct social and familial factors on online victimization within school environments. Notably, the research identifies a potential post-pandemic increase in self-control, which aligns with the emerging theoretical notion of new global turning points, where critical events, such as terrorist attacks or public health crises, can reshape stable social behaviors, routines, and individual self-regulation. By mapping these changing patterns, the study deepens our understanding of cyberbullying in an increasingly digital world. It also provides valuable insights for shaping targeted policies and intervention strategies within educational settings in the post-pandemic era.
Lauren Pinson - Art Exhibition for M.F.A. in Ceramics
Title: Bitter Sweet Home
Major Professor: Pattie Chalmers
Committee Members: Alex Lopez, Carolina Alarcon
Date: March 2, 2025
Location: Artspace 304
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Abstract: Bitter Sweet Home is an exhibition that explores the expectation and subsequent judgment I feel I may face in my future in relation to objects and tasks within the home. Through themes of domesticity, surrealism, and femininity, I have created everyday objects out of clay that are gestural and reference the cartoon nature of Walt Disney's "Fantasia". Through this, my work begins to feel these objects have shifted from our everyday reality in the vignettes of the home that they are placed into.
Seth Tanner - Music Recital for M.M. in Music
Title: Songs of Love and Loss
Major Professor: David Dillard
Committee Members: Carissa Scroggins, Christopher Walczak
Date: March 1, 2025
Location: Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall
Time: 3:00 pm
Abstract: The recital repertoire includes operatic arias from the Baroque and late Romantic periods, and art songs from the late Romantic period, early and mid Twentieth-Century. the repertoire is representative of a diverse sampling of composers, including Germany, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, France, and the United Kingdom. Program notes for each piece include a brief biography of the composer and their style, background details of the piece, and a musical or poetic analysis of each song with examples from the score.
Luke Poston - Music Recital for M.M. in Music
Title: Master's Recital - "Songs 'til the End"
Major Professor: David Dillard
Committee Members: Susan Davenport, Carissa Scroggins
Date: March 1, 2025
Location: Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall
Time: 6:00 pm
Abstract: The repertoire list includes operatic arias from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, as well as art songs from the Romantic period and Twentieth Century. The repertoire showcases many composers from across Europe, including Germany, Italy, and Ukraine, as well as some modern composers from the United States of America. Program notes for each piece include a brief biography of the composer, background details of the piece, and a musical or poetic analysis of each song with examples from the score.
Liucija Balciunaite- Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Political Science
Title: The Surge of the Populist Radical Right: How Transnationalism and Party Systems Influence Populist Radical Right Success and Decline
Major Professor: Stephen Bloom
Committee Members: Benjamin Bricker, Tobin Grant, Kenneth Mulligan, Theodore Weeks
Date: March 19, 2025
Location: Faner 3324
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Hargrave Abby Lyn - Master's Research Paper for M.S. in Professional Media and Media Management
Title: From Expository to Participatory: The Reconceptualization of a Documentary about Dancing Grandmas
Major Professors: Jan Thompson
Date: March 24, 2025
Location: Communications Building 1032 (Dean's Conference Room)
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Abstract: The term 'participatory documentary' was first coined by Bill Nichols, a documentary theorist. He describes it as a mode of documentary where the observer interacts with the observed, and the filmmaker becomes a subject of the film. What started as a little documentary about a minor league baseball team's line dance group comprised of women over the age of 65, shifted when tragedy hit the 'observer. ' It turned out these ladies were now in the right place at the right time to help guide the documentary maker out of her grief. What resulted was a new documentary with a participatory mode.
Yifan Yang - Art Exhibition for M.F.A. in Art - Glass
Title: Live on the Surface
Major Professors: Jiyong Lee
Committee Members: Laurel Fredrickson, Pattie Chalmers
Date: March 24, 2025
Location: Surplus Gallery, 432 S Washington St, Carbondale, IL 62901
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Abstract: This artistic practice interrogates modernity’s fragile illusions through the lens of decorative repetition. Employing traditional Chinese motifs and industrial patterns as symbolic language, the work materializes in glass to juxtapose cultural permanence with material ephemerality. By replicating, distorting, and fossilizing ornamental forms, it exposes the tension between surface splendor and existential void in globalized society. The interplay of handcrafted fragility and mechanical precision critiques modernity’s commodification of value and emotion, while sandy textures and gilded surfaces question distinctions between artifact and replica. Through this alchemy of cultural symbols and personal memory, the practice reveals decoration as a mirror of collective postmodern anxiety.
A.B. Art - Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Communication Studies
Title: Slant: Leaning Into the Aesthetic Possibilities of Performative Writing
Major Professors: Rebecca Walker Anderson
Committee Members: Craig Gingrich-Philbrook, Jonathan Gray, Sandra Pensoneau-Conway, Jacob Juntunen
Date: March 24, 2025
Location: Comm 2005
Time: 10:00a.m
Abstract: This creative dissertation explores the aesthetic potential of the practice of performative writing. While most performative writing texts in the field of performance studies feature traditionally published formats, this projects offers three arts-based excursions into performative writing that push the aesthetic limits of the tradition through visual poetry, comics, and collage. Chapter two uses visual poetry to create an evocative, colorful zine with two performative exemplars. Specifically, this chapter asks and answers what can happen when we embrace the visuality of the language in performative writing texts. Chapter three takes the form of a comic. It take the complex relationships between images, texts, and words in comics and graphic novels to explore the dynamic written performances possible in an extended exemplar about living through the pandemic. Finally, the collage chapter features thirty-eight performative pages embedded with theoretical writing. This chapter adds materiality to the performative writing toolbox. Themes explored in the creative sections of the chapter include LGBTQ identity, feminism, trauma, performance pedagogy, and mental health.
Adam J. Cross – Ed.D. Capstone Report for Ed.D. in Educational Administration
Title: Impact of Principal Leadership on Teacher Retention in Southern Illniois K-12 Schools
Major Professors: Brad Colwell
Committee Members: Gary Kelly, Jason Leahy, Brian Chapman
Date: March 24, 2025
Location: Wham 219
Time: 1:00p.m
Abstract: The purpose of the study is to determine what impact principal leadership has on teacher retention in southern Illinois K-12 public schools. The significance of the study is to contribute to existing research on principal leadership and its impact on teacher retention (both positive and negative) by determining what characteristics of leadership implemented by southern Illinois K-12 public school principals By studying the principal leadership impact on teacher retention in southern Illinois K-12 public schools and connecting them to the demographics of the principal and school, leadership in rural public schools may be better understood as well as increasing teacher retention. This study of leadership and teacher retention will have noticeable administrative as well as student-based impacts. Specifically, school administrators can use these concepts to increase teacher retention in their schools, which may impact school culture by increasing student achievement, lowering disciplinary infractions, and creating a vision for the school beyond solely one person’s ideas (Gultekin and Dougherty, 2021). It may also be utilized by universities and administrator preparation programs to better prepare future administrators in leadership effectiveness. The Illinois Principals Association, Illinois Association of School Administrations, and the Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools may also develop a mentoring guide based on the research to create more cohesive mentor-mentee programs.
Joseph (JD) Tanner– Ed.D. Capstone Report for Ed.D. in Educational Leadership
Title: Effectiveness of the Online Leave No Trace 101 Course
Major Professors: Brad Colwell
Co-Chair: Gary Kelly
Committee Members: Charles Ruffner, Grant Miller
Date: March 24, 2025
Location: Wham 219 and Virtual on Zoom https://ltcillinois.zoom.us/j/81980228873
Time: 11:00a.m
Abstract: This study examined the effectiveness of the Leave No Trace 101 online course in improving participants’ knowledge of the seven Leave No Trace principles. Participants completed a pre-course survey assessing their self-perceived and actual knowledge of these principles, followed by the online course and a post-course assessment. Findings indicate that the course significantly enhanced participants' knowledge, with post-course scores showing measurable improvement compared to pre-course results. Additionally, the study explored demographic factors such as age, education level, outdoor experience, and prior Leave No Trace knowledge to assess their influence on learning outcomes.
Paulo Vitor Mendes da Cunha - Master's Thesis for M.A. in Anthropology
Title: Beyond the Headstones: A Geophysical Study of Garrison Hill Cemetery Relocation
Major Professors: Mark Wagner
Committee Members: Ryan Campbell, Harvey Henson
Date: March 26, 2025
Location: Morris 480A
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Abstract: The historical nature and documented relocations of burials at Garrison Hill Cemetery at Fort Kaskaskia Historic Site in Randolph County, Illinois, motivate this thesis's exploration of the cemetery's underlying composition. Although official records state that all human remains were relocated from the town of Old Kaskaskia to the new site, evidence suggests that some may have been left behind, raising the question of whether the remains were truly moved or if only their headstones were relocated. The study collected and analyzed geophysical data from five grids within the Garrison Hill cemetery. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data indicated subsurface anomalies associated with degraded and structured burials. Magnetometer data revealed further disturbances consistent with ferrous objects, possibly related to burial artifacts. These discoveries verified the presence of elements consistent with what is expected from a cemetery with interments, confirming that the remains were moved with the headstones. Socioeconomic and religious aspects of the cemetery's organization were also analyzed using data from the geophysical study. The findings suggest that graves associated with individuals of higher social standing tend to have greater durability and archaeological visibility. This study contributes to the field of historic cemetery studies by demonstrating the utility of combining geophysical techniques and historical information to investigate historical ii cemeteries non-invasively. The findings improve our understanding about the past of Garrison Hill Cemetery but also contribute to showcase how to conduct similar investigations worldwide.
Steven Kosco - Master's Research Paper for M.S. in Professional Media and Media Management
Title: Small Business Marketing and Advertising in Rural Communities: A Case Study of Southern Illinois Restaurants
Major Professors: Kavita Karan
Committee Members: Dong Han, Bridget Lescelius
Date: March 27, 2025
Location: Communications Building 1214
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Patrick Seick - Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Communication Studies
Title: Disability and Personhood on Screen: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Million Dollar Baby, Gattaca, and Sound of Metal
Major Professors: Sandy Pensoneau-Conway
Committee Members: Randy Auxier, Jonny Gray, Dustin Greenwalt, Walter Metz
Date: March 28, 2025
Location: Virtual. https://zoom.us/j/99838952021?pwd=5bjwNbWBTPHrDbb2nGrZQLbAvYX898.1
Time: 1:30 p.m
Abstract: The phrase “disabled person” is deceptive as it assumes the self-evidence and immutability of those with disabilities’ access to personhood. Due to legal changes, technological advances, and evolving sociocultural norms, disabled people find themselves in a constant struggle to articulate and defend their existence and humanity. This dissertation begins with this acknowledgement and utilizes the pervasiveness of popular cultural to explore attitudes and representations of disability.
In this dissertation, I explore how personhood and disability intersect. Specifically, I explore how texts of popular culture construct disability and then what those constructions mean for personhood. This analysis is responsive and contributive to extant, interdisciplinary scholarship that takes on these topics in a piecemeal and fractured way. This dissertation aims to bring together these two generative concepts – disability and personhood – to attend to the legal, social, and cultural landscapes that disabled people navigate and will navigate. To do so, I mobilize autoethnographic methods to analyze three cinematic texts: Million Dollar Baby, Gattaca, and Sound of Metal.
This dissertation explores various conclusions. First, it explores the various logics, visual rhetorics, and rationales offered for the deaths of disabled characters within these films, with particular attention paid to the deployment of a curative framework of disability. Second, it offers a unique perspective on the embodiment of disabled life. Temporality is a critical tool to understand the tension explored between the life and death of disabled characters. Finally, the ways that disabled people and their bodies are marked as fundamentally different are particularized and named. The past and future of disabled bodies are undoubtedly fraught; writing about those bodies that are rendered on the screen only reinforces the tremendous implications wrought for those bodies off the screen.
Lumban Arofah - Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Anthropology
Title: Sensory Experience of Undocumented Indonesian Immigrants In Smallville
Major Professors: David Sutton
Committee Members: Jean-Pierre Reed, Mathew Greer, Ryan Campell, David Beriss
Date: March 28, 2025
Location: Morris 480A and on Zoom https://zoom.us/j/92722854131
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Yetunde Oni - Master's Thesis for M.A. in Philosophy
Title: Social Disparity Problems for Abortion Laws and Reproductive Rights in the United States of America
Major Professors: Randall Auxier
Committee Members: Douglas Anderson, Allison Hammer
Date: March 31, 2025
Location: Faner Hall, Room 3173
Time: 9:30 a.m.
Abstract: MA Thesis Defense
Monalisa Lamptey – Master’s Research Paper for M.A. in Communication Studies
Title: International Students and Cultural Adaptation: African Students’ Experiences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Major Professors: Sandy Pensoneau-Conway
Committee Member: Craig Engstrom
Date: March 31, 2025
Location: Comm 2005
Time: 11:00a.m
Abstract: The increasing enrollment of international students in U.S. tertiary education institutions highlights the necessity for a deeper understanding of cultural adaptation experiences. This study aims to investigate the challenges and strategies African international students encounter while adapting to the cultural dynamics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Using qualitative interviewing, this study explores how African students navigate cultural differences and respond to the social and academic demands of a new environment. The findings of this study revealed how faculty relationships and other resources from the university and surrounding community play a vital role in African international student’s adaptation process. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by offering insights into the specific cultural challenges faced by African international students, and by informing higher education institutions on how to enhance their experiences and facilitate smoother transitions into the U.S. educational system. Ultimately, this research recommends improvements in institutional support for (all) international students.
Amin Asadollahi - Master's Thesis for M.S. in Civil Engineering
Title: Physiochemical Degradation of Microplastic Fibers from Synthetic Fabrics and Interactions between Nanoplastics and Natural Organic Matter in Aquatic Environments
Major Professors: Habibollah Fakhraei
Committee Members: Jia Liu, Sangmin Shin
Date: April 2, 2025
Location: Civil Engineering Conference Room, Engineering D, Room 23
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Delilah Presson – Art Exhibition for M.F.A. in Art
Title: Evanescent
Major Professors: Xuhong Shang
Committee Members: Erin Palmer, Najjar Abdul-Musawwir
Date: April 2, 2025
Location: Surplus Gallery, 432 South Washington, Carbondale, IL
Time: 1:00p.m
Abstract: Evanescent depicts endemic birds and flora found within the southern United States. The body of work is a series of mixed-media installation drawings on semi-transparent mylar. The work explores the disappearance of different bird species due to fragmentation, habitat loss, and over-hunting. These have been common pressures for many species we see in our day-to-day life.
Across history and across cultures, birds have been seen as omens. Various species have been associated with protection, success, disease, or even death. I utilize the imagery of birds as my own forewarning to our own demise. Perpetual production, consumption, and pollution, unstopped, will lead to humanity's own self-destruction.
These spacial drawings are intended to be experienced from both the front and back side of the mylar. The translucent quality of the mylar allows the picture plane to be manipulated by light, partially concealing the work from the front and revealing the imagery when viewed from the back.
Max Larreur - Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences
Title: Spatial Distributions and Occupancy Dynamics of Carnivores in a Central Hardwood Forest
Major Professor: Clay Nielsen
Co-Chair: Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau
Committee Members: Eric Holzmueller, Brent Pease, Damon Lesmeister
Date: April 4, 2025
Location: Agriculture Bldg. Room 209 and Virtual on Team https://tinyurl.com/39pez9fa
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Abstract: Extirpation of apex predators, caused primarily by anthropogenic alterations to natural environments and persecution, has led to mesocarnivore release in these areas. Mesocarnivore release is an ecological phenomenon in which mesocarnivores thrive in the absence of apex predator dominance within the carnivore hierarchy. Mesopredators fill this dominant role on the landscape as de facto apex predators, however, this can lead to changes in inter-guild species space use, predator-prey dynamics, activity patterns, and interspecific competition. Understanding patterns in wildlife spatial distributions, which indicate variability in habitat space use across spatiotemporal scales, is critical for developing effective management and conservation plans and leads to a better understanding of ecological processes. I used 2 independent camera trap datasets gathered throughout 16,058 km2 of southern Illinois, USA: one collected between 2008 – 2010 across 357 camera clusters and the other collected between 2022 – 2024 across 409 camera clusters. Using multiple occupancy analysis techniques and kernel density estimation, I quantified the influences of habitat features and co-occurrence of competing species on the spatiotemporal dynamics of 6 mesocarnivore guild members: coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), and raccoon (Procyon lotor). Naïve occupancy (i.e., ndetected/nsurveyed) of gray fox declined from 0.20 to 0.06 between 2008 – 2010 and 2022 – 2024. Predicted occupancy ranged from 0.01 – 0.47 using the past dataset while the contemporary model had predicted occupancy ranging from 0.02 – 0.10, a 4-fold decline in occupancy estimates across 99% of my study extent. Most habitat features had different directional effects on gray fox occupancy between the 2 temporal periods, illustrating the complexity of gray fox habitat preferences and a shift in their ecology. Intra-specific activity overlap was high (range = 0.79 - 0.95) for my focal species between decades, however, activity patterns of striped skunk, raccoon, and domestic dogs were significantly different. Intraspecific diel niche also changed for gray fox, striped skunk, and raccoon. There were 6 interspecific activity patterns amongst focal species that had experienced a change in their significance between decadal periods. Native large-bodied carnivores had consistent different activity patterns with smaller-bodied carnivores and domestic dogs between decades. Larger-bodied carnivore species may be altering activity patterns of smaller-bodied members in areas experiencing one-sided-ness from mesopredator release, thereby decreasing competition and negative interspecific interactions. Coyotes and bobcats exhibited stability in occupancy dynamics at both narrow (coyote: γ = 0.89 ± 0.13, ε = 0.11 ± 0.07; bobcat: γ = 1 ± 0.01, ε = 0.00 ± 0.05) and broad temporal (coyote: γ = 0.96 ± 0.06, ε = 0.09 ± 0.03; bobcat: γ = 0.87 ± 0.14, ε = 0.31 ± 0.09) scales, supporting the idea of established priority effects. The extinction rates of smaller-bodied mesocarnivores, red fox (narrow: ε = 0.19 ± 0.40, broad: ε = 0.605 ± 0.11), gray fox (narrow: ε = 0.59 ± 0.16, broad: ε = 0.90 ± 0.04), and striped skunks (narrow: ε = 0.24 ± 0.13, broad: ε = 0.76 ± 0.06) dramatically increased and were higher than colonization rates, another indication that the establishment and persistence of these species is waylaid by extreme competitive exclusion from larger-bodied mesocarnivores. Furthermore, exurban environments are potentially increasing the complexity of these interactions, providing access to human subsidized resources. Co-occurrence models suggested that native and non-native co-occurrence increased with the presence of anthropogenic landscape features, increasing the chances of interspecific competition, human persecution, and potential disease transmission.
Janine Armstrong - Ph.D. Dissertation for Ph.D. in Communication Studies
Title: Communicating Ourselves: Erasure and Counter Discourse of Queer Christians of Color
Major Professors: Sandy Pensoneau-Conway
Committee Members: Craig Engstrom, Christina Ivey, Al Frankowski, Chris Wienke
Date: April 7, 2025
Location: Virtual (Contact Sandy Pensoneau-Conway for the virtual link.)
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Abstract: Queer Christians of color are rendered invisible in dominant discourse. European colonization and the entanglement of Christianity, racism, and cisheteropatriarchy throughout the past can still be felt across the world. These intersecting power structures reinforce the erasure of queer Christians of color. Using an intracategorical intersectional approach, I interviewed queer Christians of color to better understand the ways that queer Christians of color are erased from cultural discourse, the effects of the erasure, and ways to counter that erasure through communication. I grounded my research in current literature from identity studies, paying specific attention to literature about identities of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and faith. Additionally, I used erasure, counter discourse, and intersectionality as conceptual frameworks. Furthermore, I shared how virtual interviewing functioned in this research, creating the opportunities for dialogue with participants. Using thematic analysis with coding informed by the phronetic iterative approach, I draw themes and implications to address how identity, power, and agency function in the lives of participants. The findings show that queer Christians of color struggle with the effects of erasure – questioning their existence, confronting the moral implications thereof, dealing with strained relationships, and discrimination. However, the participants reveal their resilience through finding and creating safe spaces, having hope for a better future, and engaging in social activism. This research presents real-world applications for scholars and activists working with identity, erasure, counter discourse, and intersectionality. Also, this research builds upon and extends scholarship in communication studies.
Yuhua Wang - Master's Thesis for M.S in Geography & Environmental Resources
Title: Improving Detection of Soybean SCN Infestation Using Multi-Scale Remote Sensing and a Novel Vegetation Index
Major Professor: Ruopu Li
Committee Members: Justin Schoof, Jason Bond
Date: April 9, 2025
Location: Geography Conference Room
Time: 2:00 pm
Hunter Christenson - Master's Thesis for M.S in Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems
Title: Influence of Water Management and Hydrogel Use on Annual and Perennial Herb Growth and Productivity in an Extensive Green Roof Environment
Major Professor: Rebecca Lee
Committee Members: Steven Still, Kaitlyn Lamaster
Date: April 28, 2025
Location: Agriculture Building, Room 107
Time: 2:00 pm
Abstract: Urban agriculture is becoming increasingly important to provide sources of local food for urban residents. Extensive green roofs can be used to provide spaces for local agriculture in these urban environments, although extreme moisture and temperature conditions typically found in these systems can often be challenging for urban crop production. Therefore, two experiments were conducted on the Southern Illinois University – Carbondale (SIUC) extensive green roof that is located on top of the agriculture building. The first experiment evaluated the effects of a polyacrylamide hydrogel at 3 rates (0, 28, and 85 g per experimental unit), mulch (none and pine bark mulch), and irrigation frequency (1 L water per week or every two weeks per experimental unit) on the growth and productivity of two basil (Ocimum basilicum) varieties (‘Compact’ and ‘Italian Large Leaf’). The second experiment evaluated the effects of a polyacrylamide hydrogel at 2 rates (0 and 85 g per experimental unit), mulch (none and pine bark mulch), and irrigation frequency (1 L water per week or every two weeks per experimental unit) on the vigor, growth, and overwintering ability of two perennial culinary herbs, sage (Salvia officinalis) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris). For the basil experiment, weekly irrigation increased late-season plant vigor by 16%, fresh weight by 37%, and dry weight by 47% compared to biweekly watering. The use of pine bark mulch improved basil fresh weight by 19% and plant vigor by up to 32% compared to no mulch. Hydrogel application rates of 28 g and 85 g improved basil plant height by 42% and 32%, respectively, compared to no hydrogel, although no other growth parameters were affected.
For perennial herbs, sage had greater vigor, overwinter survival, and overall suitability for extensive green roof environments compared to thyme. Sage exhibited a 96% overwinter survival rate, 15% higher than thyme, and 32% greater late-season plant vigor. Hydrogel application at 85 g reduced overwinter vigor by 22%, which was likely due to substrate heaving caused by hydrogel swelling, although survival rates were unaffected. Weekly irrigation increased late-season perennial herb vigor by 19% compared to biweekly watering, highlighting the importance of consistent water supply for growth and overwintering success. These results indicate that supplemental water is an important consideration for sustaining culinary herb production on extensive green roofs with the increasingly hot and dry conditions provided under the climate change scenarios projected for cities currently having temperate climates.
2024
Alydia Downs – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art – Metalsmithing
Title: Entomoethnography
Major Professor: Sun Kyoung Kim
Co-Chair: Richard Smith
Committee Members: Mont Allen and Carolina Alarcon
Defense Date: April 12, 2024
Location: Plant Biology Greenhouse and Conservatory
Time: 9:30 am
Benjamin Kaita – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art – Painting
Title: Fixed Points of Heritage
Major Professor: Xuhong Shang
Committee Members: Erin Palmer and Najjar Abdul-Musawwir
Defense Date: April 4, 2024
Location: Sharp Museum, International and Study Galleries
Time: 3:00 pm
Christopher Hughes – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art – Drawing
Title: Visions
Major Professor: Mark Pease
Committee Members: Najjar Abdul-Musawwir and Erin Palmer
Defense Date: April 10, 2024
Location: Surplus Gallery, The Glove Factory
Time: 2:00 pm
Muyiwa Adeyanju – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art – Painting
Title: Beyond Borders
Major Professor: Erin Palmer
Committee Members: Xuhong Shang and Haley Farthing
Defense Date: April 4, 2024
Location: Surplus Gallery, The Glove Factory
Time: 9:00 am
Nathaniel Ogden – Art Exhibition for MFA in Media Arts
Title: Ambiguous Morality
Major Professor: Pirooz Kalayeh
Committee Members: HD Motyl, Karla Berry and Heather O’Brian.
Exhibition Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Communications Building 1251
Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Oral Defense:10am-12pm, April 12th, 2024 in Communications Building 1251
The show will be a table read of a screenplay I wrote. In 1935, Nevada, Jane “Luna Wayne” teams up with her reluctant sheriff father, Clint, to find her mother’s murder before a cheating gambler cashes in on the reward.
Olivia Warro – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art - Sculpture
Title: Similitudes
Major Professor: Alex Lopez
Committee Members: Angela Reinoehl
Defense Date: April 10, 2024
Location: Surplus Gallery, The Glove Factory
Time: 1:00 pm
Pierce Haley – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art - Ceramics
Title: Sequence by Design
Major Professor: Pattie Chalmers
Committee Members: Alex Lopez and Harris Deller
Defense Date: April 3, 2024
Location: Surplus Gallery, The Glove Factory
Time: 11:00 am
Sarah-Anne Winchester – Art Exhibition for MFA in Art – Ceramics
Title: To the Core
Major Professor: Pattie Chalmers
Committee Members: Carolina Alarcon and Angela Reinoehl
Defense Date: April 1, 2024
Location: Sharp Museum North Hall, 1000 Faner Drive, Carbondale Campus
Time: 4:00 pm
Open: April 2 - 6
Hours: Tues. - Fri. 12-4 PM & Sat. 1-4 PM
Reception: April 5, 4:30 - 7:00 PM
Max Blessman - Thesis for the M.S. in Geography & Environmental Resources
Title: Identifying the Geographical Relationship of Climate Change Perceptions in Middle and High School Students Within the United States
Major Professor: Kristin Hurst
Committee Members: Leslie Duram, Justin Schoof
Date: May 16, 2024
Location: Faner Hall 2533
Time: 12:00 pm
Zachary Carter - Thesis for the M.S. in Geography & Environmental Resources
Title: Practical Application of Moral Foundations Theory in the Adoption of Mixed Species Grazing in Oklahoma Ranches
Major Professor: Kristin Hurst
Committee Members: Zachary Hurst, Leslie Duram
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: Faner Hall 2533
Time: 10:30 am
Kelly Crandall – Thesis for M.S. in Forestry
Title: Effects of Urban Borders on Synanthropic Mesopredator Movement and Risk of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection in the Protected Lands of Key Largo, Florida USA
Major Professor: Brent Pease
Committee Members: Clay Nielsen, Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, Michael Cove
Date: May 10, 2024
Location: Agriculture Building 209 and virtual
Time: 9:00 am
Protected lands are an important source of food, shelter, and reproductive opportunities for wildlife, especially in urbanizing landscapes. When urban development abuts the edges of protected lands, synanthropic species can alter their foraging behaviors and movement to utilize human-supplemented resources throughout the urban-wild interface. Therefore, urban edges on protected lands can have pronounced effects on animal movement and ecosystem function. There is also increased risk of disease transmission where high densities of wild animals exist, or where domestic animals and wild species are interacting. In particular, members of the family Felidae, including domestic cats (Felis catus), can transmit the pathogenic parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (henceforth T. gondii) through their feces. Capable of infecting any warm-blooded host species, infection with T. gondii has been proven to cause increased risk-taking behaviors, stillbirths and congenital birth defects, and mortality in humans and a variety of wildlife species. Northern raccoons (Procyon lotor) and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) are urban adaptive species who often benefit from human-supplemented food sources such as unsecured garbage, and outdoor pet food, and may be exposed to T. gondii more frequently if they’re utilizing resources in close proximity to cats. To investigate how urban edges of protected lands affect the movement and infection risk for urban-adapted mesopredators, I captured and attached GPS collars to opossums and raccoons between April 2022 and October 2023 in northern Key Largo, FL, USA, a protected area with large contiguous patches of undisturbed land cover adjacent to two distinct urban areas with high outdoor cat densities and available human-supplemented food resources. Using GPS collar data, I estimated home ranges and third-order resource selection of 27 raccoons and 12 opossums collected between April 2022 and October 2023. The average home range of opossums were 20.51 ha (14.12 SE) which was significantly smaller than raccoons (137.01 ha, 10.74 SE, t37 = -2.70, p = 0.01). The proportion of urban development in an individual’s home range was the most influential factor associated with home range size, followed by species and sex. Individuals with greater proportions of residential neighborhoods and commercial areas in their home ranges were associated with smaller home ranges. Third-order resource selection functions identified both mesopredator species using residential and commercial land use areas significantly more than they were available on the landscape. To survey for T. gondii infections, I collected blood samples from all the captured raccoons and performed a direct modified agglutination test (MAT) to detect antibodies for T. gondii. To understand how human-supplemented foods could be affected exposure rates, I collected hair samples from all the raccoons and analyzed the stable carbon isotope ratios, so that higher ratios of carbon were equated to greater intake of non-natural, human-supplemented food resources. 67.7% (21/31; 95% CI: 51.3–84.2%) of the raccoons tested positive for T. gondii antibodies, and the proportion of urban development in an individual’s home range was the best predictor for infection. A multinomial regression analysis indicated that raccoons with higher levels of antibodies were also likely to have a majority “non-wild” diet based on δ13C values from a stable carbon isotope analysis. These results suggest the primary route of parasite transmission is contact with domestic cats, which may be exacerbated by the exploitation of human-supplemented food in urban areas. The Florida Keys are currently facing mammal population declines tied to Burmese pythons (Python bivitattus) and outdoor cat predations, and management policies that decrease the circulation of T. gondii oocysts in the environment are important to bolstering the fitness of these island-dwelling populations. Decreased reproductive success or behavioral changes that increase risk of predation could spell catastrophic for these mesopredator populations that are following in the footsteps of their Everglades counterparts, and at risk of extirpation on Key Largo. I recorded a systemic reduction of home range sizes on the urban edges of the protected areas of Key Largo, which often corresponds with higher densities of animals, which may increase probability of disease transmission, especially when the urban borders support populations of feral domestic species. As urbanization increases and the distance between wild lands and human disturbance decreases, it is increasingly important to study the mechanisms of how urban development on the edges of protected areas affect the ecology of wildlife species.
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.
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
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
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.
Anna Wilcoxen - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Communication Studies
Title: Nowhere People: Working-Class Academics and the Changing Financial Landscape of Higher Education
Major Professor: Sandy Pensoneau-Conway
Committee Members: Rebecca Walker Anderson, Nilanjana Bardhan, Allison Hammer, Jacob Juntunen
Date: October 14, 2024
Location: Virtual on Zoom
Time: 11:30 am
Abstract: Historically, attending college and pursuing a graduate degree has been associated with greater economic opportunity. However, research reveals that the relationship between higher education and social mobility has shifted over time. The current context of rising student loan debt, the higher cost of education, more tenuous job markets, and stagnating wages diminishes the association between higher education and economic advancement, particularly for students who come from a working-class background. The cost to attend state universities has risen over 200% since the 1980s (Collinge), while graduate assistant salaries and the federal minimum wage remain comparatively unchanged. Additionally, many with a graduate degree are increasingly left to piece together a living wage through multiple adjunct instructor positions or employment in the service industry. While attending graduate school can be seen as a transitional -- and sometimes ambiguous -- space between student and professor, if PhDs are not able to secure full-time, steady employment post-graduation, then their ambiguous existence becomes prolonged, creating both a financial crisis and crisis of identity. In the context of the shift in the relationship between mobility and higher education, my research addresses class as an identity while also accounting for the complicated understandings of that identity during this historical shift. Thus, the dissertation responds to the following research questions: (1) How has the relationship between social mobility and higher education shifted over time? (2) How does this change in relationship systemically and philosophically impact those who earn graduate degrees? and (3) How can academics adapt our pedagogical practices and institutional policies to address this historical shift and its impact on graduates? Accounting for socioeconomic class more thoroughly and in a contemporary context, this research develops a theory of class identity that builds toward social justice praxis at the intersection of socioeconomic class and education, contributing both to the field of communication studies and to broader academic and social spheres. I develop and use collaborative autoethnographic interviewing (CAEI) as a dialogic method by which to gather the stories of working-class academics who have not achieved social mobility through attending graduate school. By seeking participants and gathering stories of graduate degree-holders who have experienced the shift in relationship between higher education and social mobility first-hand, this research provides a better understanding of coalitional opportunities that can be forged between upper, middle, and lower-classes; the educated and uneducated; and those invested in social justice who have not yet had the opportunity to expand their work to include economic equity.
Spencer Schuchman - Thesis for M.S. in Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems
Title: The Role of Methyl Jasmonate in Modulating Trichome Density, Growth, Yield, and Cannabinoid Accumulation in Cannabis sativa L.
Major Professor: Jose Leme
Committee Members: Karla Gage, Alan Walters
Date: October 18, 2024
Location: Agriculture Building, Room 209
Time: 3:00 pm
Abstract: The relaxation of laws surrounding the cultivation of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in recent years has sparked revitalization of hemp’s use for fiber, food, medicine, as well as recreational purposes. Although the cultivation of hemp is now legal with proper documentation, growers face challenges associated with decades of prohibition, creating an evident gap in knowledge and need for novel cultivation techniques to improve production standards. A significant determinate of yield quality in high cannabinoid hemp is the density of glandular trichomes and concentration of cannabinoids these structures contain. Techniques that could manipulate these properties would be inherently valuable to cultivation outcomes. A collection of outdoor and indoor studies revealed that the exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJa) yielded significant increases in trichome density. However, counter intuitively, no increases in cannabinoid concentration were observed to accompany this increase in glandular trichome density.
These results contradict similar works where increases in cannabinoid content were observed but not increases in trichome density. This raises the question of how genetic predisposition influences the activity of the plant mechanisms enacted upon by MeJa that ultimately modulate the upregulation of associated genes that determine trichome induction and secondary metabolite synthesis. Unexpected interactions between MeJa and insecticide, as well as ammonium bicarbonate further illuminate the need for further research to determine the genetic factors involved in modulating the plant’s response to MeJa. The current research sheds light of the importance of genotype in concern to hemp cultivation, where cultivar selection strongly determines cultivation outcomes. Although the current research outlines the promising potential of the stimulatory effects of methyl jasmonate, further research should be conducted to reveal the complexities of its effects on important hemp attributes and how its addition into a production system interacts with other important management strategies.
Erin R. Todd - Thesis for M.S. in Forestry
Title: Effects of Fire Management Treatments on Plethodon neomexicanus Aboveground Habitat Valles Caldera National Preserve, N.M.
Major Professor: Eric Holzmueller
Committee Members: Clay Nielsen, Laura Trader
Date: October 25, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 11:00 AM
Abstract: The federally endangered Jemez Mountains salamander (Plethodon neomexicanus) is a geographically isolated species with limited dispersal ability found in northcentral New Mexico. Alterations to the historic fire regime of the area have changed the forest structure and vegetative composition of P. neomexicanus habitat, threatening the future survival of this species. This study focuses on the use of prescribed broadcast fire on previously thinned P. neomexicanus habitat in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico to restore historic habitat conditions. Results found that fire was highly effective in reducing fuel loads, while forest structure and composition remained essentially unchanged. The volume and count of cover objects were significantly reduced. Analysis of vegetation and substrate burn severity revealed nearly half of the of sampled points were left unburned, indicating that substantial fire refugia was left on the landscape post-fire. Despite minor short term negative impacts to cover object availability, the positive impacts on forest health seem to outweigh the drawbacks. These results provide support for the use of broadcast burning in previously thinned areas, as a highly effective tool in managing fuel load to reduce the risk of stand replacing fire, which is considered the most pressing threat to the persistence of P. neomexicanus. This study concludes that these fire management treatments are compatible with P. neomexicanus habitat management and should be considered as future management option in this area.
Zachary Sapienza - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Mass Communication & Media Arts
Title: Transmission Rituals & Ritual Transmissions: A Reclamation of James Carey's Dichotomy
Major Professor: Walter Metz
Committee Members: Peter Simonson, William Freivogel, Robert Spahr, Anneke Metz
Date: October 25, 2024
Location: via Zoom
Meeting ID: 94237045551 Passcode: 1p7gqY
Time: 12:45 - 2:45 pm
Abstract: In a contrarian rehabilitation project, this dissertation rewrites the history of the transmission model. In grounding the concept in the field of telecommunications, I demonstrate how the transmission model is a conception of communication that has historically been driven by humanity's dream of communicating in different places at the same time. In doing so, I trace its origins to numerous optical-based and messenger-based relay networks including the Great Wall of China, the Persian Empire's Angarium, and the Roman Empire's Cursus Publicus. I contend the transmission model's rise to prominence in Western culture is notably due to the gospel of Jesus and the spread of Christianity.
Sanjana Sakinala - Thesis for M.S. in Computer Science
Title: Integration of Blockchain Technology in Industrial Applications
Major Professor: Henry Hexmoor
Committee Members: Bidyut Gupta, Koushik Sinhai
Date: October 28, 2004
Location: Computer Science Conference Room
Time: 2:15 pm
Abstract: This research explores the integration of Hyperledger Fabric., a framework of
blockchain in industrial applications, particularly focusing on supply chain management.
By addressing the limitations of traditional blockchains - such as high transaction
latency, scalability challenges, and privacy concerns - this research demonstrates how
Hyperledger fabrics overcome them. Through simulation, we show significant
enhancements in transaction speed, data privacy, and scalability, making the Fabric a
viable solution for industrial systems.
Nishanth Sagar Panthangi - Thesis for M.S. in Computer Science
Title: Harnessing Federated Learning for Stock Analysis and Portfolio Optimization
Major Professor: Khaled Ahmed
Committee Members: Bidyut Gupta, Koushik Sinha
Date: October 30, 2024
Location: Computer Science Conference Room
Time: 2:00 pm
Abstract: The field of financial technology has experienced rapid transformation, with
machine learning playing an increasingly critical role in stock analysis and portfolio
optimization. Traditional stock analysis techniques often face challenges related to data
privacy, as pooling data from multiple institutions or traders raises significant
confidentiality concerns. Federated Learning (FL) offers a promising solution by
enabling institutions to collaboratively train a global model without sharing sensitive raw
data. Rather than moving data to the model, FL takes the model to the data, ensuring
data remains securely within each owning entity. This thesis explores the application of
Federated Learning in stock analysis, focusing specifically on optimizing portfolio
strategies through client-specific trading data.
The proposed approach adopts a federated learning framework that allows individual
entities to develop independent models based on their trading strategies while
safeguarding data privacy. By combining insights from these diverse strategies, the
federated system builds a global model capable of supporting informed portfolio
decisions across different market conditions. This collaborative architecture enables the
global model to benefit from a wide range of risk-return perspectives, enhancing its
adaptability and predictive accuracy. The evaluation of this approach demonstrates that
federated learning can achieve robust, privacy-preserving performance improvements,
even in the face of market volatility. Notably, the global model achieved a 25.08%
Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and a Sharpe ratio of 4.46, significantly
outperforming individual client models, which had Sharpe ratios ranging from 1.75 to
2.67 and CAGR values ranging from 12.5% to 18.3%. This study reveals the potential
for federated learning to drive innovation in financial modeling, allowing institutions or
individual traders to achieve shared insights without compromising data security. Such
advancements highlight federated learning’s relevance in meeting the evolving
demands of privacy-conscious financial technology.
This study highlights federated learning’s potential to deliver scalable and
privacy-focused solutions for collaborative stock analysis and portfolio optimization. By
bridging advanced predictive capabilities with privacy standards, this framework
exemplifies how federated learning can transform financial decision-making, yielding
higher risk-adjusted returns. The federated model's superior Sharpe ratio and reduced
maximum drawdown illustrate its effectiveness in optimizing trader outcomes. The
implementation involved each participating trader training their local model using their
proprietary trading data, which was kept private throughout the process. These local
models were then aggregated into a global model using a federated averaging
technique. This collaborative process enabled the global model to harness diverse
trading strategies, resulting in more robust predictions and improved performance
metrics, such as risk-adjusted returns and Sharpe ratios, across different market
conditions. Such a framework not only enhanced the profitability for individual traders
but also demonstrated the scalability and adaptability needed to cater to varying
financial environments, paving the way for broader applications in privacy-conscious
industries.
Ali Shahidy - Thesis for M.A. in Psychology
Title: The Role of Grammatical Gender and Religiosity in Shaping Implicit Gender Attitudes: An Investigation into Pashto and Dari Languages
Major Professor: Usha Lakshmanan
Committee Members: Reza Habib, You-Jung Choi
Date: November 1, 2024
Location: Life Science II, Room 295
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Abstract: This thesis contributes to the ongoing debate on the relationship between language and cognition by evaluating the impact of language-specific features, such as grammatical gender, on non-linguistic cognitive processes like implicit gender attitudes. Grammatical gender is a formal linguistic feature that categorizes nouns into classes such as masculine and feminine (with some languages, like Russian, having more than two gender categories) based on linguistic rules, including morphology and phonology. Previous studies have highlighted the influence of grammatical gender on various cognitive abilities, such as object categorization, semantic categorization, or gender perception. However, little attention has been given to the effect of grammatical gender on sexism and gender bias, with existing studies relying solely on explicit measures (e.g., Wasserman & Weseley, 2009). This thesis addresses this gap by examining the role of grammatical gender in implicit gender bias in two languages spoken in Afghanistan: Dari, a genderless language, and Pashto, a language with grammatical gender. The study employed the Gender-Career version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) (Greenwald et al., 1988), which measures implicit biases by assessing the strength of associations between target concepts and attributes based on response times. It was predicted that, after controlling for age, sex, and religiosity, L1 gender-type (Dari vs. Pashto) would significantly explain the variation in gender bias, with Pashto speakers exhibiting higher implicit gender bias than Dari speakers.
To conduct this study, two online experiments were designed on Qualtrics: one in Dari and one in Pashto. Each experiment was comprised of a Consent Form, a Participant Background Questionnaire with items related to participants’ linguistic background, the Muslim Religiosity Scale, the IAT, and a debriefing statement. A total of 96 Afghan participants were recruited through flyers distributed on social media platforms—57 completed the Dari experiment, and 39 completed the Pashto experiment. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the effect of Age, Sex, Religiosity, and L1-Gender type on participants implicit gender bias measured by the IAT. Model 1 of the analysis comprising Age and Sex revealed that Sex, but not Age, was the only significant predictor, with male participants showing lower IAT scores compared to female participants. Model 2, which added Religiosity, showed that Religiosity was not a significant predictor of the IAT scores while Sex remained a significant predictor. Finally, Model 3 which introduced the primary independent variable, L1-Gender type, revealed that L1-Gender type emerged as the only significant predictor of variance in IAT scores with Pashto speakers exhibiting lower IAT scores compared to Dari speakers while other predictor variables (Age, Sex, and Religiosity) remained non-significant. Contrary to the study predictions, the results revealed that the Pashto language, a language with grammatical gender, leads to less gender bias compared to Dari, a language without a grammatical gender system. These findings challenge the current assumptions about the role of grammatical gender on gender attitudes and biases.
Maggie Ratcliff - Thesis for M.S. in Behavior Analysis and Therapy
Title: A Focus on the Social Validity of Treating Stereotypy Using Response Interruption and Redirection
Major Professor: Lesley Shawler
Committee Members: Ryan Redner, Paige Boydston
Date: November 1, 2024
Location: Virtual
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Kennedy Cloe - Thesis for M.S. in Behavior Analysis and Therapy
Title: Comparing Procedures within Matrix Training: A Systematic Replication
Major Professor: Lesley Shawler
Committee Members: Ryan Redner, Eric Jacobs
Date: November 1, 2024
Location: Life Science II Building
Time: 3:15 - 5:15 pm
Shu Chen - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Environmental Resources & Policy
Title: A Comprehensive Assessment and Analysis of City Dynamic Evolution and Driving Factors for Detroit
Major Professor: Guangxing Wang
Committee Members: John Groninger, David J Gibson, Jonathan WF Remo, Ruopu Li
Date: November 4, 2024
Location: Virtual https://zoom.us/j/5992881679
Time: 9:00 am
Abstract: In this study, a methodological framework was proposed based on multi-source remote sensed images and social-economic data by developing a novel mixed training sample-based spectral unmixing analysis method and two new comprehensive assessment indices. The former was used to detect city land use and land cover (LULC) changes, while the latter is utilized to monitor the dynamics of city social-economic aspects. A mixed training sample-based Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) model was proposed for spectral unmixing analysis. Two comprehensive assessment indices consisted of an urban decline or decay index (UDI) and an image-derived comprehensive assessment index. The mixed training sample-based spectral unmixing analysis method was compared with traditional pure training sample-based spectral unmixing method through four models including multiple linear regression (MLR), random forest (RF), artificial neural network (ANN) and CNN. Moreover, the mixed training sample-based CNN spectral unmixing was integrated with the classification rule based on maximum fractional abundance, which led to a CNN-MMA classification method. The CNN-MMA classification was then compared with traditional maximum likelihood (ML) classification, RF classification, ANN classification, and an integration of pure training sample-based CNN spectral unmixing and the classification rule based on maximum fractional abundance (CNN-PMA) to detect the changes of LULC types. The methodologic framework was examined to detect and monitor Detroit decline from 1985 to 2020 using social-economic data including population, unemployment rate, poverty rate and per capital income (PCI), and multi-source remotely sensed images (Landsat, Sentinel, aerial photographs, etc.), including 400 subjectively selected pure training samples, 400 randomly drawn mixed training samples and 400 validation samples. Several conclusions were drawn.
Raymond Bieri - Thesis in Forestry
Title: Community Response to Floods in the Cache River Watershed of Southern Illinois: An Application of a Proposed Framework for Assessing General and Specified Community Resilience
Major Professor: Kofi Akamani
Committee Members: Logan Park, Leslie Duram
Date: November 4, 2024
Location: Agriculture Building, Room 209
Time: 10:00 am
Abstract: Recent years have seen increased awareness about the potential adverse impacts of climate change on hydrologic systems and human communities. The concept of community resilience – the capacity of communities to respond to drivers of change in a manner that maintains or improves upon community well-being – is widely recognized as a suitable framework for informing climate change adaptation policies. Emerging insights from the community resilience literature highlight the importance of the distinction between general resilience, which refers to the resilience of social-ecological systems to all kinds of drivers of change, and specified resilience, which is concerned with the resilience of social-ecological systems to particular drivers of change. While capital assets and institutions are generally considered to be the contextual factors shaping general resilience, the roles of these contextual factors in shaping specified resilience have not been adequately explored. To fill this knowledge gap, we developed a synthesized conceptual model that describes how community contextual factors influence the process and outcomes of community responses to specific drivers of change. This qualitative study was designed to test the proposed conceptual model by analyzing the responses of two rural communities (Belknap and Tamms) to floods in particular, and climate change impacts in general in the Cache River watershed of Southern Illinois. Both communities selected for the study have historical experience with flooding and consist of different population sizes. Hence, they are likely to have different levels of endowment of the assets and institutions that shape community resilience. Data for the study were collected through document review, as well as semi-structured interviews with 23 purposively sampled key informants representing various sectors of the local society (e.g. commerce, education, religion, local government). The data were analyzed using deductive coding in NVivo software based on analytical constructs derived from the proposed conceptual model. The results showed that communities in the Cache River watershed draw from a network of formal and informal institutions at multiple levels (local, state, national) in their responses to floods, although responses to other climate change impacts are less noticeable. Community capacity to respond to these impacts are also enabled by the availability of high levels of some capital assets (such as social capital), but also constrained by low levels of other community capital assets (such as economic capital and physical capital). Community assets and institutions also seemed to shape community perceptions and responses to future climate change scenarios where community relocation may be a viable response option. In all, our results provide rich insights on how community capital assets and institutions interact to either constrain or enhance the awareness, motivation, capacity, and opportunities that influence community responses to current and future drivers of change. Future research should seek to further refine and test this and related frameworks, as well as develop relevant indicators for further understanding the general and specified resilience of communities. With regard to policy, the results highlight the need for policies on climate change impacts and other disasters to move towards more targeted approaches to prepare communities to deal with specific threats in addition to those policies that focus on the general well-being and capacity of communities to deal with all kinds of drivers of change. Building the specified resilience of communities will require the utilization of existing scientific and non-scientific knowledge on the types of institutions and assets that are critical to community responses to the driver of change under consideration in a given context.
Erdem Anil - Thesis for M.S. in Agricultural Sciences - Plant Genetics
Title: Characterization of Raffinose and Stachyose Synthase Genes by Using TILLING by Sequencing+
Major Professor: Khalid Meksem
Committee Members: Karla Gage, Alan S. Walters, Amer AbuGhazaleh
Date: November 7, 2024
Time: 12:15 - 1:15 pm
Abstract: Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most widely grown crops in the world. Soybeans are used as food and feed products due to their high protein, oil, and carbohydrate seed contents. Soybeans are one of the most important protein sources presenting several benefits for human and animal consumption. Moreover, the carbohydrate content of soybean is important since it contributes to the taste of soyfood such as tofu, soymilk, natto, and livestock. Sucrose is the predominant carbohydrate found in soybeans which is followed by other raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) such as raffinose and stachyose. Higher sucrose contents contribute to improving the digestibility of products. However, higher raffinose and stachyose contents make soymeal indigestible and can cause undesirable flatulence in humans and animals. When these RFOs are consumed by animals they cannot be hydrolyzed in monogastric animals due to the absence of alpha-galactosidase activity in their body. Therefore, it would be desirable to reduce these polysaccharides in seeds for easier consumption, while also investigating the impact of oligosaccharide content changes on seed germination and vigor. TILLING has proven to be effective on different agronomic crops such as soybean, maize, rice, wheat, etc. TILLING mutants carrying mutations at the raffinose and stachyose synthase genes may reduce their activity which may impact sucrose content in the seeds without causing unwanted poor agronomic features. Hence, developing high sucrose lines with reduced RFOs for commercial usage will be useful for developing better cross lines for the future and will be healthier and desirable for human and animal consumption. In the current study, we developed an EMS soybean mutagenized population and then TILLING by sequencing was used to study the function of previously discovered raffinose synthase and stachyose synthase genes in the isolated soybean mutants.
Dounya Knizia - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences
Title: Improving Soybean Seed Sugar Content and Deciphering the Sugar Biosynthesis Pathway
Major Professor: Khalid Meksem
Committee Members: My Abdelmajid Kassem, Amer Abughazaleh, Alan S. Walters, Karla Gage
Date: November 7, 2024
Location: Room 209
Time: 3:00 pm
Jerome Specht - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Geosciences
Title: Acid Alternations of Clay Minerals and Implications for Martian Surface Alteration Processes
Major Professor: Liliana Lefticariu
Committee Members: Tanya Peretyazhki (NASA), Daniel Hummer, Derek Gibson, Martin Pentrak (IL State Geological Survey), Vincent Chevrier (Arkansas Center for Space and Planetary Sciences)
Date: November 21, 2024
Location: Parkinson Conference Room and Virtual on Zoom
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/91569778828
Time: 12:00 - 2:00 pm
Stellah Nakiranda - Research Paper for M.S. in Professional Media & Media Management Studies
Title: How Do Southern Illinois University Students Perceive TikTok's Influence on Their Academic Success?
Major Professor: Cinzia Padovani
Committee Members: Kavita Karan, Bridget Lescelius
Date: November 12, 2024
Location: Communication Building, room 1032
Time: 9:30 am
2023
Anil Gautam – Thesis for Master of Science in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry (MBMB)
Title: Combination of calorie restriction mimetics improves health span in short-lived PEPCK bGH transgenic mice
Major Professor: Andrzej Barkte
Committee Member: Shelley Tischkau
Committee Member: Rong Yuan
Defended October 19, 2023
Aging is the major risk factor for chronic age-related diseases characterized by loss of homeostasis, organ dysfunction, and inflammation. Calorie restriction (CR) has been shown to slow aging and delay the onset of chronic age-related diseases. Even though CR has many positive health effects, the degree and duration of the restriction needed would reduce the intervention's usefulness and make it challenging to start and maintain in humans. The difficulties brought on by CR have led to the development of CR mimetics that can mimic the effects of CR without reducing food intake (in an ad libitum state). We hypothesize that in PEPCK bovine Growth Hormone (bGH) overexpressing transgenic mice with accelerated metabolic and cognitive aging, the health span and phenotypes of aging can be improved by adding CR mimetics, a combination of lipoic acid, nicotinamide, thiamine, pyridoxine, and piperine to the diet. From 10 to 40 weeks of age, bGH-tg mice and their normal (N) littermates were fed CRM diet ad libitum. Normal littermates and bGH-tg mice fed a standard chow diet served as controls. Evaluation of the effects of CRM included insulin and glucose tolerance tests (ITT and GTT), indirect calorimetry as well as rotarod, working memory, grip strength testing. Body weight and percent fat mass were significantly lower, but percent lean mass was significantly higher in mice on a CRM diet at 40 weeks. At 19 weeks, insulin sensitivity was improved considerably in treated N and bGH-tg males. At 20 weeks of age, all mice on a CRM diet had significantly improved glucose tolerance and lower fasting glucose. At week 32, treated N female mice had significantly higher energy expenditure during the day and night per gram of body weight. In treated N males, this was true only during the day. Male bGH-tg mice on CRM diet had decreased energy expenditure during the night. Insulin sensitivity was significantly improved in treated male N and bGH-tg mice at week 37. Week 38 GTT showed enhanced glucose tolerance and lower fasting glucose in all mice on a CRM diet except Tg females. Week 39-40 Y-maze, rotarod and grip strength testing showed improved motor coordination and grip strength in all mice on CRM diet with no difference in working memory. Also, there was a significant improvement in metabolic and aging phenotype with lowered pro-inflammatory cytokines at the gene and protein levels in various tissues. Our study indicates the employed CRM produce the beneficial health effects in short-lived, insulin resistant bGH Tg mice but the effects are time-, sex-, genotype-, and diet-dependent. Most of the effects of this intervention resemble the effects of CR suggesting that employed compounds may act via similar mechanisms. This work was funded by the SIU-SOM Geriatrics Research Initiative (AB), NIA R01AG068288, and the Hillblom Foundation (PK).
Bhavana Sai Yadav Akula – Thesis for Master of Science in Computer Science
Title: Drone Swarms in Adversarial Environment
Major Professor: Henry Hexmoor
Committee Member: Bidyut Gupta
Committee Member: Koushik Sinha
Defended: November 3, 2023
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated remotely with the help of cameras, GPS, and on-device SD cards. These are used for many applications including civilian as well as military. On the other hand, drone swarms are a fleet of drones that work together to achieve a special goal through swarm intelligence approaches. These provide a lot of advantages such as better coverage, accuracy, increased safety, and improved flexibility when compared to a single drone. However, the deployment of such swarms in an adversarial environment poses significant challenges. This work provides an overview of the current state of research on drone swarms in adversarial environments including algorithms for swarming formation of robotic attack drones with their strengths and weaknesses as well as the attack strategies used by attackers. This work also outlines the common adversarial counterattack methods to disrupt drone attacks consisting of detection and destruction of drone swarms along with their drawbacks, a counter UAV defense system, and splitting large-scale drones into unconnected clusters. After identifying several challenges, an optimized algorithm is proposed to split the large-scale drone swarms more efficiently.
Christian Kessler - Thesis for Master of Science in Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems
Title: Managing Winter Rye for Corn Production, Nitrogen Use, and Farm Profit
Major Professor: Amir Sadeghpour
Committee Member: Karla Gage
Committee Member: Ahmad Fakhoury
Defended: October 27, 2023
Cover crops are often planted during the fallow periods of cash crop harvests to cover the soil and reduce erosion but also to provide other ecosystem benefits including capturing residual nutrients and thus, reducing environmental losses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in agroecosystems. Among these cover crops, winter rye (Secale cereale) is popular due to its winter hardiness and relatively cheap seed costs. However, growers in the Midwest, USA are reluctant to use winter rye prior to corn (Zea mays L.) due to the potential yield penalty in corn. This thesis introduces two strategies that could minimize winter rye’s effect on corn while providing nutrient loss reduction benefits are precision planting and reducing the seeding rate of winter rye ahead of corn. One study evaluates whether precision planting (planting winter rye strategically to avoid intersecting zones with corn) of winter rye at low seeding rate (37.5 kg ha-1) could produce similar cover crop biomass and quality to normal planted winter rye (50 kg ha-1) and if precision planting can improve performance and N requirement of corn (Chapter 1). The study was conducted in central Indiana during 2020-2021 (CIN21), and southern Illinois during 2021-2022 (SIL22), and 2022-2023 (SIL23) growing seasons. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with split plot arrangement. Main plots were three cover crops (a no-cover crop control (NoCC), conventional planted winter rye (CR), and precision planted winter rye (PR). Subplots were six rates of N fertilizer that ranged from 0-280 kg ha-1 for the CIN21 and 0-359 kg ha-1 for SIL22 and SIL23. Our results indicated that shifting from normal planting to precision planting resulted in similar cover crop biomass production with limited effect on winter rye quality [N concentration, Carbon (C):N ratio] and N and C accumulation. In CIN21, the no-cover crop control had higher yield and lower N requirements which was consistent with those of SIL22. The economic optimum rate of N (EORN) was below the typical recommended range for central Indiana and was above the recommended range for southern Illinois. Precision planting resulted in a slight increase in corn yield and N requirement, but overall was more profitable than normal planting due to a reduction in the number of seeds required and higher corn to fertilizer prices. Therefore, we recommend that (i) decision support tools for N management in corn should be revised for addition of cover crops in the Midwest, and (ii) precision planting should be implemented instead of normal planting for greater economic benefit. Future research should evaluate ecosystem services of precision vs. normal planting of winter rye over time. The other study evaluates whether planting method of winter rye (precision vs. conventional) at medium and low seeding rates of winter rye influence cover crop biomass production, N and C concentrations and accumulations, and corn performance (Chapter 2). A trial was conducted in 7 site-yrs in Indiana and Illinois during 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 growing seasons. The trial was arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Cover crops [conventional planting (CR) and precision planting (PR)] were factorially arranged with two seeding rates (18.75 vs. 37.5 kg ha-1) for PR and (25 vs. 50 kg ha-1) for CR. Two extra treatments were included as control which were no-cover crop with zero-N and a 224 kg N ha-1 addition to corn. Cover crop biomass, C, N, their uptake, and C:N ratio were evaluated along with corn plant population, and corn grain yield. Our results indicated that winter rye had similar aboveground biomass, N uptake, and C accumulation regardless of planting method and seeding rate suggesting a precision planting at low seeding rate is most economical for cover crop establishment. Corn plant population was only affected by winter rye in one site-yr (CIL23) in which precision planting did not help with minimizing the negative effect of winter rye on corn population. In this study, lack of N fertilization did not decrease corn population but significantly reduced corn grain yield in all site-yrs. Corn grain yield was similar among cover crop treatments (with exception of no cover crop no N) but in one of the site-yrs, precision planting at 18.75 kg ha-1 resulted in greater corn yield than the no-cover crop with 224 N ha-1. We concluded that growers that plant winter rye prior to corn could use precision planting at a seeding rate of 18.75 kg ha-1 to take up residual soil N with limited interference with corn production at a reduced cost compared to conventional winter rye management.
Jen Helms – Thesis Play for MFA in Theater, Costume Design
Title: Wedding Band: A Love-Hate Story
Major Professor: Wendi Zea
Committee Member: Jacob Juntunen
Committee Member: Thomas Fagerholm
Nov. 30, Dec. 1-3, Dec. 7-10
Christian H Moe Laboratory Theater, Communications Building
7:30 PM; 2:00 PM on Sundays
Jen Helms will be designing costumes for the SIU School of Theater and Dance production of Wedding Band: A Love-Hate Story in Black and White, as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Theater.
Set in Charleston, South Carolina in 1918, Wedding Band is an unsparing tale about the consequences of a decade-long romance between a black seamstress and a white baker. Julia and Herman have loved each other devotedly, enduring harsh disapproval from whites and scorn from blacks. As they confront the impossibility of ever living a normal married life, and as Herman falls ill, Julia gradually reaches out to forge affirming bonds of solidarity with her community.
The play will be produced in the Moe Theater, opening on November 30 and running two weekends.
Leonard Lively – Thesis Play for MFA in Theater, Technical Direction
Title: Ride the Cyclone
Major Professor: Tom Fagerholm
Committee Member: MK Hughes
Committee Member: Darryl Clark
October 12-15, 2023
McCleod Theater, Communications Building
7:30 pm, 2:00 pm on Sunday
Leonard Lively is technical director for the SIU School of Theater and Dance production of Ride the Cyclone, as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Theater.
In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a high school choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other: the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived.
The play will be produced in the McLeod Theater, opening October 12 and running one weekend.
Loren Koenigstein - Research Paper for Master of Science in Agribusiness Economics
Title: Comparison of Central and Southern Illinois Grain Farm Economic Profit and Operating Costs
Major Professor: Jebaraj Asirvatham
Defended: October 16, 2023
Over the past twenty years, Illinois agriculture has witnessed periods of high volatility—be that in commodity or input prices, which tightens net farm income in some years, while yielding the highest net farm incomes ever seen in Illinois in other years. As agriculture undergoes changes favoring the most efficient farms, and with volatile net farm incomes observed in recent years, understanding which characteristics describe a profitable Illinois farm holds a renewed importance. The scope of this research is to show how different categories of operating costs determine management returns per operator acre in Central and Southern Illinois. If operating costs differentially affect economic profit in these regions, examining those relationships proves beneficial to farmers in each region. If we can pinpoint differences between the regions, we can help farm operators across the state focus on the best practices that make them successful, allowing them the support to be more profitable, contribute to their communities, and rely less heavily on government support. This research aims to address this problem by using Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) economic and financial data to examine the differences between Central and Southern Illinois farms, so Illinois agriculture can embrace the changes in the agriculture industry and farmers can grow more knowledgeable about their operation.
Rylie Wheeler – Master’s Research Paper for MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Title: The Evaluation of Juvenile Rehabilitative Approaches
Major Professor: Breanne Pleggenkuhle
Committee Member: Matthew West
Committee Member: Raymund Narag
October 19, 2023
Faner 4321
9:00 AM
The current research seeks to evaluate current juvenile rehabilitative approaches and analyze their effectiveness in reducing juvenile offending behaviors. The juvenile justice system is analyzed from a historical perspective beginning prior to the establishment of the juvenile justice system in the 19th century and leading to the current approaches of the 21st century. Developmental research has found that most juveniles will desist from delinquency on their own by naturally growing out of their offending behavior. However, when juveniles become involved in the justice system the opportunity to age out of offending behavior is limited. Recognizing this, the juvenile justice system is currently in a more rehabilitative approach focusing on the potential for juveniles to change their behaviors and using alternatives to incarceration. The current research evaluates these alternatives, more specifically juvenile probation, individual therapy (including cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and psychodynamic therapy), group therapy, and family therapy (including multisystemic therapy, functional family therapy, and multidimensional family therapy). Findings conclude that juvenile probation is an ineffective alternative on its own and individual therapy as well as family therapy are highly effective in its designed goals and in reducing juvenile offending behaviors. Group therapy, however, was shown to be ineffective when high-risk delinquents were grouped together and more effective when high-risk delinquents were grouped with low-risk or nondelinquent youth. Future considerations suggest the juvenile justice system could aid in reducing juvenile offending behaviors by using effective alternatives, specifically therapies, to incarceration.
Sruthi Rachamalla - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Computer Science
Title: A Framework for Crypto-Based Monetization of Driver Behavior with Blockchain
Major Professor: Henry Hexmoor
Committee Member: Chun-Hsi “Vincent” Huang
Committee Member: Bidyut Gupta
Committee Member: Koushik Sinha
Committee Member: Mohammad Sayeh
Defended: October 27, 2023
The transportation system places a top priority on driving safety. Most drivers on the road and their actions determine how safe it is to drive. Speed, hard braking, abrupt accelerations, and other aggressive driving behaviors are some of the main safety-compromising elements that could jeopardize human life in the event of a fatality. We presented a driver incentive model that ranks and rewards the driver's daily behavior in order to increase the safety of drivers and other road users. These rewards will come in the form of cryptocurrency tokens. We also examined the cooperative driving (or platooning) scenario. Road safety can be improved by connecting two or more cars together by utilizing vehicular communication technologies. The leader vehicle is crucial as it manages the platoon, establishes communication between vehicles, and performs platoon maneuvers namely Join, Merge, Leave, and Split. As the leader of the platoon has multiple responsibilities than followers, our model rewards more incentives to the leader than to followers. This digital monetization method is accomplished by secure transactions using blockchain.
Anil Gautam – Thesis for Master of Science in Molecular Biology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry (MBMB)
Title: Combination of calorie restriction mimetics improves health span in short-lived PEPCK bGH transgenic mice
Major Professor: Andrzej Barkte
Committee Member: Shelley Tischkau
Committee Member: Rong Yuan
Defended October 19, 2023
Aging is the major risk factor for chronic age-related diseases characterized by loss of homeostasis, organ dysfunction, and inflammation. Calorie restriction (CR) has been shown to slow aging and delay the onset of chronic age-related diseases. Even though CR has many positive health effects, the degree and duration of the restriction needed would reduce the intervention's usefulness and make it challenging to start and maintain in humans. The difficulties brought on by CR have led to the development of CR mimetics that can mimic the effects of CR without reducing food intake (in an ad libitum state). We hypothesize that in PEPCK bovine Growth Hormone (bGH) overexpressing transgenic mice with accelerated metabolic and cognitive aging, the health span and phenotypes of aging can be improved by adding CR mimetics, a combination of lipoic acid, nicotinamide, thiamine, pyridoxine, and piperine to the diet. From 10 to 40 weeks of age, bGH-tg mice and their normal (N) littermates were fed CRM diet ad libitum. Normal littermates and bGH-tg mice fed a standard chow diet served as controls. Evaluation of the effects of CRM included insulin and glucose tolerance tests (ITT and GTT), indirect calorimetry as well as rotarod, working memory, grip strength testing. Body weight and percent fat mass were significantly lower, but percent lean mass was significantly higher in mice on a CRM diet at 40 weeks. At 19 weeks, insulin sensitivity was improved considerably in treated N and bGH-tg males. At 20 weeks of age, all mice on a CRM diet had significantly improved glucose tolerance and lower fasting glucose. At week 32, treated N female mice had significantly higher energy expenditure during the day and night per gram of body weight. In treated N males, this was true only during the day. Male bGH-tg mice on CRM diet had decreased energy expenditure during the night. Insulin sensitivity was significantly improved in treated male N and bGH-tg mice at week 37. Week 38 GTT showed enhanced glucose tolerance and lower fasting glucose in all mice on a CRM diet except Tg females. Week 39-40 Y-maze, rotarod and grip strength testing showed improved motor coordination and grip strength in all mice on CRM diet with no difference in working memory. Also, there was a significant improvement in metabolic and aging phenotype with lowered pro-inflammatory cytokines at the gene and protein levels in various tissues. Our study indicates the employed CRM produce the beneficial health effects in short-lived, insulin resistant bGH Tg mice but the effects are time-, sex-, genotype-, and diet-dependent. Most of the effects of this intervention resemble the effects of CR suggesting that employed compounds may act via similar mechanisms. This work was funded by the SIU-SOM Geriatrics Research Initiative (AB), NIA R01AG068288, and the Hillblom Foundation (PK).
Bhavana Sai Yadav Akula – Thesis for Master of Science in Computer Science
Title: Drone Swarms in Adversarial Environment
Major Professor: Henry Hexmoor
Committee Member: Bidyut Gupta
Committee Member: Koushik Sinha
Defended: November 3, 2023
Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated remotely with the help of cameras, GPS, and on-device SD cards. These are used for many applications including civilian as well as military. On the other hand, drone swarms are a fleet of drones that work together to achieve a special goal through swarm intelligence approaches. These provide a lot of advantages such as better coverage, accuracy, increased safety, and improved flexibility when compared to a single drone. However, the deployment of such swarms in an adversarial environment poses significant challenges. This work provides an overview of the current state of research on drone swarms in adversarial environments including algorithms for swarming formation of robotic attack drones with their strengths and weaknesses as well as the attack strategies used by attackers. This work also outlines the common adversarial counterattack methods to disrupt drone attacks consisting of detection and destruction of drone swarms along with their drawbacks, a counter UAV defense system, and splitting large-scale drones into unconnected clusters. After identifying several challenges, an optimized algorithm is proposed to split the large-scale drone swarms more efficiently.
Christian Kessler - Thesis for Master of Science in Plant, Soil, and Agricultural Systems
Title: Managing Winter Rye for Corn Production, Nitrogen Use, and Farm Profit
Major Professor: Amir Sadeghpour
Committee Member: Karla Gage
Committee Member: Ahmad Fakhoury
Defended: October 27, 2023
Cover crops are often planted during the fallow periods of cash crop harvests to cover the soil and reduce erosion but also to provide other ecosystem benefits including capturing residual nutrients and thus, reducing environmental losses of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in agroecosystems. Among these cover crops, winter rye (Secale cereale) is popular due to its winter hardiness and relatively cheap seed costs. However, growers in the Midwest, USA are reluctant to use winter rye prior to corn (Zea mays L.) due to the potential yield penalty in corn. This thesis introduces two strategies that could minimize winter rye’s effect on corn while providing nutrient loss reduction benefits are precision planting and reducing the seeding rate of winter rye ahead of corn. One study evaluates whether precision planting (planting winter rye strategically to avoid intersecting zones with corn) of winter rye at low seeding rate (37.5 kg ha-1) could produce similar cover crop biomass and quality to normal planted winter rye (50 kg ha-1) and if precision planting can improve performance and N requirement of corn (Chapter 1). The study was conducted in central Indiana during 2020-2021 (CIN21), and southern Illinois during 2021-2022 (SIL22), and 2022-2023 (SIL23) growing seasons. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with split plot arrangement. Main plots were three cover crops (a no-cover crop control (NoCC), conventional planted winter rye (CR), and precision planted winter rye (PR). Subplots were six rates of N fertilizer that ranged from 0-280 kg ha-1 for the CIN21 and 0-359 kg ha-1 for SIL22 and SIL23. Our results indicated that shifting from normal planting to precision planting resulted in similar cover crop biomass production with limited effect on winter rye quality [N concentration, Carbon (C):N ratio] and N and C accumulation. In CIN21, the no-cover crop control had higher yield and lower N requirements which was consistent with those of SIL22. The economic optimum rate of N (EORN) was below the typical recommended range for central Indiana and was above the recommended range for southern Illinois. Precision planting resulted in a slight increase in corn yield and N requirement, but overall was more profitable than normal planting due to a reduction in the number of seeds required and higher corn to fertilizer prices. Therefore, we recommend that (i) decision support tools for N management in corn should be revised for addition of cover crops in the Midwest, and (ii) precision planting should be implemented instead of normal planting for greater economic benefit. Future research should evaluate ecosystem services of precision vs. normal planting of winter rye over time. The other study evaluates whether planting method of winter rye (precision vs. conventional) at medium and low seeding rates of winter rye influence cover crop biomass production, N and C concentrations and accumulations, and corn performance (Chapter 2). A trial was conducted in 7 site-yrs in Indiana and Illinois during 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 growing seasons. The trial was arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Cover crops [conventional planting (CR) and precision planting (PR)] were factorially arranged with two seeding rates (18.75 vs. 37.5 kg ha-1) for PR and (25 vs. 50 kg ha-1) for CR. Two extra treatments were included as control which were no-cover crop with zero-N and a 224 kg N ha-1 addition to corn. Cover crop biomass, C, N, their uptake, and C:N ratio were evaluated along with corn plant population, and corn grain yield. Our results indicated that winter rye had similar aboveground biomass, N uptake, and C accumulation regardless of planting method and seeding rate suggesting a precision planting at low seeding rate is most economical for cover crop establishment. Corn plant population was only affected by winter rye in one site-yr (CIL23) in which precision planting did not help with minimizing the negative effect of winter rye on corn population. In this study, lack of N fertilization did not decrease corn population but significantly reduced corn grain yield in all site-yrs. Corn grain yield was similar among cover crop treatments (with exception of no cover crop no N) but in one of the site-yrs, precision planting at 18.75 kg ha-1 resulted in greater corn yield than the no-cover crop with 224 N ha-1. We concluded that growers that plant winter rye prior to corn could use precision planting at a seeding rate of 18.75 kg ha-1 to take up residual soil N with limited interference with corn production at a reduced cost compared to conventional winter rye management.
Jen Helms – Thesis Play for MFA in Theater, Costume Design
Title: Wedding Band: A Love-Hate Story
Major Professor: Wendi Zea
Committee Member: Jacob Juntunen
Committee Member: Thomas Fagerholm
Nov. 30, Dec. 1-3, Dec. 7-10
Christian H Moe Laboratory Theater, Communications Building
7:30 PM; 2:00 PM on Sundays
Jen Helms will be designing costumes for the SIU School of Theater and Dance production of Wedding Band: A Love-Hate Story in Black and White, as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Theater.
Set in Charleston, South Carolina in 1918, Wedding Band is an unsparing tale about the consequences of a decade-long romance between a black seamstress and a white baker. Julia and Herman have loved each other devotedly, enduring harsh disapproval from whites and scorn from blacks. As they confront the impossibility of ever living a normal married life, and as Herman falls ill, Julia gradually reaches out to forge affirming bonds of solidarity with her community.
The play will be produced in the Moe Theater, opening on November 30 and running two weekends.
Leonard Lively – Thesis Play for MFA in Theater, Technical Direction
Title: Ride the Cyclone
Major Professor: Tom Fagerholm
Committee Member: MK Hughes
Committee Member: Darryl Clark
October 12-15, 2023
McCleod Theater, Communications Building
7:30 pm, 2:00 pm on Sunday
Leonard Lively is technical director for the SIU School of Theater and Dance production of Ride the Cyclone, as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Theater.
In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a high school choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other: the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived.
The play will be produced in the McLeod Theater, opening October 12 and running one weekend.
Loren Koenigstein - Research Paper for Master of Science in Agribusiness Economics
Title: Comparison of Central and Southern Illinois Grain Farm Economic Profit and Operating Costs
Major Professor: Jebaraj Asirvatham
Defended: October 16, 2023
Over the past twenty years, Illinois agriculture has witnessed periods of high volatility—be that in commodity or input prices, which tightens net farm income in some years, while yielding the highest net farm incomes ever seen in Illinois in other years. As agriculture undergoes changes favoring the most efficient farms, and with volatile net farm incomes observed in recent years, understanding which characteristics describe a profitable Illinois farm holds a renewed importance. The scope of this research is to show how different categories of operating costs determine management returns per operator acre in Central and Southern Illinois. If operating costs differentially affect economic profit in these regions, examining those relationships proves beneficial to farmers in each region. If we can pinpoint differences between the regions, we can help farm operators across the state focus on the best practices that make them successful, allowing them the support to be more profitable, contribute to their communities, and rely less heavily on government support. This research aims to address this problem by using Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) economic and financial data to examine the differences between Central and Southern Illinois farms, so Illinois agriculture can embrace the changes in the agriculture industry and farmers can grow more knowledgeable about their operation.
Rylie Wheeler – Master’s Research Paper for MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Title: The Evaluation of Juvenile Rehabilitative Approaches
Major Professor: Breanne Pleggenkuhle
Committee Member: Matthew West
Committee Member: Raymund Narag
October 19, 2023
Faner 4321
9:00 AM
The current research seeks to evaluate current juvenile rehabilitative approaches and analyze their effectiveness in reducing juvenile offending behaviors. The juvenile justice system is analyzed from a historical perspective beginning prior to the establishment of the juvenile justice system in the 19th century and leading to the current approaches of the 21st century. Developmental research has found that most juveniles will desist from delinquency on their own by naturally growing out of their offending behavior. However, when juveniles become involved in the justice system the opportunity to age out of offending behavior is limited. Recognizing this, the juvenile justice system is currently in a more rehabilitative approach focusing on the potential for juveniles to change their behaviors and using alternatives to incarceration. The current research evaluates these alternatives, more specifically juvenile probation, individual therapy (including cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and psychodynamic therapy), group therapy, and family therapy (including multisystemic therapy, functional family therapy, and multidimensional family therapy). Findings conclude that juvenile probation is an ineffective alternative on its own and individual therapy as well as family therapy are highly effective in its designed goals and in reducing juvenile offending behaviors. Group therapy, however, was shown to be ineffective when high-risk delinquents were grouped together and more effective when high-risk delinquents were grouped with low-risk or nondelinquent youth. Future considerations suggest the juvenile justice system could aid in reducing juvenile offending behaviors by using effective alternatives, specifically therapies, to incarceration.
Sruthi Rachamalla - Dissertation for Ph.D. in Computer Science
Title: A Framework for Crypto-Based Monetization of Driver Behavior with Blockchain
Major Professor: Henry Hexmoor
Committee Member: Chun-Hsi “Vincent” Huang
Committee Member: Bidyut Gupta
Committee Member: Koushik Sinha
Committee Member: Mohammad Sayeh
Defended: October 27, 2023
The transportation system places a top priority on driving safety. Most drivers on the road and their actions determine how safe it is to drive. Speed, hard braking, abrupt accelerations, and other aggressive driving behaviors are some of the main safety-compromising elements that could jeopardize human life in the event of a fatality. We presented a driver incentive model that ranks and rewards the driver's daily behavior in order to increase the safety of drivers and other road users. These rewards will come in the form of cryptocurrency tokens. We also examined the cooperative driving (or platooning) scenario. Road safety can be improved by connecting two or more cars together by utilizing vehicular communication technologies. The leader vehicle is crucial as it manages the platoon, establishes communication between vehicles, and performs platoon maneuvers namely Join, Merge, Leave, and Split. As the leader of the platoon has multiple responsibilities than followers, our model rewards more incentives to the leader than to followers. This digital monetization method is accomplished by secure transactions using blockchain.
School of Architecture Thesis Reviews
All Master of Architecture graduate students are required to produce a Thesis Project as the last product, ruled by internal requirements and School of Architecture faculty. Every student has a thesis committee composed of three faculty members, one of them from outside the School of Architecture and sometimes even from out of campus, according to their thesis-specific topic. Even though they are online students, they come to Carbondale to present their theses and, if they want, to walk in the graduation ceremony. December 14 and 15 are two intense days of presentations (Thursday and Friday before Commencement). The Architecture online graduate program is the largest SIU Carbondale graduate program with 121 students, and this semester 16 students will present their theses.