Archived Announcements

Past Announcements

Archived listing of graduate student final defenses, artistic exhibitions, and music recitals.

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.

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.

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