Masters Theses
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ItemEmergency Life Support for Vulnerable Collections: A Collections Management Case Study on The Anderson Collection(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024)This thesis presents a detailed case study on the Anderson Collection, a large collection of Indigenous artifacts gathered by amateur archaeologist. This collection, now under the care of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA), offers a unique lens through which to explore issues of collections management, emergency intake, and the broader implications of amateur archaeological contributions. The research emphasizes the importance of adopting best practices in the curation and continued care of legacy collections, particularly those with complex backgrounds involving amateur archaeologists and Indigenous artifacts. Through an interdisciplinary approach that includes heritage legislation, ethical considerations, and decolonization practices, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the intersection between current changes in care practices for Native collections, issues with avocational archaeology, and professional standards. The narrative of the Anderson Collection is used to illustrate broader themes in collections management, highlighting the urgent need for policies that ensure the preservation, ethical treatment, and educational use of archaeological collections. By framing collections care in emergency medical terminology, the thesis underscores the critical and ongoing attention required to maintain the integrity and research potential of such collections. The findings advocate for a collaborative approach that prioritizes Indigenous voices, includes community stakeholders, and aligns with modern movements towards decolonizing archaeology and cultural heritage management. The recommendations aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in the curation process, ultimately contributing to the field’s evolving understanding of ethical stewardship and public engagement with archaeological collections.
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ItemEmotion Regulation and Sleep in School-Aged Children(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024)Emotion regulation is an important area of skill development in children, particularly those that are school-aged. The current study examined how sleep, a process known to also be vital for the functioning and development of children, is related to emotion regulation. Specifically, caregiver reports were used to investigate overall child sleep quality as well as specific sleep constructs. Participants were recruited from an online crowdsourcing marketplace. Two validated instruments were used to measure emotion regulation and sleep constructs. Correlational and regression analyses were done between total and subscale scores from each instrument. Findings suggest that overall sleep quality, psychological sleep factors, and physical sleep factors are all related to adaptive emotion regulation behaviors as well as caregiver-reported negative affect and mood lability in children. The current study has implications for education and intervention for caregivers and children alike to further assist in fostering healthy development and functioning in school-aged children.
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ItemIncreasing the Ecological Validity of Traditional Neuropsychological Assessments(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024)The purpose of this study was to create a version of a traditional neuropsychological assessment, the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test – Revised (HVLT-R), that is ecologically valid by adding an audio distraction to the standardized test setting. Additionally, a subjective memory questionnaire (SMQ) was given to determine if the participants’ views about their own memory may be related to the difference in scores on the HVLT-R. Forty-eight healthy college-aged individuals were given the HVLT-R with and without an audio distraction, in addition to other standardized assessments and questionnaires. The participants were predicted to perform worse on average on the version of the HVLT-R with the audio distraction. Overall, the difference in scores from the HVLT-R without audio to the audio distraction condition was not significant. Also, scores on the SMQ were not shown to be related to the difference scores of the HVLT-R with and without an audio distraction.
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ItemDipolar Cycloaddition of Aurones: Products and Photophysics(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024)Aurones are naturally occurring molecules that have intriguing biological and photophysical properties and have become enticing synthetic precursors due to the reactivity of the exocyclic alkene. While several pyrazoles have been made through dipolar cycloaddition using that alkene, their photophysical properties have been poorly explored. To better understand these properties, a series of pyrazoles were prepared by the cycloaddition/ring opening of aurones with ethyl diazoacetate. Their absorption and emission behavior in solvents with a range of polarities and protic natures were examined, showing that the presence of an electron donating group substituent increases the fluorescence response as polarity of the solvent increases. This leads to a significant increase in water, a solvent that typically quenches fluorescent activity. Halogen substituents were also found to have a similar effect in halogenated solvents. Correlations between the structure of each pyrazole and its fluorescence in a variety of solvents have been noted, and a plausible rationale has been proposed.
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ItemAn Analysis of the Relationship Between Work-Related Stressors and Criminal Behavior(Middle Tennessee State University, 2024)The U.S. work culture places a significant burden on working families, with so-called "bad jobs" drawing attention for their detrimental impact on employees’ well-being and their association with negative behavioral outcomes, including criminal behavior. While prior research has focused on the association between workplace stress and crime among law enforcement professionals and perpetrators of white-collar crimes, there is a lack of research on other occupations and for different types of offenses. My study aims to investigate whether work-related stressors, such as job strain, job dissatisfaction, low job commitment, and family-work conflict, contribute to individuals in the United States resorting to illegal means to fulfill their needs. More specifically, I examined the associations between work-related stressors and several criminal outcomes, including criminal offending, intimate partner violence (IPV), arrest, and incarceration, whether these associations were mediated by negative affective states (e.g., depression or anxiety), and whether individuals’ sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES) moderated these associations. To achieve these objectives, I use data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a nationally representative study of adolescents, and employ a series of logistic regression analyses to investigate the proposed associations. Findings reveal that low job commitment was associated with increased odds of criminal offending, IPV, arrest, and incarceration, while work-family conflict was associated with increased odds of IPV. In addition, job strain was positively and job dissatisfaction was negatively associated with incarceration. Depression and anxiety partially mediated the associations of low job commitment and work-family conflict with intimate partner violence. These findings suggest that individuals’ identities may be shifting away from the influence of work, and that the growth of low-quality employment needs to be stymied as it may have far-reaching effects on oneself and one’s community.