Some socially anxious young adults have more difficulties with alcohol use compared to their peers. The combination of social anxiety and elevated alcohol use can lead to challenges in various aspects of life, such as...
Some socially anxious young adults have more difficulties with alcohol use compared to their peers. The combination of social anxiety and elevated alcohol use can lead to challenges in various aspects of life, such as school, work, and social functioning. Previous literature in the field suggests that both social anxiety and alcohol use emerge during early adolescence (ages 13-14); however, risk-factors during this important developmental period are still being explored. This dissertation evaluated the following possible risk-factors during adolescence that may be associated with the later development of social anxiety and alcohol use: trait impulsivity, cognitive flexibility, and risk-seeking. These risk-factors were explored using a dataset collected in virginia that followed 167 adolescents over an eight-year period. Results indicated that youth with higher risk-seeking and attentional impulsivity during adolescence (ages 13-21) had significant social anxiety symptoms once they reached young adulthood (ages 22-23). Additionally, lower cognitive flexibility during ages 13-14 was associated with higher social anxiety and alcohol use in young adulthood. This is the first work to evaluate these risk-factors in relation to social anxiety and alcohol use, and has important implications for interventions, especially for those who have increased impulsivity and risk-seeking behaviors.
This dissertation presents two essays that explore how and why individuals make decisions with environmental consequences. The first essay investigates how and why individuals choose to purchase a higher-cost big-tick...
This dissertation presents two essays that explore how and why individuals make decisions with environmental consequences. The first essay investigates how and why individuals choose to purchase a higher-cost big-ticket durable good (i.e., an electric vehicle) that results in substantially lower air emissions over the lifetime of the product, while the second essay investigates how and why individuals make environmentally-friendly behavioral decisions (i.e., conserving electricity on a hot summer afternoon) when the stakes are modest and *** first essay discusses the findings from three experiments in which on-line survey respondents were asked to imagine being in the market to buy a new car and then indicate how likely they would buy an electric vehicle (EV) rather than an otherwise identical gasoline automobile. Before indicating EV purchase likelihood, participants were informed to assume different levels of price premium and inconvenience (e.g., associated with battery recharging) resulting from EV ownership. Participants were also asked a series of questions to measure their attitudes about environmental protection and technology advancement, as well as the ability of EVs to help both of those dimensions of social progress. Of particular interest, participants were asked how much driving an EV sends a public signal of the owner's commitment to environmental and technology improvement. Among other findings, statistical analysis of the data collected from these experiments indicates that EV ownership sends a strong signal of the owner's commitment to both environmental protection and technology advancement. However, the environmental signal of EV ownership positively influences EV purchase likelihood, whereas the technology signal of EV ownership negatively influences EV purchase likelihood. Of further interest, this negative relationship between technology signaling value and EV purchase likelihood is offset by the perceived inconveniences associated
Cotton is cultivated throughout the southern United states, extending up the east coast and into North Carolina and virginia. virginia poses unique challenges for cotton growers due to specific pest issues and need fo...
Cotton is cultivated throughout the southern United states, extending up the east coast and into North Carolina and virginia. virginia poses unique challenges for cotton growers due to specific pest issues and need for region-specific research. The tarnished plant bug is a key pest of mid-summer cotton across this region. Overwintering studies were conducted to investigate host preferences on cover crop and weed hosts, as well as diapause survival and termination timing on cover crops. These studies revealed that hairy vetch and deadnettle species may harbor larger populations compared to other weed hosts, and that cover crops such as hairy vetch and crimson clove led to greater overwintering survival compared to grains. During diapause, metabolic changes occur that can lead to increased fat body to aid in overwintering survival. Diapausing and non-diapausing tarnished plant bugs were used in assays to quantify differences in the nutrients commonly found in this fat body. This study successfully found differences in carbohydrates, lipids and proteins levels between the diapausing and non-diapausing populations. This may allow for the identification of reproductive status of tarnished plant bugs based on nutrient levels. Flight capacity, activity levels and nutrient levels in tarnished plant bug populations taken from spring and summer weed hosts were investigated, with the objective to understand the ability of these populations to transition to cotton in the mid-summer. There were some indicators that flight initiation may be influenced by weed host, while all populations had similar flight potentials. Once in cotton, tarnished plant bugs are primarily treated with chemical insecticides which may produce unknown consequences to the system as a whole. Experiments were conducted to assess the impact of insecticides on non-target species within cotton were conducted in the field. Certain insecticides were identified to be harmful to non-target and potentially benefici
During the winter months, when forage production becomes limited, beef cattle are typically fed hay. Conventional systems, known as sacrifice paddocks (SP), confine cattle to a single paddock where they are regularly ...
During the winter months, when forage production becomes limited, beef cattle are typically fed hay. Conventional systems, known as sacrifice paddocks (SP), confine cattle to a single paddock where they are regularly provided hay bales by the producer. However, this method presents several drawbacks, including high labor demands, high fuel costs, soil compaction, limited nutrient dispersion in the soil, heightened runoff risks, low forage yields, and nitrogen losses from manure. Recognizing these challenges, producers in regions like the Northern Great Plains and Canada have turned to rotational bale grazing (RBG) as an alternative approach. Rotational bale grazing involves pre-placing hay bales directly onto pastureland before winter feeding begins, then allowing controlled access to the bales. Yet, the applicability of RBG in regions with different climatic conditions, such as virginia, remains *** dissertation explores the comparison between traditional SP systems and RBG systems, with three replications of each. The initial chapter offers a comprehensive review of previous RBG studies. Subsequently, the study investigated RBG's potential to enhance the spatial distribution of manure nutrients, focusing on Mehlich 1- phosphorus (P) and Mehlich 1- potassium (K). Additionally, environmental aspects of both SP and RBG systems are evaluated, analyzing soil water-soluble phosphorus (WSP), pH, and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations. The dissertation's third chapter examined RBG's impact on runoff and nutrient loads through artificial rainfall simulations. Results indicate that RBG paddocks grazed last, with less time for forage recovery, exhibited significantly higher runoff and nutrient loads compared to those grazed first, which had more time for recovery, thus increasing forage biomass. Notably, the SP treatment showed no significant difference from the RBG treatment, likely due to long term manure deposition increasing soil organic matter and water
Power systems, essential for electricity supply, undergo disturbances causing changes in power flow and synchronous generator behavior. These disturbances create electromechanical waves (EMWs) that influence system dy...
Power systems, essential for electricity supply, undergo disturbances causing changes in power flow and synchronous generator behavior. These disturbances create electromechanical waves (EMWs) that influence system dynamics. Recent advancements, including renewable energy integration and new technologies, alter EMW behavior, posing challenges for control and protection systems. Existing studies simplify models, limiting their accuracy. This research aims to develop a realistic EMW propagation model considering factors like novel inertia distribution, voltage changes, and internal generator properties. This work addresses the evolving power landscape, enhancing our understanding of power system dynamics for improved control and reliability.
Augmented Reality (AR) devices are set apart from other mobile devices by the immersive experience they offer. The ability of these devices to collect information presents challenges and opportunities to improve exist...
Augmented Reality (AR) devices are set apart from other mobile devices by the immersive experience they offer. The ability of these devices to collect information presents challenges and opportunities to improve existing security and privacy techniques in this domain. In this dissertation, I explore how readily available eye gaze sensor data can be used to improve existing methods for assuring security and protecting the privacy of those near the device. My research has presented three new systems, BystandAR, ShouldAR, and GazePair that each leverage user eye gaze to improve security and privacy expectations in or with Augmented Reality. As these devices grow in power and number, such solutions are necessary to prevent perception failures that hindered earlier devices. The work in this dissertation is presented in the hope that these solutions can improve and expedite the adoption of these powerful and useful devices.
Semi-autonomous uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) are telerobotic operations by definition where the aerial vehicle assumes the role of a telerobot and the human assumes the role of a supervisor. This dissertation addre...
Semi-autonomous uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) are telerobotic operations by definition where the aerial vehicle assumes the role of a telerobot and the human assumes the role of a supervisor. This dissertation addresses the challenges posed by time delays in uncrewed aerial vehicle operations, particularly for long-distance operations such as interplanetary exploration and deep-sea missions. It investigates the use of a novel heterogeneous stereo-vision system to mitigate these delays, providing operators with nearly real-time visual feedback. Human performance testing confirms the predictive algorithm allows more efficient, accurate, and user-friendly operation. Additionally, the dissertation presents advancements in the predictive display performance for moving UAVs with six degrees of freedom. It introduces a novel extended Kalman predictor and compares it to traditional linear predictors like the Smith predictor and the Kalman predictor using simulated flight data. The extended Kalman predictor demonstrates superior performance for larger deviations from trajectory, highlighting its effectiveness in predicting the motion of an aircraft when there are time delays present.
Test anxiety is a prevalent stressor which negatively impacts academic performance in evaluative situations. Research shows that greater attention (i. e., attention biases; AB) to threats is related with general anxie...
Test anxiety is a prevalent stressor which negatively impacts academic performance in evaluative situations. Research shows that greater attention (i. e., attention biases; AB) to threats is related with general anxiety. However, few studies have examined the effect between AB to relevant threats (i. e., testing threats) and test anxiety. This study addressed previous gaps by examining whether temperamental effortful control and frontal EEG asymmetry (FA) impacted the relation between an exogenous AB to test threats and test anxiety in undergraduate students. A dot-probe task with test threat words as the target was given to the students. Paired-sample T tests show the presence of an AB to test threats in the endogenous (i. e., 500ms) condition but not in the exogenous (i. e., 250ms) condition. Results showed that positive relation between AB to test threats with test anxiety and positive relation between test anxiety with AB to test threats only occurred when students showed greater right FA. Lower attentional control predicted higher test anxiety but not the AB to test threats. AC and IC did not significantly interact with either test anxiety or AB to test threats in predicting the other (i. e., test anxiety predicting AB to test threats and vice-versa). A four-way interaction indicated that greater test anxiety predicts a stronger AB to test threats for those with right FA, low AC, and high IC. This four-way interaction result was conservatively considered due to the risk of overfitting. Results suggest the need to include FA in future studies of AB to test threats.
By measuring animal behavior researchers can gain insight into how specific brain regions interact to influence choice and action. Limitations in testing methods mean that researchers may fail to investigate the relat...
By measuring animal behavior researchers can gain insight into how specific brain regions interact to influence choice and action. Limitations in testing methods mean that researchers may fail to investigate the relationship between distinct aspects of behavior, like the influence of emotional state or pain on cognition. To prevent such oversight researchers can perform a test battery, a specific series of multiple tests that measures several different aspects of behavior. Traditional test batteries often overlook cognitive or operant (learning to perform an action for reward) behaviors due to time constraints, which limits their translational potential. This dissertation provides a brief overview of the ways that researchers investigate affective (emotional), pain-like (physical discomfort), and goal-directed behaviors. It further has a broad focus on mouse models related to addiction or the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is shown to play a role in mood, pain (e.g., perception, relief, and inflammation), and cognition. Using a traditional test battery, we demonstrate that mice lacking a key enzyme in the ECS have altered responses to sugar, heat, and inflammation, but display otherwise normal performance in anxiety-, depression-, and pain-like tests. Next, we used a combined traditional and operant battery to investigate the effects of chronic vapor exposure (CVE) and nicotine in mice. We found that regardless of nicotine content, acute abstinence from CVE increased physical sensitivity and self-grooming but spared other anxiety- and depression-like behaviors. Acute abstinence from nicotine CVE resulted in motor stimulation, impaired operant learning, lower motivation for sucrose reward, and an impaired ability to withhold responding when presented with a bitter reward. Finally, I outline a novel operant test battery that addresses the limitations of current operant chamber- or place-based batteries. Using this battery, I first demonstrate that it captures sim
This study draws on research in ecological sciences and social sciences as well as data gleaned from interviews and observations in Dayton, Ohio to explore the role of community-based food systems in building resilien...
This study draws on research in ecological sciences and social sciences as well as data gleaned from interviews and observations in Dayton, Ohio to explore the role of community-based food systems in building resilience against the cascading effects of anthropogenic climate change. I turn to Dayton largely due to my personal connection to the city. This speaks to this study's attentiveness to community building efforts of folks in Dayton and attention to politics of the everyday. Using interviews, observations, and scholarship in political ecology, I map the efforts of Dayton residents to improve community food access within broader economic, social, and political systems to show how these projects both improve food access for communities and promote a sort of politics that contributes to the economic, ecological, and social health of Dayton communities. This positions these projects as important efforts in building resilience against ongoing and intensifying disturbances and disasters from climate change amidst the ongoing failure of political and economic institutions to enact meaningful change. Finally, I explore how these findings help to develop a broader research framework that is grounded in lived experience and attentive to broader political, social, and economic systems.
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