Master's Theses (Fall 2009 to Present)

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https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/5010

New submissions to the University of Delaware Master's Theses collection are added as they are released by the Office of Graduate & Professional Education. The Office of Graduate & Professional Education deposits all master's theses from a given semester after the official graduation date.

University of Delaware master’s theses submitted between 1980 - Summer 2009 are available online through Dissertations & Theses @ University of Delaware. Use the library catalog, DELCAT Discovery, to search for all print or microform copies of master's theses 1980 - 2009 that are NOT available in Dissertations & Theses @ University of Delaware because Dissertations & Theses @ University of Delaware does NOT contain the complete collection of University of Delaware master's theses.

Master’s theses in the Longwood Graduate Program in Public Horticulture submitted between 1970 - 2004 are available online.

More information is available at Dissertations & Theses.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 2071

Hidden assets: exploring connections between parenting and caregiving in the context of family caregivers of individuals with dementia
(University of Delaware, 2023) Lammers, Kaysa Joy
Family caregivers are responsible for the overwhelming task of providing varying levels of assistance with activities of daily living, as well as meeting the psychological, physiological, social, spiritual and emotional needs of their loved one with dementia. Challenging behavior and progressive loss of function in the care-receiver creates additional challenges, especially as most of these family caregivers do not have education or experience regarding dementia care. This exploratory case study used a phenomenological lens to investigate the lived experience of family caregivers of individuals with dementia who had previous experience as parents, building on a foundation of the Double ABC-X model of Family Stress and Adaptation. Specifically, the present study was interested in discovering if these caregivers utilized their past parenting experience in their current caregiving role. Purposive sampling was used to identify three local participants who were subsequently interviewed through semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) revealed two primary themes of burden and coping. The results indicated that the family caregivers in this study adapted their existing parenting skills to be applicable for their new role as a caregiver to their loved one with dementia. The Parenting and Dementia Specific Skills and Knowledge (PDK) Model for Family Caregiver Intervention is presented based upon the findings, to provide support for caregivers and suggest pathways for future research. ☐ Key words: dementia, family caregivers, skills, parenting, coping, burden
Susceptibility to peer influence in adolescents: associations between psychophysiology and behavior
(University of Delaware, 2023) Meehan, Zachary
The goal of the current study was to investigate in-the-moment links between adolescents’ sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and their susceptibility to three types of peer influence (indirect, direct, continuing) on two types of behavior (antisocial, prosocial). Our sample included 147 racially-ethnically diverse adolescents (46% male, 53% female, 1% other) in 10th or 11th grade. We assessed susceptibility to peer influence behaviorally using the Public Goods Game while simultaneously measuring adolescents’ mean heart rate (MHR) and pre-ejection period (PEP). Three key findings emerged from our bivariate dual latent change score modeling analyses: 1) Adolescents whose MHR increased more as they transitioned from playing the PGG alone (pre-influence) to playing while simply observed by peers (indirect influence) displayed more prosocial behavior; 2) Adolescents whose PEP activity increased more as they transitioned from being simply observed by peers (indirect influence) to being directly encouraged by peers to engage in antisocial behavior (direct influence) engaged in more antisocial behavior; 3) Adolescents whose PEP activity decreased less as they transitioned from being directly encouraged by peers to engage in prosocial behavior (direct influence) to playing the PGG alone again (continuing influence) displayed more continuing prosocial behavior (marginal effect). The discussion focuses on the differential interpretation of findings for MHR versus PEP, with MHR indexing emotional arousal and PEP indexing reward sensitivity.
Counseling differences between white and black women in reproductive visits
(University of Delaware, 2023) King, Ilia
This thesis aims to examine the differences in the levels of counseling received by black and white women of varying Socioeconomic statuses (SES) at three time periods of a woman's reproductive existence. The methods used to make this examination using the PRAMS state agencies collected CDC data in qualifying states through surveys in 2018. This survey asked women whether they recall counseling on various topics during the doctors' visit before becoming pregnant, any prenatal appointment, and the counseling they received at their postnatal checkup. This study uses Logistic regression to estimate associations between women's race, SES, and other demographic characteristics and their likelihood of being counseled on various topics listed. The results of this study show that black women at each level of SES are counseled more heavily than white women at the three examined stages in this study. Black high-SES women receive less counseling than Black women overall. However, this result requires further research due to the sample's limited number of Black women with high SES status. The results of this study mirror previous studies in that Black women as an ethnic minority are likely to be counseled in reproductive visits. This study discusses how black women receiving more counseling than white women tie into implicit biases black women face and how health care providers should take measures to remedy the racial differences to help improve the provider-patient experience.
Biological control of Tetranychus urticae in watermelon using two predatory mites and spatial distribution patterns of Tetranychus urticae in commercial watermelon fields
(University of Delaware, 2023) Stubbs, Cody
Watermelon is a major specialty produce crop grown on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Two-Spotted Spider Mite (Tetranychus urticae) (TSSM) is an important pest that feeds on leaves and affects the plant’s ability to photosynthesize. Current management relies heavily on miticide applications, which runs the risk of local mite populations developing resistance. Mite populations were collected from several fields in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate whether susceptibility differences were evident among populations to abamectin, fenpyroximate, and spiromesifin. The contact bioassays suggested that all tested miticides should be very effective even at low doses. If this were to change in the future, integrating additional management strategies for mite management would be necessary. Implementation of biological control agents and strategies may help to reduce the risk of resistance. Understanding mite movement in fields can also aid in making targeted applications of miticides or biological control agents. Two predatory mite species (Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus fallacis) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) were tested to determine if one was more efficient than the other and to determine how insecticides might affect predators and TSSM populations. There were no clear differences among predators in terms of efficacy, but in 2021, plots with predators had greater yield than plots without. Predatory mite populations were reduced due to infiltration of other predators and duration of establishment. Spatial mapping of spider mite populations in fields indicated that some fields may have been infested by spider mites early, possibly from greenhouses. Most fields were infested from weedy edges. Maps created for each field indicated that the edges of fields would require monitoring and applications of biological or chemical treatment to prevent spider mite populations from increasing drastically as they move into the field. Establishing efficient biological control methods will require more research but knowing where and when to apply control methods and having effective chemical control available as a last resort will be helpful in future research.
The timecourse of race and status based person perception
(University of Delaware, 2023) Venezia, Samuel A.
Humans rapidly and efficiently categorize others with limited information, forming split-second impressions. Prior work on the timecourse of impression formation has often focused on the integration of perceptual social categories or information (e.g., race, gender, age). Less is known about how both perceptual information and person knowledge (e.g., social status) jointly impact unfolding impressions. Using EEG, the present pre-registered study examines brain responses previously associated with changes in attention and evaluation when perceivers categorize faces based on race, conveyed via perceptual information, and socioeconomic status conveyed via person-knowledge. Our findings suggest that both attention and evaluation when attending to one social category may be influenced by the simultaneously available information about the other category. Analysis of ERPs and Select Network Modularity both reveal enhanced attention to socially salient category information. In particular, early ERP components indexing attention were particularly sensitive to High-Status individuals, but only when stereotypical race-status information pairings are present. Taken as a whole, the present work highlights the further need to consider how multiple sources of social information interact when forming impressions of others.

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