East Tennessee State University

The Internet Did This to Me: Forms, Consequences, and Coping Strategies of Cyberbullying

This study examined self-reported cyberbullying experiences recounted in a subreddit (r/cyberbullying) to identify forms of cyberbullying, its effects, and ways to cope with it. The findings indicate that there are several types of cyberbullying, such as verbal aggression, decept...

Steaming into the Unknown: Technological Change, the British Niger Expeditions, and Imperialism, 1832–1857

This thesis repositions the nineteenth-century Niger Expeditions at the center of early British imperial development in West Africa. Rather than treating these ventures as isolated exploratory episodes, it argues that they functioned as technological and administrative experiment...

Developing Solvent Tolerant Microbial Membranes: Lipid Extraction and Laurdan Fluorescence Approaches for Biofuel Optimization

The high demand for sustainable energy has increased interest in advanced biofuels, though production is limited by solvent toxicity to microbial hosts. This study investigated the role of lipid composition in modulating membrane fluidity and solvent tolerance using Bacillus subt...

Tennessee High School Teachers' Perceptions of Culturally Inclusive Curriculum and Its Impact on African American Students’ Achievement Motivation

This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study examined Tennessee high school teachers’ perceptions of culturally inclusive curriculum and its perceived influence on African American students’ achievement motivation. Guided by one overarching research question and three sub-...

The Acute Kinetic, Kinematic, and Jump Performance Responses to Different Set-Rep-Loading Schemes of the Back Squat

The purpose of the current study was to elucidate the mechanical outputs and acute neuromuscular performance response to different set-rep-loading schemes of the barbell back squat. Eleven resistance trained subjects (9 males, BS 1RM 1.9 ± 0.2 x BW; 2 females, BS 1RM 1.4 ±0.3 x B...

Educator Experiences of Schoolwide PBIS Discipline Implementation: Exploring School Culture in Private PK–12 Schools

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore educators’ lived experiences implementing schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) discipline systems and to understand how those experiences influenced school culture in private PK–12 schools. Hist...

A Qualitative Study Using Thematic Analysis to Explore Medical Education post-Dobbs

In June of 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, challenging the validity of the historical decision of Roe v. Wade, the landmark case from 1973 establishing a constitutional right to abortion and esta...

Modeling Mean and Variability of Anxiety in Ecological Momentary Assessment Data Using Mixed-Effects Location–Scale Models

Ecological Momentary Assessment is a method of collecting repeated measures of people in real time within natural environments. This results in hierarchical data that has a significant amount of variation at the person level. The traditional linear mixedeffects models assume that...

Acute and Delayed Responses of Three Resistance Training Types Throughout a Block Periodized Off-Season on Athletic Performance and Fatigue

The author’s purposes in this dissertation were: 1) to evaluate neuromuscular, morphological, and performance adaptations across three sequential resistance training blocks (Strength-Endurance (SE), Basic Strength (BS), and Power) during an 11-week block-periodized off-season (St...

Bridging the Gap: Educator Experiences Supporting Students During the Transition from Middle to High School

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of middle and high school educators supporting students during the transition from middle to high school. This study contributes to the literature of middle to high school transition pract...

Gender, Immigration, and the Republican Coalition: Attitude Activation Versus Attitude Change in the 2020–2024 Electoral Transition

The 2024 presidential election resulted in the following paradox: despite unprecedented affective polarization, mega-partisan identity alignment, and historical party loyalty, Donald Trump expanded his electoral coalition. This thesis aims to demonstrate how this seemingly parado...

Characterization of Catechol-Type Siderophore(s) from P. mosselii CFML 90-83

Iron is essential for many biological processes, where it is used as a cofactor. Even though it is abundant in the Earth’s crust, it is in an insoluble form unavailable to microorganisms in the soil. To overcome this, bacteria produce siderophores, which are secondary metabolites...

Identifying Who Benefits Most: Predictors of Reduced Fear of Falling in a Statewide Community-Based Fall Prevention Program

Background. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related morbidity and mortality among older adults and represent a growing public health challenge as the population ages. Fear of falling (FOF) contributes to this burden by promoting activity restriction, functional decline, and...

Disruption, Recovery, and Divergence: How Prepandemic Achievement Levels Shaped Learning Loss, Recovery, and Spending Efficiency in Tennessee Public High Schools

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant and uneven learning loss in Tennessee public high schools. The statewide ACT composite average fell from 20.2 in 2019 to 19.1 in 2021. By 2024-2025, it recovered only to 19.3. During the same period, Tennessee received approximately $3.86...

Testing P300-Based Biometric Authentication Paradigms

Bench research suggests that P300 amplitude is greater in response to self-relevant stimuli compared to familiar stimuli. This effect could enable a novel method of biometric authentication based on the self-relevant P300. This dissertation aims to: (1) determine the optimal pres...

Race, Sex, and Age Disparities in Homicide Clearance Rates in Tennessee: An Intersectional Approach

Demographic factors can influence homicide solvability. This study examines the relationship between victim characteristics and homicide clearance rates in Tennessee from 2001 to 2023. Using an intersectional approach, it assesses whether victim characteristics both individually...

Facts vs. Feelings: An Investigation of Informational and Empathy-Based Interventions on Rape Myth Acceptance in College Students

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of two short video approaches on decreasing rape myth acceptance (RMA) in a sample of college students. One video was informational, providing facts about sexual assault, whereas the other took an empathy-based approach, exposing parti...