Welcome to the Masters Theses section of Scholarworks!
The Graduate School and the University Libraries of the University of Massachusetts Amherst offer electronic copies of Masters Theses written by students who have submitted them electronically since 2007. To view previously approved Masters Theses, Browse by Year or Search by Author in the form below, or perform a more comprehensive Search.
To browse dissertations and theses by academic department or program, please go to the Schools, Colleges, and Departments page.
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Theses from 2013
Of Dirt and Decomposition: Proposing a Place for the Urban Dead, Katrina M. Spade, Architecture
Protesting Between the Lines: Carmen Martín Gaite's Frustration in Writing vis-à-vis 1950s Francoist Censorship, Emily Rose Spring, Hispanic Literatures & Linguistics
Working Memory Performance across Development and Following Acute Exercise, Patrice L. Stering, Psychology
The role of bacterial microcompartments in the fermentation of D-arabinose in Clostridium phytofermentans, Megan A. Strough, Microbiology
Preferred Sensor Selection for Damage Estimation in Civil Structures, Matthew Styckiewicz, Civil Engineering
Density-dependent Survival of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Life Stages, Elizabeth M. Sussky, Entomology
Enhancing Secrecy via Exploring Randomness in the Wireless Physical Layer, Rehan Talat, Electrical & Computer Engineering
A Translation of Qiu Miaojin's "The Crocodile Diaries", Alexandra Valencik, Chinese
Corporeal Thresholds, Caroline Valites, Art
Investigating the Ability of Pro-social Emotions to Enhance Cooperative Behavior, Lucía A. Vergara Sobarzo, Resource Economics
Multi Rotor Wind Turbine Design And Cost Scaling, Preeti Verma, Mechanical Engineering
Thumb Morphology, Feeding Behavior and the Evolution of Frugivory in New World Leaf-Nosed Bats (Family: Phyllostomidae), Nina Veselka, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
Habitat Use and Seasonal Movement Patterns of Four-toed Salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum) in Massachusetts, Kimberly O. Vitale, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
The Lovely and the Wild: Considering Naumkeag, Carol Waag, Landscape Architecture
A Hierarchical Approach to the Analysis of Intermediary Structures Within the Modified Contour Reduction Algorithm, Kristen M. Wallentinsen, Music
A Column-Parallel Two-Step Successive Approximation Analog-To-Digital Converter, Hongtao Wang, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Coping Strategies, Food Preferences, and Their Potential Effects on Dietary Quality Intake in a Massachusetts Efnep Population, Amy Wasson, Nutrition
Memory and Production of Standard Frequencies in College-Level Musicians, Sarah E. Weber, Music
Rebuilding Urban Place: Negotiating Individuality and Belonging, Peter R. Webster, Architecture
Biomarker and Sedimentological Investigations of Mis 8 through Mis 12 from Lake El'gygytgyn, Ne Arctic Russia, Jeremy H. Wei, Geosciences
An Evaluation of Drivers’ Cell Phone Use Prevalence and Safety Related Impacts, Keith E. Wenners, Civil Engineering
Envisioning a New Public Space, Kathryn J. Wetherbee, Architecture
The Use of Multimedia Material in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language and Pedagogical Implications, Zhongyuan Williams, Chinese
Associations of Childhood Family Adversity and Pubertal Timing with Depressive Symptomotology in Adulthood, Jeffrey P. Winer, Psychology
Response & Resistance: A Comparison of Middle Connecticut River Valley Ceramics from the Late Woodland Period to the Seventeeth-Century, Julie Woods, Anthropology
Coffee and Tea Intake and Risk of Cutaneous Melanoma, Haotian Wu, Public Health
Building Empathic Consciousness Toward our Biosphere, Lawson R. Wulsin Jr, Architecture
Relationships among Source Credibility of Electronic Word of Mouth, Perceived Risk, and Consumer Behavior on Consumer Generated Media, Mei-hsin Wu, Hotel & Tourism Management
Stack Protection Mechanisms In Packet Processing Systems, Peng Wu, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Dialects into Films----The Element of “Dialect” in Chinese Films, Shun Yao, Chinese
Modeling the production and transport of dissolved organic carbon from heterogeneous landscape, Changjiang Ye, Geosciences
The Comparison Of Meaning-inferred, Meaning-given, And Sentence Translation Methods For Chinese Vocabulary Teaching, Yani Zeng, Chinese
Parameter Variation Sensing and Estimation in Nanoscale Fabrics, Jianfeng Zhang, Electrical & Computer Engineering
A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of Input-based Activities And Output-based Activities on the Acquisition of Chinese Language, Xiaolei Zhang, Chinese
Activity Intent Recognition of the Torso Based on Surface Electromyography and Inertial Measurement Units, Zhe Zhang, Mechanical Engineering
Climate Change And Green Growth: Evaluating The Comparative Effectiveness Of The Green Communities Program In Massachusetts Relative To Other Municipal Programs, Zhe Zhao, Regional Planning
Theses from 2012
Synergistic Approach for Designing and Enhancing Bioactive Ingredients from Apple and Blueberry for the Management of Early Stages of Type 2 Diabetes, Widya Agustinah, Food Science
Prairie Warbler Nest-site Selection, Nest Survival, and Demographic Response to Management in a Pitch Pine-Scrub Oak Barren, Michael E. Akresh, Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation
Fractures of the Dammam Dome Carbonate Outcrops: Their Characterization, Development, and Implications for Subsurface Reservoirs, Mohammed M. Al-fahmi, Geosciences
Population Size, Habitat Use and Diet of Kittlitz's Murrelets in Prince William Sound, Alaska, Andrew J. Allyn, Environmental Conservation
Notch Regulation of Adam12 Expression in Glioblastoma Multiforme, Ala'a S. Alsyaideh, Animal Science
The Pyrethroid Deltamethrin, Which Causes Choreoathetosis with Salivation (CS-Syndrome), Enhances Calcium Ion Influx via Phosphorylated CaV2.2 expresssed in Xenopus laevis oocytes, Anna-maria Alves, Molecular & Cellular Biology
The Process by which Physicians Extract Information from Electronic Progress Notes During Handoffs, Brian D. Amster, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
Citizens and Criminals: Mass Incarceration, "Prison Neighbors," and Fear-Based Organizing in 1980s Rural Pennsylvania, Erika Arthur, History
You or Your Memory, Katherine L. Baker, Art
A Rose Has No Teeth When You Hold It So, David R. Bartone, English
Ana Roqué y el Discurso de Emancipación Femenina Burgués Decimonónico Disfrazado en la Ficción, Sonia N. Batlle, Hispanic Literatures & Linguistics
A Distibutional Analysis of Frequency and Predictability Effects on Fixation Durations in Reading, Ashley Benatar, Psychology
Simulations of Non-Contact Creep in Regimes of Mixed Dominance, Maija Benitz, Mechanical Engineering
Dynamic Capacity Allocation in Primary Care with Physician Flexibility, Sebastian S. Biehl, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
Enhancing Human Health and Recovery Through Biophilic Design, Matthew T. Blair, Architecture
Counterinsurgency Doctrine and the 'War on Terror': A Narrative and Discourse Analysis of the Army Field Manual 3-24, Tyler Boudreau, Communication
Of Zebra, Sarah W. Boyer, English
Characterization of Damage Zones Associated with Laboratory Produced Natural Hydraulic Fractures, Erin Bradley, Geosciences
Techniques for Industrial Implementation of Emerging Semantic Technologies, Jay T. Breindel, Mechanical Engineering
Environmental Impacts Due to Fixed and Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, Micah K. Brewer, Mechanical Engineering
"Speak to me in vernacular, doctor": Translating and Adapting Tirso de Molina's El Amor Médico for the Stage, Sarah A. Brew, Theater
The Study of Inter and Intramolecular Interactions in Gas Phase Protein Ions by Electron Transfer Dissociation, Shaynah J. Browne, Chemistry
Incorporating Sustainable Building into Local Development: An Assessment of Green Design Practices within the MetroWest Corridor Partnership, Jacqueline Brown, Regional Planning
Creatures Are Kind, Angela M. Buck, English
Flood Bloom, Caroline Cabrera, English
Proteolytic Regulation of CtrA, the Master Regulator of Cell Cycle in Caulobacter crescentus, Amber M. Cantin, Biochemistry
Probabilistic Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbine Soil-Structure Interaction, Wystan Carswell, Civil Engineering
Bringing the Frame Into Focus: How Cable News Pundits Protect the Glass Ceiling, Kathryn M. Cassidy, Communication
Temperature Effects on Growth and Stress Physiology of Brook Trout: Implications for Climate Change Impacts on an Iconic Cold-Water Fish, Joseph G. Chadwick Jr, Organismic & Evolutionary Biology
A Diachronic and Synchronic Examination of the Disposal Construction in Min and Mandarin Chinese, Chunching Chang, Chinese
The Radiation Quality Factor Of Vertically Polarized Spherical Antennas Above A Conducting Ground Plane, Hsieh-chi Chang, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Association between Dietary Intake and Nutritional Status among Adolescent Girls in Kilosa District, Tanzania, Shanshan Chen, Nutrition
An Investigation of Human-Error Rates in Wildlife Photographic Identification; Implications for the Use of Citizen Scientists, Megan Chesser, Wildlife & Fisheries Conservation
Community Land Trusts and Rental Housing: Assessing Obstacles to and Opportunities for Increasing Access, Maxwell Ciardullo, Regional Planning
Evolution Of Volatile Content Of The Parent Magma Of The 1875 Eruption Of Askja Volcano, Iceland, Heather A. Clark, Geosciences
Late Campanian-Maastrichtian Planktic Foraminiferal Biostratigraphy, Taxonomy, and Isotope Paleoecology of Odp Leg 198 Sites 1209 and 1210, Shatsky Rise, Kendra R. Clark, Geosciences
Vehicle Miles Traveled (vmt) Fee Financing Alternatives: Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities, Ashley L. Costa, Civil Engineering
Physical Model of the Feeding Strike of the Mantis Shrimp, Suzanne M. Cox, Mechanical Engineering
City Principles: The Application of the Four Visual Characteristics on Helena, Mt, Cienna Cullen, Architecture
I Don't Share Spirit Animals, Courtney J. Cullen, Art
Fostering Sustainable Behavior Through Design: A Study of the Social, Psychological, and Physical Influences of the Built Environment, Neil Cummings, Architecture
Drops of Blood on Fallen Snow: The Evolution of Blood-Revenge Practices in Japan, Jasmin M. Curtis, Japanese
Holocene Climate and Environmental Changes: Disentangling Natural and Anthropogenic Signals in the Sedimentary Record of Lake Lilandsvatnet (nw Norway), Robert M. D'anjou, Geosciences
A Threat Vs. Challenge View of Conflict in Romantic Relationships, Casey J. Debuse, Psychology
Evaluating and Modeling Traveler Response to Real-Time Information in the Pioneer Valley, Tyler De Ruiter, Civil Engineering
Techniques for Detection of Malicious Packet Drops in Networks, Vikram R. Desai, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Critical Area Driven Dummy Fill Insertion to Improve Manufacturing Yield, Nishant Dhumane, Electrical & Computer Engineering
An Optimal Adaptive Routing Algorithm for Large-scale Stochastic Time-Dependent Networks, Jing Ding, Civil Engineering
Impacts of Solar Grid Integration Issues on the Optimal Energy R&d Portfolio for Climate Change, Noubara Djimadoumbaye, Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
The Human Error, Ngoc Doan, English
Urinary Melatonin Levels and Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, Ashley Doherty, Public Health
Implementation of Dual-Polarization on an Airborne Scatterometer and Preliminary Data Quality, Jason Dvorsky, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Investigating the Relationship Between Material Property Axes and Strain Orientations in Cebus Apella Crania, Christine M. Dzialo, Mechanical Engineering
The Artist as Creator: The Theory of Art in Du Fu's Poems about Paintings, James H. Edwards, Chinese
The End of Histories, Joshua Field, Art
Development of a Novel Lateral-Flow Assay to Detect Yeast Nucleic Acid Sequences, Catherine E. Fill, Food Science
Investigating the Mechanism of Nur77-Induced Apoptosis in T Cells, Heather E. Fogarty, Animal Science
A Test of the Hypothesis That Environmental Chemicals Interfere With Thyroid Hormone Action in Human Placenta, Katherine Geromini, Molecular & Cellular Biology
Evaluating the MeBActive-Youth as a Measure of Mental Toughness, Manneh Ghazarians, Kinesiology
A Heart, Beating, Hard, Lauren F. Goodman, English
A Design Concept For The Lighting Of Hell In High Water By Marcus Gardley, Jessica M. Greenberg, Theater
Sometimes the Air in the Room Goes Missing, Dana Green, English
Coalition or Competition?: The Effects of Category Salience on Inter-Minority Prejudice, Manisha Gupta, Psychology
Regulation of the Acrosome Reaction by the Transmembrane Adenylyl Cyclase, Douglas M. Haddad, Animal Science