Master of Science / Department of Geology / Allen W. Archer / The Morrowan middle Bloyd sandstone of northwest Arkansas records a fluvial to estuarine transition in a drowned incised valley system. Lower portions of outcrops contain fluvially deposited, planar-tabular cross-stratified sandstone with a uni-directional southwest paleoflow. Intervals with dune scale, intricately interwoven trough cross-stratification with northeastern paleoflow is attributed to strong tidal and wave influence in the outer estuary. Upwards the middle Bloyd changes into a muddy mid-estuarine interval with heterolithic bedding and a bi-directional northeast-southwest paleoflow. Overlying this interval a marine sand about one meter in thickness can be found containing bryozoan and crinoid fossils. Overlying the middle Bloyd, the marine Dye Shale member of the Bloyd Formation marks the transition to a dominantly marine setting.

A new subspecies of the plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius ozarkensis), located in the Ozark Mountains of north central Arkansas, was recently described by Elrod et al. (2000). Current range for G. b. ozarkensis was established, habitat preference was assessed by analyzing soil samples, vegetation and distance to stream and potential pocket gopher habitat within the current range was identified. A census technique was used to estimate a total density of 3, 564 pocket gophers. Through automobile and aerial survey 51 known fields of inhabitance were located extending the range slightly. Soil analyses indicated loamy sand as the most common texture with a slightly acidic pH and a broad range of values for other measured soil parameters and 21 families of vegetation were identified. All inhabited fields were located within an average of 107.2m from waterways and over 1,600 hectares of possible suitable habitat was identified.

In this study, three new reports of large felids from the Pleistocene are presented and discussed. A single partial left dentary from Jawbone Cave represents the first confirmed presence of S. fatalis in east Tennessee and was sampled for radiocarbon dating. Wind Tunnel and Chilly Bowl Cave are among the first records of P. onca to be identified confidently from Arkansas. Chilly Bowl Cave also produced two trackways attributable to Panthera sp., one set potentially belonging to P. atrox. In addition to the description of these remains and the caves they were found in, taxonomic histories for both S. fatalis and P. onca are explored to explain the choice of name used for each felid. Regional reviews of material of each taxon are also presented.

Thesis advisor: Mark Kazarosian / In November of 2020, the Life Works Here Initiative was launched in Northwest Arkansas targeting the relocation of highly educated remote workers - especially in the sectors of tech and STEAM, science, technology, engineering, the arts and math - to find young talent to pipeline for the future and fill demand gaps in high-tech, high-wage industries and jobs. This paper will investigate characteristics that may have impacted an individual's descision to move into Arkansas following the implementation of the Life Works Here initiative using panel data on migration decision. I found that the characteristic of being a female on average decreases the probability of migrating to Arkansas by -.0001739 percentage points, relative to males, ceteris paribus. I also found that older aged individuals initially increase in the probability of moving into Arkansas until 41.732 years of age, where they will then decrease the probability of relocating to Arkansas. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

Scaup (Aythya spp.) are suspected of consuming substantial quantities of fish from Arkansas commercial baitfish and sportfish farms. We investigated the foraging ecology and depredation impact of scaup on farms by surveying ponds and collecting scaup during two autumn-winters (2016-2018) in Arkansas. Scaup abundance and fish they consumed were highly variable between winters. More scaup were present and they ate more fish during the second winter (2017-2018) than the previous winter. In the second year, there were an estimated 874,941 scaup use-days and 18% of Lesser Scaup diet was fish. We found that scaup use of ponds was more likely in colder winters and on larger Golden Shiner, Fathead Minnow, and Lepomis spp. ponds stocked at high densities. These results will inform stakeholders on the extent of losses of fish to these birds, and methods to efficiently allocate resources for timely harassment of scaup from fish ponds.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether local and tourist boaters in the Arkansas River Headwaters Recreation Area differed in their activities, perceptions of environmental problems and user conflicts, and preferences for management. Locals were defined as living 100 miles or less from the river, and tourists were those living more than 100 miles away. Data were collected by on-site interviews with boaters as they completed their trip, and through a 12-page mailback questionnaire. Approximately 1168 questionnaires were returned, for an overall response rate of 58%. Few differences were found between locals and tourists. The largest differences between the two groups were in their trip expenditures and in their recreational activities in the river valley. Expenditures by tourists were significantly greater, and tourists also showed a greater tendency to both participate in and express interest in a greater variety of activities than did locals. The locals tended to be slightly more experienced and involved than were tourists, and they were also more predisposed toward membership in river running clubs. On reasons for selecting the Arkansas River, locals were more inclined to feel that a convenient location and being with friends were more important, while tourists felt that being in a new area with a variety of recreational opportunities was more important. In addition, locals exhibited a slightly greater sensitivity toward both environmental and people problems along the river. However, neither group supported more controls to reduce environmental damage or user conflicts. With respect to services and facilities, differences between the two groups were tenuous. Tourists were slightly more supportive of both manipulating the river's water level to benefit boating and constructing more shower facilities along the river. Locals were more in favor of scheduling 'no boat' times on the river to benefit fishing. Finally, in response to willingness to pay for services, tourists were more inclined to pay a greater amount for a given service than were locals in four out of five responses. Results of this study indicate that managers need to be aware of and monitor the perceptions, opinions, and preferences of both local and tourist users. Additionally, user groups other than boaters (such as landowners, river fishermen, or wildlife observers) must be studied in order that a more complete and thorough understanding of the different resource users and their relationships with the resource can be attained. / Master of Science

This is a study to ascertain the qualifications, the general status, and in-school and out-of-school activities of the industrial arts teachers employed in the secondary schools in Arkansas in order to compare them with the qualifications and general status of the industrial arts teachers employed in the State of Texas in 1953, as reported by Jack P. Dial.

The problem which forms the basis of this study is one involving an investigation of the curricular offerings in the field of business in the liberal-arts colleges of Arkansas. The purpose of the investigation is to compare the growth of business offerings during the eleven years from 1936 to 1946.

The purpose of this study was to determine the personal reading interests of students in the third, fourth, and fifth grades and to determine if advances in technology in the past twenty years have changed their reading interests.

A creative dissertation consisting of two parts: a novel and a critical preface. The critical preface, titled “Novel without Falsehood” deals directly with David Shields’s Reality Hunger, touching on issues of reality as it pertains to truth, writing, fiction, and contemporary culture. The novel is entitled Down and Out and follows the fortunes of a small town in Arkansas before, during, and after its sole source of employment ceases to exist.