Digital Commons Network^™

Improving Human-Automation Collaboration In Motion Planning, Torin J. Adamson

Computer Science ETDs

Human-automation collaboration is becoming a part of everyday life as AI helps us drive, make decisions, and solve a variety of other tasks. However, safe and effective collaboration systems depend on factors in trust, communication, and more. Existing studies to explore these are typically carried out in laboratory settings, providing robust data under tight environmental control. However, human behavior evolves over time, driven by external factors that cannot be fully captured in single participation sessions. These factors form the "human context", contextualizing the behavioral data for a more complete understanding. In this thesis, video game adaptations upon conventional subject studies …

Hydrochemistry Of An Alpine Karst System, Northern New Mexico: Las Huertas, Kambray A. Townsend

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Las Huertas in the Sandia Mountains relies on snowmelt, monsoonal recharge, and groundwater inputs. Our hypothesis, the proportion of groundwater contribution varied spatially and temporally, was assessed by observing travertine and multiple geochemical tracers to differentiate water balance components. We report 26 samples from 13 locations (sampled between 2021-2023). Major ion and isotopic analysis indicated Las Huertas headsprings vary spatially. Capulin Spring has higher salinity; major ions suggest recharged waters are a mix of CaCO3-rich and sulfate-chloride-containing water. The proportion of groundwater to spring discharge is a mix of winter and summer precipitation. Travertine supersaturation is seasonal, with variations downstream, …

Enabling Intelligent Network Management Through Multi-Agent Systems: An Implementation Of Autonomous Network System, Petro Mushidi Tshakwanda

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

This Ph.D. dissertation presents a pioneering Multi-Agent System (MAS) approach for intelligent network management, particularly suited for next-generation networks like 5G and 6G. The thesis is segmented into four critical parts. Firstly, it contrasts the benefits of agent-based design over traditional micro-service architectures. Secondly, it elaborates on the implementation of network service agents in Python Agent Development Environment (PADE), employing machine learning and deep learning algorithms for performance evaluation. Thirdly, a new scalable approach, Scalable and Efficient DevOps (SE-DO), is introduced to optimize agent performance in resource-constrained settings. Fourthly, the dissertation delves into Quality of Service (QoS) and Radio Resource …

Using L1 Student Narratives And Peer Teaching To Increase Secondary Education Mathematical Understanding, Marco Antonio Martinez Leandro

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This phenomenological study research presents an option to use both discourse in the native language and technology as an alternative to improve the understanding of mathematics in secondary education. 13 students whose native language is Spanish attended a high school in a large urban school district in the Southwest of the United States, participated in this study.

The study's main objective was to observe the effects of using students' discourse in their language and the support of technology to increase their academic literacy in mathematics. Solution-based pedagogy was central to helping students achieve the Development of Academic Literacy in Mathematics …

Assessment Of Forest Stand Characteristics And Environmental Conditions On Soil Burn Severity And Post-Wildfire Flooding In The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, Raquel L. Valdez

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wildfire is a natural disturbance in forest ecosystems but has the potential to drastically change watershed conditions, leaving them highly vulnerable to post-wildfire hazards. High severity fires can significantly affect soil and landscape interactions, resulting in decreased evaporation and infiltration and increased runoff in the newly exposed soil surfaces. Most post-wildfire research focuses on reactive solutions. However, the time between wildfires and post-wildfire hazards is growing closer in margin. Therefore, assessing post-wildfire risks, pre-fire is helpful when assessing fire severity and is valuable to resource managers for pre-wildfire management, planning, and mitigation. This research is in the Upper Gallinas Watershed …

Syntheses And Characterization Of Photoactive Ruthenium And Iron Polypyridyl Complexes, Rajani Thapa Magar

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Within this dissertation, two distinct classes of metal complexes have been discussed that bear significance in the field of solar energy conversion, photo redox catalysis and memory devices. The first class of the metal complexes is a series of photochromic Ruthenium polypyridyl N-heterocyclic carbene tethered sulfoxide complexes that are reported to undergo unusually slow isomerization from S-bonded to O-bonded and unusually fast thermal reversion from O-bonded to S-bonded configuration. The role of NHC in the excited state dynamics of these complexes have been discussed in detail in Chapter 3.

For the first time in two decades, structural information of the …

Applications Of Observational Seismology: Insights Into Volcanic And Near Surface Processes, Justin T. Wilgus

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

The field of observational seismology has made tremendous progress in the past two decades. This progress has been multi-faceted in form, but significant contributions emanated from 1) increases in both the quality and the quantity of seismic data 2) advances in computational power 3) advances in algorithmic capability, including machine learning. In this dissertation I report on three distinctly different seismic applications made possible by the aforementioned progress and discuss the insights these applications have provided in understanding volcanic and near surface processes of the Earth.

In the first chapter titled, “Shear Velocity Evidence of Upper Crustal Magma Storage Beneath …

Mandatory Child Abuse And Neglect Reporting Behaviors Among Registered Nurses In New Mexico: A Statewide Comparative Study, Ingrid Ann Wilson

Nursing ETDs

Child abuse and/or neglect (CAN) is a global problem. Although nurses are mandated CAN reporters, a lack of reporting has been an issue. New Mexico (NM) is faced with higher child poverty and CAN-related substance-abuse compared to other U.S. states. This quantitative study aimed to explore factors influencing intended/actual CAN reporting behaviors among NM registered nurses (RN)s, examine relationships of these factors, and compare differences in reporting behaviors between rural and urban locations. A survey to a sample of RNs (N=146) showed factors associated with CAN reporting intended behaviors were work status (r=.21, p < .05), cues to action (r=.20, …

Identifying Psychosocial And Neural Correlates Associated With Future Homicide In A Sample Of Incarcerated Boys, Samantha N. Rodriguez

Psychology ETDs

Previous research has observed significant group differences regarding neuroanatomical and psychosocial variables between incarcerated boys who have and have not previously committed a homicide, resulting in successful postdictive classification (Cope et al., 2014). However, no study to date has investigated whether similar group differences characterize future homicide offenders. Following the methodology of Cope et al. (2014), the current study aimed to identify baseline neural, clinical, and environmental deficits (collected in a sample of n = 242 incarcerated juvenile offenders) associated with future homicidal behavior as adults. Results indicated that youth who went on to commit homicide as adults were characterized …

Beyond Stressors: Identifying Protective Cultural Factors And Coping Strategies For Mental Health Symptoms Among Aging Latino/Hispanic Immigrants, Juan M. Pena

Psychology ETDs

Within the next decade, Latino immigrants will constitute the largest middle-aged and older immigrant group living in the U.S. This cross-sectional study investigated traumatic stressors, acculturative stress and perceived structural injustices and their associations with mental health symptoms. This study also examined the linkages between cultural factors, social support, and coping strategies and mental health outcomes. Eighty Latino/Hispanic immigrants who were 45 years of age or older completed a series of questionnaires and optional open-ended questions. A greater exposure to traumatic events, higher acculturative stress, and perceived injustices were associated with greater psychological distress and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and …

The Impacts Of Transfer Learning For Ungulate Recognition At Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, Michael Gurule

Geography ETDs

As camera traps have grown in popularity, their utilization has expanded to numerous fields, including wildlife research, conservation, and ecological studies. The information gathered using this equipment gives researchers a precise and comprehensive understanding about the activities of animals in their natural environments. For this type of data to be useful, camera trap images must be labeled so that the species in the images can be classified and counted. This has typically been done by teams of researchers and volunteers, and it can be said that the process is at best time-consuming. With recent developments in deep learning, the process …

The Influence Of Custodial Grandparental Figures’ Cultural Backgrounds On Their Grandchildren’S Educational Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Gabriela B. Gonzalez

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Researchers have continuously explored the multiple ways in which grandparents affect their grandchildren’s environments, inside and outside of their homes. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in literature that regards custodial relationships between grandparents and grandchildren, pathways to custodial relationships and how these affect the grandparent’s methods of raising their grandchildren. Multiple researchers have analyzed educational attainment and progress of custodial grandchildren. This analysis focused on exploring existing data that considered how individuals with the mentioned custodial arrangements also possess diverse cultural backgrounds as their circumstance, and how both of these factors might affect children’s educational outcomes.

Throughout this …

Three Essays On The Economics Of Children’S Health And Education In Nepal, Khusiman Pun

Economics ETDs

First essay: This paper studies the impact of Nepal’s 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency on the nutritional status of children. We employ the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The proxy for conflict intensity is killings per thousand population (KPT). The finding of our study is that a marginal increase in KPT decreases the height-for-age (HAZ) of the children by 0.0844. The loss in child health was statistically not significant in both non-poor and poor households. Therefore, the impact of the insurgency on child health is largely driven by the negative effect of the insurgency on Janajaties, irrespective of their economic status.

Second essay: This …

Witchy Politics: Witches And Witchcraft As Political Tropes From Malleus Malleficarum (1487) To Les Sorcières De La République (2016) And The Mercies (2020), Mallaury Joëlle Marie Gauthier

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

The focus of this thesis are two recent novels featuring witches: Chloé Delaume’s Les Sorcières de la République(The Witches of the Republic, 2016) and Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s The Mercies (2020). The first is a futuristic dystopia set in 2062, during the witch trial of the Sibyl of Cumae. The second is a work of historical fiction based on witch trial records and set in seventeenth-century Finnmark (Norway). Both are feminist novels, and both emphasize the political valence of the witch as a gendered figure. This figure emerged from the misogyny of early modern demonology but acquired its contemporary contours …

Analysis Of Interprofessional Education Inclusion Within U.S. Dental Hygiene Programs’ Curricula, Jennifer M. Pacheco

Dental Hygiene ETDs

The purpose of this study was to collect information on the implementation of IPE activities within U.S. dental hygiene programs and whether program faculty are implementing these components into their program curricula. Furthermore, the study would identify which types of IPE activities were being conducted and if these activities met the CODA standards. An original survey was sent out to dental hygiene program directors and faculty. Results revealed both programs agreed that IPE is a significant component to include in hygiene curricula to better equip students as members of the healthcare team to deliver comprehensive care. IPE activities implemented were …

Immigrational Trauma: An Assessment Of Dental Phobia And Access To Care In Undocumented Individuals, Nora J. Vences Ortiz

Dental Hygiene ETDs

The purpose of this study is to assess immigrational trauma as it relates to dental phobia in accessing care from undocumented individuals. Immigrating from a country to the United States presents with unique challenges. These challenges include language barriers, traumatic experiences and cultural factors. These individuals also have perceived notions regarding their treatment with a physician or dentist as their immigration status may or may not be revealed during their care. If reported, they face deportation to their country of origin placing them in the danger they originally fled from. Survey data was collected using REDCap and distributed to students …

Examining The Effects Of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles On Primary Gingival Keratinocytes For The Prevention Of Oral Disease, Jennifer C. Carranza

Dental Hygiene ETDs

Oral plaque biofilm has been identified as the primary contributor to dental conditions such as dental caries and periodontal disease that promotes a diverse and pervasive collection of microbial species to inhabit the oral cavity. Disrupting the plaque matrix early could help combat this global disease burden. This study evaluated the effect of IONPs on primary gingival keratinocytes.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine existing research regarding nanoparticles and determine if IONPs affect the PGK cell membranes with preliminary research to find the maximum lysis possible with PGK cells.

Methods: IONP core/shell syntheses were performed. Considering keratinocyte characteristics, examining data …

Examining The Relationship Between Teacher Candidate Characteristics And Teacher Workforce Entry, Amy Korzekwa

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This study aims to look for relationships between the characteristics and experiences of teacher candidates while in the program and their subsequent workforce entry after leaving the program. A hierarchical logistic regression was conducted on five blocks of variables: demographics, entry academic variables, program academic variables, completion variables, and experience variables, with employment in a New Mexico public school as the dependent variable. The rate of completers working in NM public schools was much higher than expected, 73% compared to 55%. Only the block of completion variables was significantly related to entering the workforce. A few individual variables were also …

Probabilistic Modeling Of Social Media Networks, Distinguishing Phylogenetic Networks From Trees, And Fairness In Service Queues, Md Rashidul Hasan

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

In this dissertation, three primary issues are explored. The first subject exposes who-saw-from-whom pathways in post-specific dissemination networks in social media platforms. We describe a network-based approach for temporal, textual, and post-diffusion network inference. The conditional point process method discovers the most probable diffusion network. The tool is capable of meaningful analysis of hundreds of post shares. Inferred diffusion networks demonstrate disparities in information distribution between user groups (confirmed versus unverified, conservative versus liberal) and local communities (political, entrepreneurial, etc.). A promising approach for quantifying post-impact, we observe discrepancies in inferred networks that indicate the disproportionate amount of automated bots. …

Between Casas Grandes And Salado: Community Formation And Interaction In The Borderlands Of The American Southwest/Mexican Northwest Region, Ad 1200-1450, Thatcher A. Seltzer-Rogers

Anthropology ETDs

The historical record of Indigenous North America at the time of European colonization attests to the presence of borderlands between competing culture cores. Yet, the oftentimes inability of the archaeological record to speak to the presence of such dynamics in the past remains a hinderance to understanding how past peoples engaged with one another in noncolonial settings as well as how these interactions resulted in ethnogenesis or the establishment of new culture cores. This dissertation uses a comparative analysis of settlement layout, architecture traits, ceramic artifacts, and mortuary practices to examine how individuals who resided in the space between two …

Disrupting Whiteness In Education Organizations: Community Testimonios Of Strategy, Resistance, And Perseverance In Educational Justice Organizing, Florence E. Castillo

Sociology ETDs

Through this project, I utilize multiple approaches to disrupt whiteness. I make a case for centering Indigenous and non-Western methods, such as testimonio in sociological studies, to disrupt the academic whiteness of knowledge creation and validation. Whiteness itself is amorphous and looks different depending on circumstances, location, who holds power, and context (Hughey 2016). Utilizing a theory of racialized organizations, I shed light on how whiteness is normalized in education institutions through race-neutral, everyday actions (Ray 2019). This further disrupts whiteness by rendering it visible. Finally, I highlight the different modes of resistance that educational activists use to disrupt whiteness. …

Synthesis And Reactivity Of Heteroatom Embedded Cycloalkynes In Spaac, Nickel Catalyzed Alkylarylation Of Alkenes, And Carbofluorination Of Alkynes, Namrata Khanal

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Part I covers Chapters 1, 2, and 3

cycloaddition reactions, that is utilized in biorthogonal chemistry. This metal free version The strain promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) reaction is one of the popular 1,3-dipolar of click reaction offers advantage over copper catalyzed click reaction. Since it eliminates the use of copper that is toxic to cells, it is considered favorable for biocompatible reaction. Due to the increased reactivity with dipoles without the use of metal catalyst, cycloalkynes, in particular cyclooctynes, have been employed as the biorthogonal reagent in biorthogonal chemical reaction for the study of a biological processes in vivo. The …

Resistance Narratives: Storytelling Of Transnational Insurgencies In 1960-70s Us And Mexico, Tania Libertad Balderas

English Language and Literature ETDs

Resistance Narratives: Storytelling of Transnational Insurgencies in 1960-70s US and Mexico emphasizes how the narratives from the Mexican Insurgency, the American Indian Movement (AIM), and the leftist faction of the Chicana/o Movement in the 1960s and 1970s articulate intersecting notions of resistance, liberation, and transnational solidarity. The comparative analysis of the testimonial novel Las mujeres del alba (2019) by Chihuahuan novelist Carlos Montemayor, the autobiographies Lakota Woman (1991) and Ohitika Woman (1993) by Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta writer and AIM militant Mary Brave Bird (formerly Crow Dog), and the memoirs and plays by the San Diego-based group Teatro de las Chicanas, collected …

Investigation Of Orthohantavirus Genetics In Rodent Reservoirs And Clinical Samples, Samuel M Goodfellow

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Orthohantaviruses are negative-sense, single stranded RNA viruses with trisegmented genomes that can cause severe disease in humans and are carried by several host reservoirs throughout the world. In the United States, Sin Nombre orthohantavirus (SNV) is the primary cause of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) with a fatality rate of ~36% and the highest cases occuring in the southwest region. The primary SNV host reservoir is thought to be the western deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, however it has been shown that other rodents can carry different orthohantaviruses. We designed a pan-orthohantavirus detection tool to survey several small mammal populations throughout New …

Determining The Existence And Regulation Of Microlipophagy In Primary Brown And White Adipocytes, Sara C. Arenas De Leon

Biomedical Sciences ETDs

Lipids are one of life’s four main macromolecules and provide essential functions to cells.

The degradation of lipid droplets and mobilization of lipids occurs through lipolysis. Emerging evidence demonstrates evidence of a selective form of autophagy in lipolysis. The process of microlipophagy has only recently been described, and many features of its regulation are still poorly understood. Our recent study showed that inhibiting mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway by depletion of Raptor in adipocytes led to an influx of lysosomes and accumulation of lipid droplets within lysosome. Here, we expand on these previous findings. We were able …

Indigenous Student Responses Of Resiliency To Adversity, Aaron Billie

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to analyze the responses of Indigenous students as they experience situations that are adversarial and precarious. One of the goals of this study was to empower voices of Indigenous students in providing an avenue to share their genuine stories of resilience. I served as both researcher and mentor as I applied a Navajo framework to the analysis of the data known as Nitl‘iz Saad bee Hozho Iina Sila (NSBHIS), or beautiful lifeways exist within the language of precious elements. The four areas of this framework held up the salient outcomes from the research which …

Seismic Analysis Of The Upper & Lower Falls Of The Yellowstone River, Loring Schaible

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Twelve years of concurrent hydrologic and continuous seismic data along with temporary seismic data demonstrate that the Upper and Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River comprise a highly localized source of 0.5-5 Hz seismic energy that overwhelms anthropogenic contributions. In aggregate, seismic amplitude from 2008-2019 is linearly related to discharge with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. Repeated deviations from this linear relationship persist for 1-2 weeks prior to the date that Yellowstone Lake becomes clear of winter ice coverage. Seismic efficiency increases by ~50-250% during this period of ice-breakup, during which lake ice flows into the …

Seismic Shadow Zone Investigation In The Upper Magma Reservoir Of The Yellowstone Caldera, Sarah Nolt-Caraway

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

This study investigates whether the Yellowstone Caldera has enough melt to mute S-waves, creating a seismic shadow zone. Using a dense nodal deployment of ~650 stations, 7-9 earthquakes during the nodal deployment, and 21 broadband stations with 3,000-4,000 events per station; amplitude and noise maps, seismograms, and automatic phase picks probabilities from a deep learning model were analyzed to assess the potential role of melt, crustal attenuation, and noise in affecting body waves, particularly S-phases. The results are inconclusive, with unclear evidence whether observed amplitude decay is normal signal decay due to distance, noise-related, melt, or from scattering and intrinsic …

Testing The Niche Center Hypothesis In The Fossil Record Of Atlantic Bivalves, Rhiannon Z. Nolan

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Paleoecological analyses of six shallow marine bivalves were conducted to test the Abundant Center Hypothesis using data from the fossil record of the Pleistocene through modern day. This hypothesis predicts the highest abundance of a species is at the center of the geographic or environmental range, decreasing toward the edges. In geographic space, distances to a centerline within a geographic range were variably correlated with population abundances, and some species displayed a sharp drop-off in abundance as distance increased. In environmental space, bivalve species showed moderate correlations between abundance and centrality when measured using cumulative data across the last 2.8 …

Super-Resolution Microscopy With Color Centers In Diamond, Forrest A. Hubert

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

This dissertation explores the development and application of diamond color centers, specifically the silicon-vacancy (SiV) and nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, in super-resolution microscopy and magnetic imaging techniques. It demonstrates the potential of SiV centers as photostable fluorophores in stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, with a resolution of approximately 90 nm. The research also presents a method for nanoscale magnetic microscopy using NV centers by combining charge state depletion (CSD) microscopy with optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) to image magnetic fields produced by 30 nm iron-oxide nanoparticles. The individual magnetic feature width reaches ~100 nm while resolving magnetic field patterns from nanoparticles …