Digital Commons Network^™

Texas School Social Workers: Demographics, Work Characteristics, Job Satisfaction, And Work Barriers And Facilitators, Astrid Gandaria

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the demographics, and job, services, responsibilities, barriers, facilitators, and satisfaction of Texas school social workers. A survey was emailed to Texas school social workers identified on a state list. A convergent parallel mixed method design was used to compare and discuss quantitative and qualitative data obtained. The data reveal consistency with existing school social work literature related to demographics and provided novel information on work characteristics, job satisfaction, work barriers and facilitators, and program preparation of school social workers. The data shows school social workers are highly involved …

Strategies Community College Mexican American Adult College Algebra Students Use When Graphing Function Transformations, Roxana Pamela Jimenez

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study pursued to describe the different strategies Mexican American adult students in a local community college used to graph function transformations. Participants in the study were purposefully selected using a criterion sampling to ensure participants were atypical, above average students between the ages 18-22, and had a final course average of 89.5-100 in College Algebra. Three research questions were examined 1) In what ways do Mexican American adult college students graph a function transformation? 2) Which strategies do students implement when graphing a function transformation? Qualitative research methods using think aloud semi-structured interviews were used in this …

Examining The Increasing Prevalence Of Academic Dishonesty: An Investigation Of Students’ Perceptions Of Academic Integrity In Higher Education, Luis Angel Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

A primary concern in academic institutions is the high frequency of academic dishonesty among students. Concerns surrounding this issue negatively affect the institution’s reputation and the acquisition of external funding. The purpose of this research was to explore the increasing prevalence of academic dishonesty at higher education institutions. Furthermore, the aim of the study is to investigate the frequency of students engaging in academic dishonesty, reasons for academic dishonesty, and awareness of academic dishonesty. Increasing awareness, prevention, and education regarding academic dishonesty can bring a positive environment to students in higher education. The participants were students enrolled in The University …

Reimagining Associate Degree Nursing Education: An Insider’S View, Ntiense E. Otu

Theses and Dissertations

The demographics of nursing students in the Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program are diverse, hence the need for nurse educators to prepare and handle the challenges faculty face in the ADN program. Although many pieces of literature have addressed different modalities of instructional delivery and teaching methods in nursing education, transition experience of nurse educators, and teaching preparation and readiness, these are not evident in the ADN programs in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). The teaching preparation of nurse educators and their utilization of instructional methods in the ADN program in the RGV is limited in the literature. This study …

Rhythmic Ritual: Hand Papermaking As A Transformative Process, Keatan Mckeever

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an exploration of the transformative processes of hand papermaking, both personally and materially, through various artworks situated between two- and three-dimensional forms. The conceptual motivations supporting my practice are informed by intuition, locally sourced materials, human connection, material structure, and low-tech approaches to the papermaking process. In the first portion of this thesis, I discuss how I chose paper as my artistic medium, and the transformational process of hand papermaking through a historical lens. The second half follows the experimentation and limitations that informed my practice, the content of my work regarding material and structural qualities, and …

Perspectives On Educational Technology Integration From District And School Leaders Before, During, And After The Lifting Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions, Alma Delia Cardenas-Rubio

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of educational technology is pivotal in enhancing classroom instruction. School administrators must possess a clear vision and the necessary skills to leverage emerging technologies effectively (Yu & Prince, 2016). This mixed methods research study explores trends, challenges, and experiences related to educational technology leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing an autoethnographic approach and survey data, the study aligns with the Future Ready Framework's seven interconnected components: curriculum, instruction, and assessment; personalized professional learning; budget and resources; use of space and time; robust infrastructures; data and privacy; and community partnerships. The narrative provides insights into a …

A Combinatorial Proof Of Supercranks For Partitions With A Fixed Number Of Parts, Jacob J. Gutierrez

Theses and Dissertations

In a previous paper by Eichhorn and Kronholm, a selection of supercranks for p(n,m) was established by generating functions. In this paper we will reprove this result with combinatorial witnesses for the selection of supercranks via integer lattice points.

An Automatic Solver For Optimal Control Problems, Marcel Efren Benitez

Theses and Dissertations

Optimal control theory is a study that is used to find a control for a dynamical system over a period of time such that a objection function is optimized. In this study we will be looking at optimal control problems for ordinary differential equations or ODEs and see that we can use an automatic solver using the forward-backward sweep using Matlab to solve for them from an 1 dimension to bounded cases and to nth dimension cases.

Attitudes Towards Mathematics Of Developmental Mathematics Students In A Community College, Benjamin Ortiz

Theses and Dissertations

Reformations to developmental mathematics aim to remove barriers for students entering higher education. Challenges like costly multi-course sequences and high failure rates prohibit students’ access to college-level math courses and prevent degree or certification completion. Understanding factors that foster student success is critical to increase student success. This study focuses on students’ attitudes towards mathematics, utilizing the novice-expert continuum through Code et al.’s Mathematical Attitude and Perceptions Survey (MAPS) instrument. Student expertise scores, including all MAPS dimensions and specific dimension scores, were assigned. Kruskal-Wallis Rank-Sum tests identified differences in student populations by course and attitude dimension. …

How An Instructor's Noticing For Equity Can Foster Students' Sense Of Belonging And Mathematical Confidence, Sthefania Espinosa

Theses and Dissertations

There are many aspects a teacher can notice inside the mathematics classroom, and the more a teacher notices, the more difficult it is to teach. In this study, I particularly focus on noticing for equity, which describes the role of the teacher in attending to students’ mathematical thinking through an equity lens that can allow the instructor to notice the aspects of classroom mathematical activity that can make students feel less or more empowered in their mathematical practices (van Es et al., 2017). There exists few research about how students perceive their instructor’s effort to promote equity and …

Quasipolynomials And The Unimodality Of Gaussian Polynomials, Paul Marsh

Theses and Dissertations

We illustrate a method to prove the unimodality of Gaussian polynomials ${N+m \brack m}$ for $m = 5$ and $6$, building upon Dr. Brandt Kronholm's work, which proved unimodality for $m = 2,3,$ and $4$. Our approach involves viewing coefficients $p(n,m,N)$ of Gaussian polynomials $N+m \brack m$ based on how far away $n$ is from the central coefficient $p(\lfloor\frac{mN}{2}\rfloor,m,N)$ and then creating generating functions for those coefficients. We then take the difference of neighboring generating functions and change those generating functions into quasipolynomials to verify that their coefficients are non-negative. While the generalization of these generating functions for the coefficients …

Effects Of Short-Term Pesticides Exposure On Swimming Behavior, Tissue Morphology, Oxidative-Nitrative Stress, Antioxidant Expression, And Cellular Apoptosis In Kidneys Of Goldfish, Esmirna Cantú

Theses and Dissertations

The prevalence of pesticides in the aquatic environment continues to increase due to anthropogenic activities and poses a threat to aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to determine the short-term exposure (one-week) of pesticide mixtures (metolachlor, linuron, isoproturon, tebucanazole, alconifen, atrazine, pendimethalin; azinphos-methyl) on swimming behaviors, kidney morphology, and expression of nitrotyrosine protein (NTP), dinitrophenyl protein (DNP), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), renin, and cellular apoptosis in goldfish (Carassius auratus). Results indicated that both low- and high-dose pesticide mixtures decreased the distance swimming behavior. Histological analysis showed pesticide exposure alters kidney morphology. DNP, NTP, and renin expressions, and …

Mano De Obra: Exploring Processes And Materiality In Artwork, Karla Gabriela De La Fuente

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis paper examines the theoretical derivatives and artistic influences that drive the artist’s ongoing series of works exploring the human experience of the working class in the border region of South Texas and beyond. Through the use of found objects, organic regional materials, adopted and adapted processes; the artist creates artwork that teeters on a tightrope between sweet, subtle naivety, and sudden, robust spoonfuls of truth. The artwork has an emphasis on the materiality, and the parallel between the “Mano de Obra” of the artist at work and that of the working class of our communities.

Student Perceptions Of The Effectiveness Of Collegiate Recovery Programs And Collegiate Recovery Communities, Michael Anthony Herold

Theses and Dissertations

Research on the objective effectiveness of Collegiate Recovery Programs and Collegiate Recovery Communities (CRPs / CRCs) has shown success in maintaining recovery and improving academic outcomes for college students in recovery, but research on the experiences of this population is starting to emerge. This study used a mixed-method design to investigate the perceptions of members of CRPs / CRCs regarding the impact of participation on their recovery from substance abuse and their overall quality of life. Thirty-one participants completed the Drug Avoidance Self-Efficacy Scale (DASES) and the Quality of Life Index – Generic Version iii (QLI). Paired samples t-tests were …

Case Studies Of Algebra 1 Teachers Selection And Implementation Of Mathematics Tasks Toward Situated Learning, Luis Román Sauceda

Theses and Dissertations

Mathematical tasks are vital in active learning, especially in situated learning. Adequate selection and appropriate implementation of tasks are steps toward success in engaging students for active learning. This study explored how a professional development (PD) workshop influences teacher participants’ capabilities in selecting, redesigning, implementing, and reflecting on mathematical tasks to promote situated and active learning. The teacher participants were Algebra 1 teachers from a South Texas secondary school. During the workshop, participants developed and implemented activities after being shown situated learning strategies to promote student-centered learning. They were required to design hypothetical dialogues to simulate their class practice before …

The Impacts Of Caregiving And Social Support On Stress For Multiple Sclerosis: A Study On Informal Caregivers, Jacqueline Mercado

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present quantitative study was to gain an increased understanding of the impacts of caregiving and social support on stress for unpaid informal caregivers of persons with Multiple Sclerosis. Caregiving for MS can be rewarding yet stressful. Informal caregivers are the primary source of ongoing home care for family members or friends with MS. Due to the complexity of care, caregivers are especially vulnerable to higher strain as they often feel unprepared for this role. This study examined perceived social support and demographic variables on caregivers' stress to gain insight into mediating caregiver psychosocial challenges. …

Examining Factors Among People With Opioid Use Disorder And Comorbid Mental Health Disorders, Tori Denae Livingston

Theses and Dissertations

Opioid use disorder (OUD) affects over two million Americans, and over 42,000 Americans perished of opioid overdoses in 2016 (Volkow et al., 2019). During the initial years of the opioid crisis, overdose deaths were primarily attributed to prescription analgesics, heroin, and synthetic opioids. However, it was illicit prescription opioid painkiller use that ranked highest in terms of fatalities (Volkow et al., 2019). The increasing prevalence of opioid use among individuals with mental health disorders is in stark contrast to the ongoing opioid crisis (Prince, 2019). Additionally, there is evidence that individuals undergoing substance use treatment and concurrently suffering from a …

Postsecondary Students With Disabilities: Predictors Of Academic Performance/Gpa, Uzoamaka Barbara Okori

Theses and Dissertations

The determination of people with disabilities to enroll in postsecondary education did not remove the struggles and challenges of adjusting to the college environment despite the provisions of the legislation. Students with disabilities still had problems with degree completion, graduation rates, barriers caused primarily by their unwillingness to disclose their disabilities, and the support networks of these students. This study explores the relationship between the acceptance of disability, self-efficacy, support, and the academic performance/grade point average of postsecondary students with disabilities who receive disability accommodations through their institution’s disability service offices.

Although there has been an increase …

Overexpression Of Ubtf Correlates With Aggressive Phenotypes Of Prostate Cancer Cells, Guillermo Andres Saldana

Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is one of the most common malignancies in men globally and the second leading cause of cancer associated deaths in developed countries. Accumulating evidence have demonstrated involvement of various molecular and cellular factors in the development, progression and chemoresistance of PrCa and many of them were successfully established as potential molecular targets for therapy. Despite these advancements, the underlying mechanisms of PrCa occurrence is still unclear, which limits the diagnosis and therapy. Therefore, it is an urgent need to discover potential molecular targets which can be used in rational design of new strategies for the prevention and …

Growth Rates, Morphology, And Potential For Mariculture Of The Southern Population Of Crassostrea Virginica In The Lower Laguna Madre, Texas, Jerad Lee Fuelling

Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Oyster also known as Crassostrea virginica, is an important resource here in the United States. Historically, this species has been overfished, poorly managed, and plagued by disease. Oyster mariculture is a growing industry here in the United States and is a sustainable solution to producing oysters. Texas has become the last coastal state to legalize oyster mariculture which means there is now a vast coastline with many unique bay systems that are open to this industry. One bay system that is particularly unique is the Lower Laguna Madre which is a hypersaline lagoon. Little is known about …

The Quiet And Other Fantastical Tales, Emily Nicole Cerda

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis briefly discusses the genres and subgenres of speculative fiction—focusing on fantasy, horror, and science fiction—and is primarily a short story collection that also includes a few novel chapters. The critical introduction delves into the present and overly complex subgenre categorization methods, how and why new subgenres are created, and provides simple definitions for the main genres of speculative fiction and fantasy subgenres.

The subgenres that will be discussed through either a short story, novel chapter(s), or definition include, but are not limited to: fairytales, portal fantasy, paranormal romance, dark fantasy, historical fantasy, magical realism, epic fantasy, mythic fiction, …

The Wackiness Of Wacky World, Michael Dan Mccormick

Theses and Dissertations

This critical introduction takes a closer look at the situations presented in my manuscript “Wacky World” and offer insight on the actions seen from the main character. This insight is meant to clear confusion as to whether or not the character can be viewed as a heroic figure and explore his personality to draw conclusions. “Wacky World”, a full-length play, tells the story of a man with an obsession with a defunct theme park and the deranged actions that he takes in order to prevent its demolition.

I explore the topic on whether or not sympathy …

Monitoring The Effectiveness Of Wildlife Exits And Bobcat Use Along A South Texas Highway, Jamie E. Langbein

Theses and Dissertations

Roadside exclusion fencing is commonly used to mitigate wildlife road mortalities and property damages caused by wildlife-vehicle collisions. A potential consequence is that animals may become trapped on the road by fencing. On State Highway 100 in South Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation installed ten wildlife exits (WE) allowing animals to exit the roadway through a modified opening in the fence. However, some individuals used the WE to access the roadway. In this study, a new design was implemented, with narrower openings, a ramp and a clear plastic one-way door. While the updated design prevented road access for wildlife, …

Aedes Aegypti Host Preference On Canines Versus Human Volatile Skin Compounds, Melissa Bernadette Rosalez

Theses and Dissertations

It is critical to understand how Aedes aegypti mosquitoes detect hosts through cues such as volatile skin compounds. In South Texas, evidence suggests that this mosquito is showing a feeding preference for canines over humans. This shift may impact the transmission of Dirofilaria immitis, canine heart worms, in local dog populations. Our study is set to explore Ae. Aegypti attraction to hosts using canine and human volatile compounds. Volatile skin compounds will be collected using a volatile collection system. Compounds will be analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. It is anticipated that the main volatile skin compounds amongst humans are nonanal, …

Enhancing Time Series Hashing Performance Via Deep Orthogonal Hashing, Mahmudul Hasan Robin

Theses and Dissertations

Deep hashing has been widely used for efficient retrieval and classification of high-dimensional data like images and text. However, its application to time series data is still challenging due to the data’s temporal nature. To tackle this issue, a new deep hashing method has been proposed that generates efficient hash codes and enhances the time series hashing performance using a ResNet model with Orthohash (Cosine Similarity Loss). The proposed method uses one loss architecture while using ResNet model for efficient hashing. It uses the Character Trajectories dataset to extract discriminative features from the time series data. These features are then …

Chemical Investigation Of Dichloromethane Extract Of Aloe Vera Peels: An Agricultural Waste, Nazmul Huda

Theses and Dissertations

Aloe barbadensis Miller, commonly called Aloe Vera, is a widely popular succulent plant species cultivated across subtropical regions worldwide from India to the Tex-Mex border. Besides its historical uses, Aloe juice has garnered attention as a potential remedy for various ailments, particularly in treating various skin conditions and facilitating wound recovery, including obesity, diabetes, hepatitis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. Regrettably, the agricultural practice following sap extraction involves discarding Aloe vera peels, constituting agricultural waste. As part of our continuous research on extraction, isolation, separation, and spectral characterization of value-added chemicals present in waste botanicals herein, …

Thin Film Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Nanostructured Materials: Tailoring Size, Porosity, Morphology Of Zinc Stannate Perovskites (Abx3), Christopher Munoz

Theses and Dissertations

Three dimensional (3D) piezoelectric zinc stannate (ZnSnO3) nanoweb arrays are synthesized using a combination of treatment methods deposited in PDMS thin films for electrochemical analysis of its piezoelectric response. Advantages of hydrothermal, molten salt, and solvothermal synthesis methods were leveraged to facilitate several chemical and surface engineering techniques. The combination of these treatments reduce the size of zinc stannate to approximately ~40nm-80nm weblike networks, much smaller than previously reported ZnSnO3 sub-micro cubes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis reveal a mesoporous protonated tristannate (H2Sn3O7) nanoweb template with connecting wirelike strands having diameters ranging from 12-27nm across and …

Private Ethereum Blockchain Implementation And Its Security Features For Smart Home Iot, Hasibul Grande Alam

Theses and Dissertations

The security and privacy of IoT devices have become primary concerns as smart home networks are connected to the internet. Ethereum blockchain can be a solution to mitigate or prevent attacks – sniffing attacks, malware attacks, Eavesdropping, and Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks. Deploying Ethereum in resource constraint IoT devices is challenging due to resultant energy consumption, computational overhead, and delay. We adopted smart home as a case study to examine our methodology as a model for general IoT applications. This thesis work presents the implementation of private Ethereum blockchain that is optimized and installable on smart home IoT. …

Sustainable Cities: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Of Integrating Piezoelectric Harvesters Into Roadways, Heba Mohamed Gaber

Theses and Dissertations

Energy is essential in our modern era. Because of the increasing electricity consumption, sustainable and Renewable energy became a necessary global approach to fill the gap of the ongoing energy shortage in addition to the climate change crisis due to using conventional ways for energy production. Renewable energy is a global approach that has achieved great accomplishments during the last decades and is gradually increasing. Energy harvesting is considered one of the main resources for renewable energy. Energy harvesting from the roadways is an ingenious horizon for sustainable, clean, and renewable energy generation. Harvesting energy from the roadways by using …

Mathematical Evaluation Of Ulnar Nerve Somatosensory Evoked Potentials (Sseps), Maribel Carmen Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

As the number of individuals suffering with low back and neck pain rises, we find people undergoing spinal procedures more often. In means, of safeguarding the patient and their neurological structures during the procedure intraoperative neuro-physiological monitoring (I.O.M) has been more widely used amongst surgeons orthopedic and neuro alike. During these procedures, a modality widely used for both low back and neck surgery is somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs). The aim of neuro-technicians is to obtain a baseline waveform that can be considered present and reliable. When obtaining SSEPs the technician can encounter obstacles with ’noisy’ wave-forms due to …