Digital Commons Network^™

Romantic Miscalculations On Dating Applications: Definitions And Experiences Of Mobile Dating Micro-Rejection, Sean James Kolhoff

Wayne State University Dissertations

Millions of emerging adults use mobile dating applications (MDAs) daily in their efforts to find a romantic partner. However, the processes these daters use to interpret and react to rejection have received little attention. Not every attempt to develop a relationship can be successful. As daters evaluate profiles on these apps and interact with potential partners, they may miscalculate their perceptions of compatibility hand encounter rejection. Within MDAs, rejection could be a passive or active declaration by an individual signifying they do not want to initiate or escalate a potential relationship. These various forms of rejection are conceptualized in this …

The Association Between School Spending And Academic Growth Among Seventh Grade Students In Michigan, Angela M. Jack

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative ex-post facto research study was two-fold: (a) to investigate the association, if any, between school spending and student academic performance, and (b) to identify what, if any, student and school-level structural characteristics mediated a relationship. Multilevel linear regression models were estimated to identify the association between total site-level per-pupil expenditures and school aggregated student academic growth measures in mathematics and ELA among 7th-grade students in Michigan for the 2018-2019 academic year. The data for 847 traditional public and charter public-school academies from 667 districts in Michigan were collected from the Michigan Center for Educational Performance …

The Role Of Biomaterial Substrate In Stem Cell Fate Determination, Zhenjie Liu

Wayne State University Dissertations

The physical cues, which included topography, stiffness, and mechanical forces, can influence the stem cell renewal, differentiation, and maturation in vivo and in vitro. The nano-topography of the ECM can stimulate the neural differentiation of the stem cells, while the micro-topography of the ECM can guide the neurite outgrowth. However, the role and functional size of the micro- and nano-topography in the stem cell fate determination is not clear yet. To study this aim, two biomaterial based aligned fiber platforms (ACMFP and ASMFP) were designed, fabrication and evaluated to cover the micro-, submicro-, and nano-fiber topography, which used to study …

Multiparametric Quantitative Acoustic Imaging Of Cervical Remodeling During Pregnancy, Yan Yan

Wayne State University Dissertations

The uterine cervix plays a central role in the maintenance of pregnancy and the process of parturition. Untimely cervical ripening in early gestation predisposes to preterm labor and delivery, the leading cause of infant mortality worldwide. The current approach to evaluate the status of the cervix relies on digital and sonographic examination, which indicates the morphological changes of the cervix (cervical length). Therefore, assessing cervix tissue composition changes may provide more sensitive evaluations about cervix status beyond cervical length. Photoacoustic (PA) imaging is a relatively new, non-invasive ultrasound (US) based technology that captures acoustic signals emitted by tissue components in …

Singing Solidarity: Class Consciousness, Emotional Pedagogy, And The Songs Of The Industrial Workers Of The World, Tara Forbes

Wayne State University Dissertations

Singing Solidarity looks at songs and song culture in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) from its inception to its decline near the start of WWI and examines how IWW songs engaged with, transformed, and directed workers’ feelings to “spur [them] to action” (Gould 47). Songs in the IWW repertoire created a sense of group identity and cohesion, supporting the IWW’s project of class consciousness and working-class solidarity. This solidarity, I argue, was felt rather than theorized. The felt solidarity of the IWW collective was intensified through the act of singing as a group, which was simultaneously an instantiation …

A Multispecies Perspective Into Dietary Genetic Adaptations And Ancient Migration In The Peruvian Andes, Kelsey Jorgensen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Successful adaptation to the high-elevation Andes would have required both cultural and biological adaptations by early human populations. These past adaptations continue to shape the evolutionary outcomes of both humans and non-human species today. A multispecies perspective was used to examine how humans and non-human creatures, specifically insects, were shaped by past human adaptations. This dissertation asked two primary questions: 1) Given the importance and evolutionary history of potato consumption in the Peruvian Andes, is a genetic adaptation to better digest potato starch detectable in present-day Peruvians? and 2) Using the Andean Potato Weevil (APW) phylogeny as a proxy, what …

Identifying Biologically Relevant Mechanisms And Biomarkers Using Novel Bioinformatics Methods, Samer Hanoudi

Wayne State University Dissertations

There is a tremendous need to analyze molecular and patient clinical data to identify biomarkers, biological mechanisms, or to simply classify samples accurately. Issues such as: i) limited tools to diagnose many diseases, ii) not considering biological interactions, or iii) damaged DNA samples could cause a challenge in identifying valuable insights. In this work, I try to address these issues by developing different bioinformatic frameworks.First, I present three frameworks to identify i) Sarcoidosis biomarkers, ii) Tuberculosis biomarkers and iii) Cystic fibrosis (CF) biomarkers. I identified Sarcoidosis biomarkers I applied them to classify Sarcoidosis samples from non-Sarcoidosis (healthy controls, Tuberculosis, and …

Understanding Pre-Service Elementary Mathematics Teacher Learning In An Early Lesson Study Experience, Christopher Dennis Nazelli

Wayne State University Dissertations

As the most important in-school factor in student learning, elementary school teachers must be able to offer all students the quality mathematical learning experiences that they deserve; and the opportunities to learn that pre-service teachers (PSTs) encounter during their preparation programs impact their ability to do so. Content courses are crucial components of the mathematical education of elementary teachers and can be sites for the early development of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) (Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008). These courses, often taken early in their preparation programs, can provide PSTs opportunities to create a new vision of mathematics, build new …

Accumulation-Type Ohmic Van Der Waals Contacts To Nearly Intrinsic Wse2, Upendra Rijal

Wayne State University Dissertations

We report the fabrication of ohmic van der Waals (vdW) contacts to WSe2 using degenerately p-doped MoS2 (p+-MoS2) as a contact-metal. We demonstrate in WSe2 field-effect transistors (FETs) that accumulation-type ohmic contacts and high device performance are achieved without electrostatically gating the drain/source contact regions despite the nearly intrinsic nature of WSe2. Back-gated WSe2 FETs with p+-MoS2 bottom-contacts (which screen the back-gate electric field in the drain/source regions) exhibit linear output characteristics, a high on/off ratio of 108, and a high two-terminal field-effect mobility up to ~200 cm2V-1s-1 at room temperature. Our theoretical modeling reveals that the p+-MoS2/WSe2 vdW contact …

The Probiotic Effect Of Clostridium Cochlearium Is Associated With Significant Change In Short-Chain Fatty Acid Metabolism And Gut Microbiota, Qing Ai

Wayne State University Dissertations

The prevalence of obesity is rising steadily across the world, which increases the risk of many metabolic diseases and life-threatening illnesses. A specific strain, Clostridium cochlearium (C. cochlearium), reported as a butyrate producer, could have potential probiotic effects against obesity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of C. cochlearium on a high-fat diet-induced obese (DIO) mouse model. The 16S rRNA sequencing of mice gut microbiome was performed at the end of the experimental period to identify the changes in gut microbial composition, investigate possible functional genes, and elucidate potential mechanisms. Thirty-six C57BL/6 6-8 …

Induction And Prevention Of Electron Transport In Langmuir-Blodgett Films Of 3d-Based Metallosurfactants: Studies On Current Rectification And Corrosion Inhibition, Aldora Devale Kapuralalage Isuri Weeraratne

Wayne State University Dissertations

The work reported in this thesis focused on the use of redox-active metallosurfactants for current rectification and redox-innocent metallosurfactants for corrosion inhibition. These studies were done based on the hypothesis that redox-active metallosurfactnats can promote electron transport, while redox-innocent metallosurfactants can hinder electron transport. As such, new redox-active phenolate based iron(III), chromium(III), oxovanadium(IV) and redox-innocent gallium(III) and zinc(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized for the aforementioned applications. First, we studied the current rectification ability of a homobimetallic iron(III) hydrophobe with [N4O6] ligand environment. This complex displayed rectification with rectification ratio ranges from 2.6 to 9.8 between -2.0 and 2.0 V …

Antiwar Literature In The United States Since 1945, Kelly Roy Polasek

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation examines literary resistance to US militarism since 1945. I maintain that a requirement of antiwar literature is a disruption or break from the pro-war narrative that seeks to justify and normalize the wars and militarism that saturate this historical period; literary works about war that do not deviate from this narrative are simply war literature. In chapters on John Hersey’s Hiroshima (1946), poetry and performance protests of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (1970-72), Rob Halpern’s Common Place (2015), and works of speculative fiction by Omar El Akkad (American War, 2017) and N.K. Jemisin (The Fifth Season, 2015), …

Murals In Motion: Mexican Muralism On The Silver Screen And Its Place In Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Angela Michelle Sherman

Wayne State University Dissertations

This research focuses on Mexican Muralism as a part of an educational initiative introduced following the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Functioning as a didactic art form, the intention of the murals was to educate the masses about its history, new national identity and promising modern future. This work not only examines Mexican Muralism and its recurring themes and representation of Indigenous subjects, but also tracks the appearance of these images from mural walls to movie screens in Mexican film of the Golden age. Using the 21st century theory developed by Django Paris and Samy Alim, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, this work …

The Efficacy Of A Novel Facebook-Based Psychosocial Intervention For Adults With Chronic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Bethany Danielle Pester

Wayne State University Dissertations

Social networking-based groups such as Facebook groups have become increasingly popular among people with chronic conditions, and the affordances of such groups make them a promising platform for chronic disease intervention. Yet, there have been few controlled tests of the effects of social networking-based groups. Our team developed a Facebook-based intervention that focuses on enhancing social support by connecting adults with peers who also have chronic pain. Using a randomized controlled clinical trial, we aimed to understand the efficacy of this intervention and to explore whether a professional-led support group leads to greater effects than a support group alone. The …

Versatility Of Low-Power Wide-Area Network Applications, Dali Ismail

Wayne State University Dissertations

Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) is regarded as the leading communication technology for wide-area Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. It offers low-power, long-range, and low-cost communication. With different communication requirements for varying IoT applications, many competing LPWAN technologies operating in both licensed (e.g., NB-IoT, LTE-M, and 5G) and unlicensed (e.g., LoRa and SigFox) bands have emerged. LPWANs are designed to support applications with low-power and low data rate operations. They are not well-designed to host applications that involve high mobility, high traffic, or real-time communication (e.g., volcano monitoring and control applications).With the increasing number of mobile devices in many IoT domains (e.g., agricultural …

Assessing Midbrain Abnormalities In Parkinson’S Disease Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Kiarash Ghassaban

Wayne State University Dissertations

Diagnosing early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) and its manifestations is still a clinical challenge. Previous imaging studies using iron, neuromelanin (NM) and the Nigrosome-1 (N1) measures in the substantia nigra (SN) by themselves have been unable to provide sufficiently high diagnostic performance for these methods to be adopted clinically. In this dissertation, we start by studying idiopathic PD patients at their intermediate stages of the disease to evaluate the role of global and regional iron in the major deep gray matter nuclei. Then, we only focus on the NM complex in the midbrain and how neuronal loss interact with iron overload …

Thermal Atomic Layer Deposition Of Titanium Nitride Films: Synthesis And Characterization Of Novel Titanium Precursors, Anuththara Chalani Upeksha Abesinghe Arachchige

Wayne State University Dissertations

Due to the continuous miniaturization of microelectronic devices, robust deposition techniques are required which can provide continuous and conformal thin films even in high aspect ratio structures. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is an excellent choice of deposition technique as it is capable of providing perfect film coverage. Because of its self-limited growth mechanism, ALD can afford sub-nanometer thickness control. Precursors used in ALD should be volatile, thermally stable at the deposition temperature, and highly reactive towards the co-regent. Traditionally, ALD has been used to grow metal oxide films. However, the microelectronics industry now demands ALD for metals and metal nitrides. …

Health And Nutrition Status Of Hemodialysis Patients During Ramadan In Saudi Arabia., Bayan Mansour Tashkandi

Wayne State University Dissertations

During Ramadan R month, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, and medication from sunrise to sunset, and this causes some changes in their lifestyle and often eating habits (quantity and quality). These changes could lead to affect their health and nutritional status. Among Hemodialysis (HD) patients, malnutrition is common, and it is associated with mortality. Some HD patients opt to fast R which could have an impact on their nutritional and health status. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to document nutritional changes before, during, and after Ramadan on biochemical and health parameters in HD patients. A prospective cohort …

Medical Surge Capability: Performance Modeling Of Hospital Emergency Departments, Egbe-Etu Emmanuel Etu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Hospitals are faced with significant challenges during and after natural or human-caused disasters. Surge planning is a critical component of every healthcare facility’s emergency plan and response system. The process of managing and allocating scarce resources by tackling the vulnerability inherent to patients means that defining improvement priorities is one of the main challenges healthcare systems face when responding to a medical surge event (e.g., COVID-19). The consequences of these challenges include increased patient mortality, ambulance diversion, long wait times, and unavailability of beds. Previous efforts in hospital operations management have successfully applied operations research techniques in analyzing and optimizing …

Maximizing User Engagement In Short Marketing Campaigns Within An Online Living Lab: A Reinforcement Learning Perspective, Aniekan Michael Ini-Abasi

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

MAXIMIZING USER ENGAGEMENT IN SHORT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS WITHIN AN ONLINE LIVING LAB: A REINFORCEMENT LEARNING PERSPECTIVE

by

ANIEKAN MICHAEL INI-ABASI

August 2021

Advisor: Dr. Ratna Babu Chinnam Major: Industrial & Systems Engineering Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

User engagement has emerged as the engine driving online business growth. Many firms have pay incentives tied to engagement and growth metrics. These corporations are turning to recommender systems as the tool of choice in the business of maximizing engagement. LinkedIn reported a 40% higher email response with the introduction of a new recommender system. At Amazon 35% of sales originate from recommendations, …

Integrated Optimization And Learning Methods Of Predictive And Prescriptive Analytics, Mehmet Kolcu

Wayne State University Dissertations

A typical decision problem optimizes one or more objectives subject to a set of constraints on its decision variables. Most real-world decision problems contain uncertain parameters. The exponential growth of data availability, ease of accessibility in computational power, and more efficient optimization techniques have paved the way for machine learning tools to effectively predict these uncertain parameters. Traditional machine learning models measure the quality of predictions based on the closeness between true and predicted values and ignore decision problems involving uncertain parameters for which predicted values are treated as the true values.Standard approaches passing point estimates of machine learning models …

Organizational And Financial Considerations Of Inter-District School Of Choice On One Small District In The Detroit Metropolitan Area, Lori Lucas

Wayne State University Dissertations

The research study investigated the organizational and financial structure of a school district that participated in inter-district school of choice. The goal was to see if choice, resident and non-resident, had any influence on these structures. The literature that I reviewed highlighted the various organizational and funding mechanisms that school districts need to account for when considering options such as school of choice. This research study was conducted on a smaller scale compared to studies that have been completed on a grander scale. The goal of this study was to review the organizational and financial changes that districts make to …

High Mobility N-Type Field Effect Transistors Enabled By Wse2/Pdse2 Heterojunctions, Arthur Bowman Iii

Wayne State University Dissertations

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have emerged as a promising candidate for post-silicon electronics. Few-layer tungsten diselenide (WSe2), a well-studied TMD, has sown high hole mobility and ON/OFF ratio in field effect transistor (FET) devices. But the n-type performance of WSe2 is still quite limited by the presence of a substantial Schottky Barrier. Palladium diselenide, (PdSe2) is a newly discovered TMD that is of interest because of its high electron mobility, and moderate ON/OFF ratios. However, despite its relatively small bandgap, the n-type performance of few-layer PdSe2 FETs has also been limited by a Schottky barrier, …

Substrate Profiling Of The Epigenetic Erasers Hdac1 And Lsd1, Herath Mudiyansela Gedara Kavinda Eranga Herath

Wayne State University Dissertations

Regulators of chromatin structure have emerged as a key driver of transcriptional responses inside the cell. Two such groups of regulators, histone writers and erasers; the proteins, that add or remove histone post translational modifications (PTMs), have become the central players in chromatin structure. Thus, the aberrant expression of writers and erasures is a hallmark in human diseases. For example, overexpression of the erasures histone deacetylase1 (HDAC1) and lysine specific demethylase1 (LSD1) had been reported in many cancers. Currently, HDAC inhibitors have been used successfully for cancer treatment and several inhibitors targeting LSD1 are in clinical trial. To date, apart …

An Investigation Of Uncertainties In Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, Cory Knill

Wayne State University Dissertations

Introduction: The treatment of cancer using intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is complex, involving many sub-processes to commission a treatment platform and treat patients. Uncertainties within the individual sub-process can lead to inaccurate treatments and sub-optimal patient outcomes. This research focused on minimizing uncertainties throughout IMRT commissioning and treatments. Methods: Five sub-processes were selected for uncertainty reduction: 1) optimizing radiation-imaging coincidence of the treatment machine, 2) improving the statistical model used to analyze IMRT commissioning data, 3) reducing the effect of ion recombination in IMRT quality assurance measurements, 4) improving the correlation between IMRT quality assurance results and patient-specific delivery …

Measurement Of The Cross Section Of Top Quark Pairs Produced In Association With A Photon In Lepton + Jets Events At √S = 13 Tev With Full Runii Cms Data, Nabin Poudyal

Wayne State University Dissertations

The inclusive production cross section of top quark pairs in association with a photon is measured in proton-proton collisions at the LHC with 13 TeV energy using the full RunII data collected by CMS in 2016, 2017, and 2018 with a total corresponding integrated luminosity of 137 fb −1 . The relative fraction of ttγ events normalized to inclusive tt production is measured. The cross section measurement provides important information about the electromagnetic coupling of the standard model top quark and is sensitive to physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is carried out in the in semileptonic decay channel …

Exploring And Expanding The Utility Of Cultural Distance: A Multi-National Analysis, Daniel Wiegert

Wayne State University Dissertations

In the current study, I utilized multiple cultural constructs to create and compare the utility of various forms of cultural distance as a predictor of national-culture-level outcomes, aggregated across multiple countries (i.e., a novel term: “Aggregated Cultural Distance”, hereafter ACD). ACD was first conceptualized in the current study by utilizing the nine Global Leader and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (hereafter Project GLOBE) Societal Values dimensions in the calculation of ACD. I incrementally added and compared Project GLOBE’s Societal Practices and Tightness-Looseness scores (i.e., norms) to the Values ACD construct in predicting self-isolationist leadership behaviors (i.e., Project GLOBE’s Autonomous and Self-Protective leadership …

The Advanced Applications For Optical Coherence Tomography In Skin Imaging, Qiuyun Xu

Wayne State University Dissertations

Optical coherence tomography (OCT), based on the principle of interferometry, is a fast and non-invasive imaging modality, which has been approved by FDA for dermatologic applications. OCT has high spatial resolution up to micrometer scale compared to traditional ultrasound imaging. In addition, OCT can provide real-time cross-sectional images with 1 to 2 mm penetration depth, which makes it an ideal imaging technique to assess the skin micro-morphology and pathology without any tissue removal. Many studies have investigated the possibilities of using OCT to evaluate dermatologic conditions, such as skin cancer, dermatitis, psoriasis, and skin damages. Hence, OCT has tremendous potential …

A Review Of Sample Size And Design Efficacy In Crossover Design In Peer-Reviewed Psychology Research, Kyle Moxley

Wayne State University Dissertations

A REVIEW OF SAMPLE SIZE AND DESIGN EFFICACY IN CROSSOVER DESIGN IN PEER-REVIEWED PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCHby KYLE C. MOXLEY November 2021 Advisor: Dr. Shlomo S. Sawilowsky Major: Education Evaluation and Research Degree: Doctor of Philosophy The present study seeks to investigate the efficacy of crossover research designs, and the application of crossover designs, in the field of behavioral sciences. Under ideal conditions, crossover designs are assumed to be more efficacious than parallel studies in that participants are given both treatments. However, the presence of carryover effects from treatments may influence outcomes (Jones & Kenward, 2014). To prevent carryover effects, researchers frequently …

Framework For Effective Resilience Managmenet Of Complex Supply Networks, Elham Taghizadeh

Wayne State University Dissertations

In today's environment with high global and complex supply chains for engineered products, the ability to assess and manage the resilience of supply chains is not a luxury but a fundamental prerequisite for business continuity and success. This is particularly true for firms with deep-tier supply chains, such as the automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their suppliers. Automotive supply networks are particularly facing growing challenges due to their complexity, globalization, economic volatility, rapidly changing technologies, regulations, and environmental/political shocks. These risks and challenges can disrupt and halt operations in any section of the supply network. Given that supply chains …