Digital Commons Network^™

Chasing Transients: Constructing Local Galaxy Catalogs For Electromagnetic Follow-Up Of Gravitational Wave Events, Chaoran Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Gravitational waves (GWs) provide a new window for observing the universe which is not possible using traditional electromagnetic (EM) wave astronomy. The coalescence of compact object binaries, such as black holes (BHs) and neutron stars (NSs) generates “loud" GW signals that are detectable by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) GW Observa- tory. If the binary contains at least one NS, there is a possibility that an observable EM counterpart will be launched during and/or after the merger. The first joint detection of GW radiation (GW170817) and its EM counterpart (AT 2017gfo) greatly extended our understanding of the universe in many fields, such …

Using Anisotropy Of Magnetic Susceptibility (Ams) To Identify A Tectonic Lineation In The Pulo Do Lobo Formation In The Southern Iberian Shear Zone Near Aracena, Spain, Devin Levang

Theses and Dissertations

The Southern Iberian Shear Zone (SISZ) is a Variscan-aged suture representing the closure of a small ocean basin during the Carboniferous. The SISZ is bounded on either side by the well-studied, relatively homogeneous Beja-Acebuches Metabasites (BAM) and the complex and heterogeneous accretionary metasedimentary rocks of the Pulo do Lobo (PdL). The SISZ underwent a combination of shortening and lateral shearing known as transpression. Despite a very well-developed tectonic foliation, kinematic interpretation in the PdL is made difficult by a lack of easily identifiable lineations. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS), a geophysical technique measuring the relative anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility axes …

Virtual Excavations: Digital Repositories, Data Reuse, And Ethically Accessible Archaeology, Allison Lindsey Densmore

Theses and Dissertations

Archaeological investigations produce massive amounts of data, yet these data are often sequestered by the original researchers or put behind paywalls that restrict access to academic publications. This inaccessibility makes it difficult to justify the destructive nature of archaeology. Open-access digital data management systems such as the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) provide archaeologists with new ways to preserve, share, and, most importantly, reuse archaeological data to combat this issue of data sustainability. The goal of this project is to investigate how these digital repositories allow for ethically responsible data access and reuse, thus mitigating the cycle of destruction, hoarding, and …

Study Of The Various Charactertics Of A Helical Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Compared To A Straight Bladed Darrieus Design, Patrick Quinlan

Theses and Dissertations

As the wind energy market continues to expand, the need for a more diverse range of wind turbine technologies becomes increasingly apparent. Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) have become the standard design for wind turbines over the past few decades and have been the go-to design used in wind farms both on land and off-shore. However, in residential and urban environments other types of turbine designs can help expand the reach of wind energy. Specifically, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have shown potential for new applications of wind turbines in areas that are less suitable for typical HAWTs. The most …

Reaching Non-Work Destinations: Accessibility And Its Impacts On Travel Behavior, Sai Sun

Theses and Dissertations

As people’s daily activities are diverse, having access to various opportunities is important. However, the existing body of accessibility literature places great emphasis on job accessibility; research on non-work accessibility is limited. To fill the gap, this dissertation examines accessibility to four types of non-work opportunities (healthcare, retail, recreation, and food services) by three transportation modes (automobile, transit, and walking) as well as their impacts on travel in the Milwaukee region. This dissertation examines accessibility disparities across different racial/ethnic groups and income groups in Milwaukee County by comparing weighted average accessibility and overlaying spatial distribution of accessibility with population distributions. …

High Power, Medium Frequency, And Medium Voltage Transformer Design And Implementation, Ahmad El Shafei

Theses and Dissertations

Many industrial applications that require high-power and high-voltage DC-DC conversion are emerging. Space-borne and off-shore wind farms, fleet fast electric vehicle charging stations, large data centers, and smart distribution systems are among the applications. Solid State Transformer (SST) is a promising concept for addressing these emerging applications. It replaces the traditional Low Frequency Transformer (LFT) while offering many advanced features such as VAR compensation, voltage regulation, fault isolation, and DC connectivity. Many technical challenges related to high voltage stress, efficiency, reliability, protection, and insulation must be addressed before the technology is ready for commercial deployment. Among the major challenges in …

Stress And Parity Among Female Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus Pygerythrus) At Two Sites In South Africa, Jo Gansemer

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the hypothesis that in both Soetdoring and !Gariep populations, a femaleSouth African vervet's parity status (nulliparous or parous) affects her physiological stress levels. Vervet monkey ecology and life history are examined to contextualize the relationship between stress and parity. The testing of this hypothesis involves the analysis of hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) of samples from nulliparous and multiparous adult females of the two different South African sites. The HCC was statistically analyzed to look for correlations between stress, parity status, and site. No significant relationship between stress and parity status was found. However, significant relationships were found …

Common Ground Over Common Water: Defining The Public Interest In The Milwaukee Watershed, Thomas Anthony Gentine

Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation examines government and nongovernment entities’ attempts to restore and protect the use and health of the Milwaukee River and its watershed from 1960 to 2000. Under Mayor Henry Maier’s leadership, Milwaukee worked to reclaim the urban riverway to stimulate economic growth. However, state and federal representatives, after the passage of the 1965 Water Quality Act, demanded that the city government prioritize updating the combined storm and sewer system to lessen pollution in the Milwaukee River. At the same time, other groups worked to save rural areas from unplanned development and further degradation of the waterway. Influential groups included …

Acceptability And Feasibility Of Telehealth Delivered Written Exposure Therapy With College Students, Maya Anais Krek

Theses and Dissertations

Full and subthreshold presentations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both functionally impairing and chronic. Therefore, development of feasible and acceptable treatments for both is imperative. Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a brief five-session in-person PTSD treatment, has the potential to be successfully administered accessibly via a telehealth format due to minimal therapist contact and short duration of treatment. This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of WET delivered via a telehealth format to college students experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Participants (N = 4) were college students who were impacted by at least one traumatic event and had associated posttraumatic stress …

Air Cargo: Carriers, Cost, And Competition, Zoe Laulederkind

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the cost structure of U.S. air carriers participating in the freight transport sector. From 1991 to 2021, events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic have coincided with various events directly impacting the air freight transport industry. During this 30-year period, air transport has developed and implemented global tracking systems, engaged in labor negotiations, and weathered supply-chain shocks all of which warrant comprehensive evaluation of the U.S. air freight transport industry from the cost perspective. Chapter 1 of this thesis explores existence of natural monopoly and economies of scope among …

The Political Economy Of State Fragility And The Extent To Which It Fuels International Migration Amongst Nigerians., Funmilola Olorunfemi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examined the political economy of state fragility and the extent to which it fuels international migration amongst Nigerians and adopt a qualitative research method to critically review 15 articles that was identified using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). The thesis argues that while migration is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria, there is a renewed fervor amongst Nigerians to migrate and that migration amongst Nigerians is in the context of forced mobility. Employing thematic analysis, the thesis demonstrated how state fragility factors which includes economic factors, sociological factors, geographical factors, and unifying factors …

An Ethercat Based Real-Time Control System Design For Wheelchair-Mounted 6dof Assistive Robotic Arm, Ivan Alexander Rulik Cote

Theses and Dissertations

Numerous assistive robots for individuals with disabilities have been produced over the past ten years, but researchers have not completely exploited these robotic technologies to enable people with impairments to live independently, especially in respect to activities of daily living. (ADLs). For people with impairments, an assistive system can help them fulfill the requirements of typical ADLs. Assistive robots can help address future healthcare demands due to a growing need for caregivers, a scarcity of them, and an increase in the number of the elderly and people with disabilities. Enhancing functional independence while creating a superior human-machine interaction is one …

Experiences And Perspectives Of Women Veterans Use Of The Veterans’ Health Administration Services, Leanne Anthon

Theses and Dissertations

Women make up 10% of the veteran population. With a projected increase of up to 16% by 2043, this is the fastest-growing demographic in the US military (National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, 2017). This population may have experiences unique from their non-military counterparts such as military sexual trauma (MST), environmental exposures, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and stress related to their military occupation that may predispose this group to decreased quality of life (QOL). In recent years, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) healthcare system has attempted to increase the healthcare accessibility and services provided to the growing number of …

Microbial Ecology Of Urban Sewers, Emily Lou Lamartina

Theses and Dissertations

Municipal sewage provides a glimpse into the health and activities of a human society. For more than a century, sewage exploration has helped expose the sources of disease outbreaks and track disease progression over time. Recent advancements in wastewater surveillance born from the COVID-19 pandemic have potential to enhance mitigation efforts against the decades-long global health crisis of microbial antibiotic resistance. However, critical knowledge gaps exist in wastewater surveillance, stemming from a lack of understanding in sewer microbial ecology. Ecology reveals trends in how communities respond and adapt to change, which has far-reaching implications for identifying effective strategies for disease …

Prior Experiences Of Racial Discrimination Impact Acute Resting-State Connectivity Of The Bnst As A Predictor Of Ptsd In Black Adults, Kevin Petranu

Theses and Dissertations

Altered resting-state activity of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) – which mediates anxious arousal and threat monitoring – is implicated in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Experiences of racial discrimination can also increase one’s risk for developing PTSD by eliciting chronic states of hypervigilance, which impair essential resting-state processes related to fear extinction. Considering the frequency in which Black Americans experience racial discrimination, the current study investigated acute BNST resting-state functional connectivity as a predictor of future PTSD symptoms, as well as the impact of racial discrimination on the BNST as a predictor of PTSD. …

Student Perception Of Teacher Response To Student Emotion: Associations With Academic Functioning, Cassandra Marie Matejka

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACTSTUDENT PERCEPTION OF TEACHER RESPONSE TO STUDENT EMOTION: ASSOCATIONS WITH ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING

by Cassandra M. Matejka The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2022 Under the Supervision of Professor Dr. Kyongboon Kwon

Due to the increased awareness that emotions have on student outcomes within the classroom setting, gaining insight on the emotional socialization process within the classroom setting may lead to continued improvements within the social-emotional learning curricula in the school environment. The goal of this study was to examine the relation between a teacher’s emotion socialization practices and their student’s academic functioning. Specifically, student perceptions of their teacher’s supportive and unsupportive responses …

Curriculum Adaptations To Teach For Creativity Using A Published Language Arts Curriculum, Barbara T. Prendergast

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to examine a published language arts curriculum, determine how Anna Craft’s possibility thinking framework could be integrated into the curriculum, and then observe how students responded to the implementation of lessons integrating the elements of possibility thinking. The findings revealed that a teacher can use the possibility thinking elements to encourage creativity while still teaching the objectives of a published curriculum. Creativity development can be encouraged by using a variety of supports that build possibility thinking. The data demonstrated a connection between life experiences and the curriculum through possibility thinking. The …

Prior Experiences Of Racial Discrimination Impact Acute Resting-State Connectivity Of The Bnst As A Predictor Of Ptsd In Black Adults, Kevin Petranu

Theses and Dissertations

Altered resting-state activity of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) – which mediates anxious arousal and threat monitoring – is implicated in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Experiences of racial discrimination can also increase one’s risk for developing PTSD by eliciting chronic states of hypervigilance, which impair essential resting-state processes related to fear extinction. Considering the frequency in which Black Americans experience racial discrimination, the current study investigated acute BNST resting-state functional connectivity as a predictor of future PTSD symptoms, as well as the impact of racial discrimination on the BNST as a predictor of PTSD. …

The Evergreen Challenges Of Healing: An Evaluation Of Urban Green Space In Harambee, Kacee Ochalek

Theses and Dissertations

Urban green space initiatives have emerged in low- and middle-income cities as a solution to disinvestment, the production of more positive public health metrics, and a tool of community engagement. While the production of urban greening provides ample room for applause, The City of Milwaukee’s Healing Spaces Initiative model regarding the ongoing construction of green space and the implementation of maintenance creates challenges that perpetuate racist capitalistic notions of the neoliberal project. This paper presents reports from participant observation, document analysis, and 17 qualitative interviews with representatives of the City of Milwaukee, community partners, garden leaders, and residents. The data …

Design, Development, And Control Of A Robotic Gripper For Activities Of Daily Living (Adl) Assistance., Jaime Rafael Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

This research contributes to developing a robotic gripper designed to improve the performance of assistive robots to help people with upper limb impairment due to stroke, injury, and other trauma. As developed in this research, the gripper for assistive robots (GAR) can be an alternative solution to the existing robotic grippers increasing the benefits in different ways, including the cost/benefits ratio and the range of graspable objects.

The GAR has been designed with simplicity in mind with a minimum viability approach. The design, construction, control, and operation of this robotic hand have been simplified with a minimal number of custom-made …

Wheelchair-Mounted Assistive Robot For Activities Of Daily Living: Design, And Validation, Elias Jose Munoz Montenegro

Theses and Dissertations

In the last decades, the number of wheelchair users has been increasing at an alarmingrate. Part of these individuals has an upper or lower dysfunction (ULED) resulting from a stroke, spinal cord injury, trauma, accident, or workplace injuries. Due to this, these patients need assistance to conduct their activities of daily living (ADLs). Hence, Wheelchair-Mounted Assistive Robots (WMAR) have a crucial role in Individuals with ULED. This research focuses on the design optimization, development, and validation of WMARs for essential ADLs. The design aims to obtain the link lengths with the most workspace coverage. Moreover, the analysis includes singularity avoidance …

Characterization And Composition Of Corrosion Scales In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Adam Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

Internal corrosion of drinking water pipes has received considerable attention recently in the media and in academic studies due to compliance and monitoring regulations with the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) established by the EPA in 1991. Notable health crises involving municipalities exceeding the LCR in Washington D.C. and Flint, Michigan occurred when corrosion scale conditions changed from stable to soluble lead compounds due to changing water chemistry, leaching high amounts of lead into consumers drinking water. Understanding the role of the corrosion scale in the process of leaching lead and other toxic trace metals such as arsenic is vital …

Study Of The Various Charactertics Of A Helical Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Compared To A Straight Bladed Darrieus Design, Patrick Quinlan

Theses and Dissertations

As the wind energy market continues to expand, the need for a more diverse range of wind turbine technologies becomes increasingly apparent. Horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) have become the standard design for wind turbines over the past few decades and have been the go-to design used in wind farms both on land and off-shore. However, in residential and urban environments other types of turbine designs can help expand the reach of wind energy. Specifically, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have shown potential for new applications of wind turbines in areas that are less suitable for typical HAWTs. The most …

Differentiating Human From Nonhuman Bone: Insights From A Medical Examiner’S Collection, Kenosha, Wisconsin, Jordan L. Fourshee

Theses and Dissertations

Forensic anthropologists who work in medical examiner’s offices or similar contexts frequently need to differentiate nonhuman from human skeletal or partially decomposed remains. If we, forensic anthropologists, were more aware of which nonhuman bones were most common in such situations, we might be able to improve our training programs. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Kenosha County, southwest Wisconsin, accumulated over 1,940 nonhuman bones over a period of several years, most likely primarily between 2000 and 2005. These are the focus of this thesis, which presents a quantitative analysis of the most frequently encountered taxa and elements. The …

Policy Uncertainty, Tariff Rate, Monetary Policy And Income Inequality: An Asymmetric Analysis, Mehrnoosh Hasanzade

Theses and Dissertations

This study offers a contribution to the income inequality literature within the traditional Kuznets model and explores the relationship between income inequality and a set of macroeconomic variables such as policy uncertainty, tariff rate, and monetary policy. By implementing a Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, I aim to identify the possible nonlinear effects of policy uncertainty, tariff rate -as a measure of trade openness-, and monetary policy on income inequality in United States and its 50 states and District of Columbia. The advantage of choosing this methodology is that it helps researchers to explain both long run relationships and …

Unraveling Deformation Mechanisms And Kinematics In Metasedimentary Rocks Along The Southern Iberian Shear Zone, Kayla P. Kopinski

Theses and Dissertations

The primary goal of this project is to document deformation mechanisms in quartz-rich rocks across a 100 m wide ductile shear zone to evaluate whether strain localization at the brittle-ductile transition is accompanied by variations in active or dominant deformation mechanisms. A secondary goal of this project is to evaluate whether the kinematic framework varies across a shear zone with a major rheological boundary. The Southern Iberian Shear Zone (SISZ), a major terrane bounding shear zone within the Iberian Massif, is an ideal location to study these questions because it is a regional scale shear zone currently exposed at the …

Automated Feature Extraction From Large Cardiac Electrophysiological Data Sets, And A Population Dynamics Approach To The Distribution Of Space Debris In Low-Earth Orbit, John Jurkiewicz

Theses and Dissertations

We present two applications of mathematics to relevant real-world situations.

In the first chapter, we discuss an automated method for the extraction of useful data from large file-size readings of cardiac data. We begin by describing the history of electrophysiology and the background of the work's setting, wherein a new multi-electrode array-based application for the long-term recording of action potentials from electrogenic cells makes large-scale readings of relevant data possible, opening the way for exciting cardiac electrophysiology studies in health and disease. With hundreds of simultaneous electrode recordings being acquired over a period of days, the main challenge becomes achieving …

Ocon At War: The Oconomowoc Home Front During The Second World War, Erika L. Laabs

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

OCON AT WAR:THE OCONOMOWOC HOME FRONT DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

This thesis will examine the local home front propaganda in and around Oconomowoc, Wisconsin (Waukesha County) during the Second World War and compare the Oconomowoc area propaganda to Wisconsin overall and to the national experience. Enlistments, war bond sales, USO events, parades, radio programs/speeches, films, music, popular books/comic books, and images, are the main types of “cultural locations” that I am using as propaganda. I have found solid examples of posters and advertisement images from local newspapers that provide a wealth of information about the way fear, love, …

Jacques Maritain And Popes Pius Xi And Xii On The Church-State Relationship, Patrice O'Rourke Linn

Theses and Dissertations

Jacques Maritain (1882-1973) was a French Catholic philosopher, acknowledged as one of the most influential non-clerical Catholics of the twentieth century. During this time, the Catholic Church was experiencing the slow process of political displacement. Maritain and the contemporary popes addressed how the Church should function within the modern context. Both began the century sympathetic to right-leaning governments and political parties that supported the Catholic Church but shifted over time to embrace a less direct approach. This thesis will demonstrate the change over time of Maritain’s position and how it paralleled the positions of Popes Pius XI and Pius XII. …

Deciphering The Firing Patterns Of Hippocampal Neurons During Sharp-Wave Ripples, Kourosh Maboudi Ashmankamachali

Theses and Dissertations

The hippocampus is essential for learning and memory. Neurons in the rat hippocampus selectively fire when the animal is at specific locations - place fields - within an environment. Place fields corresponding to such place cells tile the entire environment, forming a stable spatial map supporting navigation and planning. Remarkably, the same place cells reactivate together outside of their place fields and in coincidence with sharp-wave ripples (SWRs) - dominant electrical field oscillations (150-250 Hz) in the hippocampus. These offline SWR events frequently occur during quiet wake periods in the middle of exploration and the follow-up slow-wave sleep and are …