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A Transdisciplinary Emergent Approach For Systems And Interventions (Easi), Chaithanya Renduchintala Dec 2022

A Transdisciplinary Emergent Approach For Systems And Interventions (Easi), Chaithanya Renduchintala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

In modeling human behavior and social structures several factors can emerge over time this can be attributed to the availability of new data, increased complexity, changes to the organizational structure, interventions, introduction of innovative technology or services and due to improved knowledge and treatments. We hypothesize a new class of emergent decision support systems that continually evolve to account for this "Causal Drift". In this work, we illustrate the application of the Emergent Approach to Systems and Intervention (EASI™) methodology with the example of Community Intervention Activity Model (CIAM) to reduce the rate of diabetic hospitalization at the local/ county …


Modeling The Effects Of Diversity And Corporations On Participation Dynamics In Floss Ecosystems, Olivia Newton Dec 2022

Modeling The Effects Of Diversity And Corporations On Participation Dynamics In Floss Ecosystems, Olivia Newton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

A multitude of societal issues associated with the development of technology have emerged over the years including, but not limited to: insufficient personnel for maintenance; a lack of accessibility; the spread of harmful tools; and bias and discrimination against marginalized groups. I propose that a systems perspective is necessary to identify potential leverage points in technology production systems to influence them towards increased social good and evaluate their effectiveness for intervention. Toward this end, I conducted a mixed-methods study of a widely-adopted approach in tech production, free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) development. A survey was distributed to elicit responses …


Peat And Patty: Providing A Voice For Nature Through Animation, Clinnie Brinson Dec 2022

Peat And Patty: Providing A Voice For Nature Through Animation, Clinnie Brinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Peat and Patty is a 3D animated short story of a young scientist, Patty, and her pet parrot Peat, whose goal is to save their world from a dying ecosystem. Ultimately, they inadvertently receive help from a nearby polar bear which leads to the success of Patty's experiment. The purpose of this story is to highlight the dangers of global warming to our own ecosystem thus building eco-consciousness in viewers. We currently have natural disasters increasing in frequency, a rising global temperature, and pollution in our bodies of water (Rossati). By personifying nature, animation can invoke empathy from viewers towards …


Data Dimensionality Reduction Techniques: What Works With Machine Learning Models, Yuting Chen Dec 2022

Data Dimensionality Reduction Techniques: What Works With Machine Learning Models, Yuting Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

High-dimensional data has a wide range of applications in research, such as education, health, social media, and many other research fields. However, the high dimensionality of data can raise many problems for data analyses. This study focuses on commonly used techniques of dimensionality reduction for machine learning models, which play an essential and inevitable role in data prepossessing and statistical analysis. The main issues of high-dimensional data for machine learning tasks include the accuracy of data classification and visualization in machine learning models. Therefore, in this study, machine learning algorithms are used to predict and classify datasets to evaluate the …


Polyelectrolyte Functionalized Forward Osmosis For Water Reclamation From Synthetic Spacecraft Wastewater, Alina Ripp Dec 2022

Polyelectrolyte Functionalized Forward Osmosis For Water Reclamation From Synthetic Spacecraft Wastewater, Alina Ripp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

This study investigated the application of a polyelectrolyte (PE)-assisted metallic iron nanoparticle-integrated forward osmosis (FO) membrane to treat synthetic spacecraft wastewater comprising urea, ammonium carbonate, and linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS). The draw solution (MgSO4) diluted via the FO operation was further treated using a nanofiltration (NF) membrane aimed at producing potable quality water by the FO-NF hybrid process. A cellulose triacetate FO membrane was functionalized by layer-by-layer deposition of polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) followed by incorporating zero valent iron nanoparticles (ZVINP) within the "bilayers". It required 14 bilayers to ensure a uniform coating as demonstrated via scanning …


High Performance And Low Cost Passivating, Carrier-Selective Contacts For Silicon Photovoltaics, Jannatul Ferdous Mousumi Dec 2022

High Performance And Low Cost Passivating, Carrier-Selective Contacts For Silicon Photovoltaics, Jannatul Ferdous Mousumi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The world is now focusing on expanding renewable energy sources to reduce the carbon footprint and mitigate climate change. Solar energy is one of the most environment-friendly and fastest-growing renewable energy sources in the present world. While crystalline silicon (c-Si) based devices dominate the global photovoltaics (PV) market with a current share of 95%, it is still challenging to achieve the theoretical efficiency limit of 29.4% with this technology due to a few performance limiting factors. Contact recombination losses are dominant among them which result from the recombination of photo-generated charge carriers due to the presence of defects at the …


Low-Resource Machine Learning Techniques For The Analysis Of Online Social Media Textual Data, Toktam Amanzadeh Oghaz Dec 2022

Low-Resource Machine Learning Techniques For The Analysis Of Online Social Media Textual Data, Toktam Amanzadeh Oghaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Low-resource and label-efficient machine learning methods can be described as the family of statistical and machine learning techniques that can achieve high performance without needing a substantial amount of labeled data. These methods include both unsupervised learning techniques, such as LDA, and supervised methods, such as active learning, each providing different benefits. Thus, this dissertation is devoted to the design and analysis of unsupervised and supervised techniques to provide solutions for the following problems: Unsupervised narrative summary extraction for social media content, Social media text classification with Active Learning (AL), Investigating restrictions and benefits of using Curriculum Learning (CL) for …


Adaptive Analytic Continuation For The State Transition Tensors Of The Two-Body Problem, Tahsinul Haque Tasif Dec 2022

Adaptive Analytic Continuation For The State Transition Tensors Of The Two-Body Problem, Tahsinul Haque Tasif

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

In the past few decades, Kessler syndrome (named after Donald J. Kessler) has become a point of concern in the field of Space Situational Awareness and the future of space missions. It refers to a scenario, where space debris in Earth's orbits collides and creates an exponential increase in space debris numbers leading to more collisions and more debris. In order to handle the resulting challenges like conjunction analysis, tracking, and probability of collisions, the State Transition Matrix (STM) and Tensors (STTs) of the orbit problem play a significant role. In addition, STM and STTs are ubiquitous in spaceflight dynamics, …


Observation Of Novel Phases Of Quantum Matter Beyond Topological Insulator, Sabin Regmi Dec 2022

Observation Of Novel Phases Of Quantum Matter Beyond Topological Insulator, Sabin Regmi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Because of the unique electronic properties, intriguing novel phenomena, and potentiality in quantum device applications, the quantum materials with non-trivial band structures have enticed a bulk of research works over the last two decades. The experimental discovery of the three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) - bulk insulators with surface conduction via spin-polarized electrons - kicked off the flurry of research interests towards such materials, which resulted in the experimental discovery of new topological phases of matter beyond TIs. The topological semimetallic phase in Dirac, Weyl, and nodal-line semimetals is an example, where the classification depends on the dimensionality, degeneracy, and symmetry …


Distributed Detection In Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks, Ghazaleh Ardeshiri Dec 2022

Distributed Detection In Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks, Ghazaleh Ardeshiri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

A conventional wireless sensor networks (WSN), consisting of sensors powered by nonrechargeable batteries, has a strictly limited lifetime. Energy harvesting (EH) from the environment is a promising solution to address the energy constraint problem in conventional WSNs, and to render these networks to self-sustainable networks with perpetual lifetimes. In EH-powered WSNs, where sensors are capable of harvesting and storing energy, power control is necessary to balance the rates of energy harvesting and energy consumption for data transmission. In addition, wireless communication channels change randomly in time due to fading. These together prompt the need for developing new power control strategies …


Data-Driven Power System Stability Analysis And Control, Jian Xie Dec 2022

Data-Driven Power System Stability Analysis And Control, Jian Xie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

In recent years, with the expansion of power system size, the increase of interconnection and the use of large-scale renewable energy, power system stability and safe operations have become more prominent, causing challenges to the normal operation of power grid. Traditional analysis rely on detailed models of the system. But for real power systems, the operating state of the system is variable, and the model-based analysis methods may not accurately reflect the real operating state of the system. Therefore, this dissertation is focused on data-driven stability analysis and control. First, a method for locating the oscillation source of multi-machine systems …


The Y-Chromosome's Role In Sexually Dimorphic Evolution And Mother's Curse Compensation, Tobias Nielsen Dec 2022

The Y-Chromosome's Role In Sexually Dimorphic Evolution And Mother's Curse Compensation, Tobias Nielsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The Y-chromosome and mitochondria (containing mtDNA) appear entirely dissimilar, the former being a sex chromosome found in the nucleus and the latter an organelle with thousands of copies in the cytoplasm. However, both experience uniparental inheritance, with Y-chromosomes being patrilineal and mitochondria matrilineal. This leads to various other similarities including haploidy, high mutation rates, and limited or lack of genetic recombination. Moreover, the low number of protein-coding genes contained on both led to the belief that neither contributes significantly to the adaptive evolution of complex traits. However, recent studies show the Y-chromosome and mitochondria both influence roughly 10% of male …


Synthesis, Characterization, And Modeling Of Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels With Improved Mechanical Strength And Swelling Kinetics, Marilu Ortiz Nieves Jan 2022

Synthesis, Characterization, And Modeling Of Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels With Improved Mechanical Strength And Swelling Kinetics, Marilu Ortiz Nieves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Hydrogels have been extensively studied for use in applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery systems, wound dressing, actuators, valves, and sensors in Micromechanical Systems (MEMS), among others. Thermo-responsive hydrogels in particular pose various advantages such as their capability to respond to an external stimulus and reverse the response when the stimulus is removed and the ability to imbibe a significant amount of solvent and increase their volume by over 1000%. Extensive research has been conducted to tune and improve hydrogel’s rate and degree of swelling and mechanical properties. Previous work showed that when synthetic clay (Laponite) is cross-linked with …


Towards More Efficient Collaborative Distributed Data Analysis And Learning, Zixia Liu Jan 2022

Towards More Efficient Collaborative Distributed Data Analysis And Learning, Zixia Liu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Modern information era gives rise to the persistent generation of large amounts of data with rapid speed and broad geographical distribution. Obtaining knowledge and understanding via analysis and learning from such data have invaluable worth. Features of such data analytical tasks commonly include: data can be large scale and geographically distributed; computing capability demand can be enormous; tasks can be time-critical; some data can be private; participants can have heterogeneous capabilities and non-IID data; and multiple simultaneously submitted data analytical tasks can be possible. These bring challenges to contemporary computing infrastructure and learning models. In view of this, we develop …


Graph Neural Networks For Improved Interpretability And Efficiency, Patrick Pho Jan 2022

Graph Neural Networks For Improved Interpretability And Efficiency, Patrick Pho

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Attributed graph is a powerful tool to model real-life systems which exist in many domains such as social science, biology, e-commerce, etc. The behaviors of those systems are mostly defined by or dependent on their corresponding network structures. Graph analysis has become an important line of research due to the rapid integration of such systems into every aspect of human life and the profound impact they have on human behaviors. Graph structured data contains a rich amount of information from the network connectivity and the supplementary input features of nodes. Machine learning algorithms or traditional network science tools have limitation …


Synergistic Impacts Of Climate Change And Human Induced Stressors On The Apalachicola Bay Food Web, Kira Allen Jan 2022

Synergistic Impacts Of Climate Change And Human Induced Stressors On The Apalachicola Bay Food Web, Kira Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Apalachicola Bay, an estuary located in northwest Florida, is likely to experience an increase in climate change and human-induced stressors, such as sea level rise and changes in freshwater inflow, in the future. A coupled hydrodynamic and food web modeling approach was used to simulate future scenarios of low and high river flow and sea level rise in Apalachicola Bay from 2020 to 2049 and demonstrate the range of temporal and spatial changes in water temperature, salinity, fisheries species populations and the broader food web. Concurrent with model development, a survey of Apalachicola Bay stakeholders was conducted to assess stakeholder …


Exploration Of The Oral Microbiome In Non-Ventilated Hospitalized Patients, Kimberly Emery Jan 2022

Exploration Of The Oral Microbiome In Non-Ventilated Hospitalized Patients, Kimberly Emery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Non-ventilator hospital acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) impacts 1 in 100 hospitalized patients and is a significant patient concern due to its negative clinical outcomes. Many factors play a role in NV-HAP development: oral health, oral care, microaspiration risk, and the oral microbiome. Little is known about how the oral microbiome alters during hospitalization. This study explored changes in the oral microbiome of non-ventilated hospitalized patients over time and analyzed the relationship between the oral microbiome, pre-hospital residence, and NV-HAP. A prospective, observational design was used to recruit 46 non-ventilated adults 65 years and older from a large medical center in central …


Bayesian Spatiotemporal Modeling With Gaussian Processes, Qing He Jan 2022

Bayesian Spatiotemporal Modeling With Gaussian Processes, Qing He

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Bayesian spatiotemporal models have been successfully applied to various fields of science, such as ecology and epidemiology. The complicated nature of spatiotemporal patterns can be well represented through priors such as Gaussian processes. This dissertation is focused on two applications of Bayesian spatiotemporal models: a) anomaly detection for spatiotemporal data with missingness and b) zero-inflated spatiotemporal count data analysis. Missingness in spatiotemporal data prohibits anomaly detection algorithms from learning characteristic rules and patterns due to the lack of most data. This project is motivated by a challenge provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). …


The Direct And Indirect Effects Of Strategic Displacement On Territorial Control In Conventional Civil War, Jennifer Hudson Jan 2022

The Direct And Indirect Effects Of Strategic Displacement On Territorial Control In Conventional Civil War, Jennifer Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Which strategies contribute towards a belligerent's ability to shift territorial control in its favor more quickly than others? This dissertation advances a theory of territorial control dynamics in conventional civil war that places the civilian population at the center of the analysis. Existing scholarship explaining territorial control in conventional civil war has emphasized the role of relative military capabilities, direct military confrontations aimed at territorial conquest, and the existence of established zones of control, with civilians generally residing in areas clearly dominated by one party or another, not in contested areas. As such, theory holds that this makes the civilian …


Plasmonic Sensor Based Detection Of Dopamine, Sang Lee Jan 2022

Plasmonic Sensor Based Detection Of Dopamine, Sang Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

With a rapidly ageing population, neurological diseases are becoming increasingly relevant in the design of public health policies and strategies in western societies. In the last decades, biochemical research has consistently shown the critical role that neurotransmitters and their associated metabolites play as biomarkers in tracking and diagnosis of different brain disorders and cancers. In particular, dopamine, an organic electrochemical neurotransmitter, has been shown to be paramount for the proper functioning of the neural system. Dopamine's dysfunction, has been shown to underlie the pathogenesis in several neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, depression, chronic schizophrenia and psychosis. Unfortunately, currently available …


A Unified Tool For Adaptive Collocation Techniques Applied To Solving Optimal Control Problems, Bethany Kelly Jan 2022

A Unified Tool For Adaptive Collocation Techniques Applied To Solving Optimal Control Problems, Bethany Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

In this work, a user-friendly MATLAB tool is introduced to solve nonlinear optimal control problems by applying collocation techniques using Coupled Radial Basis Functions (CRBFs). CRBFs are a new class of Radial Basis Functions combined with a conical spline r^5, which provides the advantage of insensitivity to the shape parameter while maintaining accuracy and robustness. To solve optimal control problems, software tools are often employed to implement numerical methods and apply advanced techniques to solving differential equations. Although several commercial software tools exist for solving optimal control problems, such as ICLOCS2, GPOPS, and DIDO, there are no options available that …


Development Of A Dual-Mode Cmos Microelectrode Array For The Simultaneous Study Of Electrochemical And Electrophysiological Activities Of The Brain, Geoffrey Mulberry Jan 2022

Development Of A Dual-Mode Cmos Microelectrode Array For The Simultaneous Study Of Electrochemical And Electrophysiological Activities Of The Brain, Geoffrey Mulberry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Medical diagnostic devices are in high demand due to increasing cases of neurodegenerative diseases in the aging population and pandemic outbreaks in our increasingly connected global community. Devices capable of detecting the presence of a disease in its early stages can have dramatic impacts on how it can be treated or eliminated. High cost and limited accessibility to diagnostic tools are the main barriers preventing potential patients from receiving a timely disease diagnosis. This dissertation presents several devices that are aimed at providing higher quality medical diagnostics at a low cost. Brain function is commonly studied with systems detecting the …


Imaging Based Beam Steering For Optical Communication And Lidar Applications, Sajad Saghaye Polkoo Jan 2022

Imaging Based Beam Steering For Optical Communication And Lidar Applications, Sajad Saghaye Polkoo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Optical beam steering is a key component in any application that requires dynamic (i.e. realtime control) of beam propagation through free-space. Example applications include remote sensing, spectroscopy, laser machining, targeting, Lidar, optical wireless communications (OWC) and more. The pointing control requirements for many of these applications can be met by traditional mechanical steering techniques; however, these solutions tend to be bulky, slow, expensive, power hungry and prone to mechanical failures leading to short component lifetimes. Two emerging applications, Lidar imaging and OWC, truly need improved beam-steering capabilities to flourish and support the advancement of self-driving cars or relieve the congestion …


In Plain Sight: Examining The Diffusion Of Black Women's Knowledge In The Era Of Expanding The Sociological Canon, Ashley Stone Jan 2022

In Plain Sight: Examining The Diffusion Of Black Women's Knowledge In The Era Of Expanding The Sociological Canon, Ashley Stone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Amid the 2020 call to action to expand the sociological canon, sociologists have been encouraged to engage the contributions of diverse theorists in their courses. Extant research on graduate-level classical theory courses has explored the absence of early women theorists from these courses at elite institutions. This dissertation advanced the literature by 1) analyzing the diffusion of classical Black women theorists in graduate-level classical theory syllabi, 2) analyzing the discursive constructions of classical theorists in the syllabi, and 3) investigating the factors that influenced which classical theorists are included in these courses. Data consisted of 50 graduate classical theory syllabi …


Grid-Interactive Buildings: Modeling, Operations, And Security, Guanyu Tian Jan 2022

Grid-Interactive Buildings: Modeling, Operations, And Security, Guanyu Tian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Smart grids and smart buildings are two highly interdependent energy infrastructure systems. Buildings rely on the grid to provide reliable power while their flexibility can also be utilized to enhance the reliability and efficiency of power system operations. The quantification of heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system flexibility is critical to the operations of both the grid and buildings in demand response (DR) programs. However, the flexibility quantification is challenging due to the non-linearity and non-convexity of thermal dynamics associated with HVAC components. This dissertation proposes a novel HVAC flexibility quantification method based on a semidefinite programming (SDP) formulation. …


Computational Strain Analysis In Microbiome Datasets With Application To Skin Disease, Minerva Fatimae Ventolero Jan 2022

Computational Strain Analysis In Microbiome Datasets With Application To Skin Disease, Minerva Fatimae Ventolero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Identifying bacterial strains is important not only for human health research but also for various environmental and industrial applications. The plethora of available shotgun metagenomic datasets provide an unprecedented opportunity to discover novel bacterial strains in different environmental niches. In this thesis, we evaluated the existing novel-strain-based tools and showed that their performance is still suboptimal. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing strains of similar abundance by available tools, the SMS (strains in multiple samples) tool was developed to de novo identify bacterial strains in multiple shotgun metagenomic samples. We showed that SMS distinguishes strains of similar abundance well and …


Synchronous Raman Microspectroscopy And Laser Beam Induced Current Measurements As A Metrology Tool For Solar Cells And Optoelectronic Devices, Jeya Prakash Ganesan Jan 2022

Synchronous Raman Microspectroscopy And Laser Beam Induced Current Measurements As A Metrology Tool For Solar Cells And Optoelectronic Devices, Jeya Prakash Ganesan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

This works developed synchronous Raman microspectroscopy with laser beam induced current (LBIC) measurements to generate insights into structure-property correlations in finished solar cell modules. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful, non-destructive technique to examine phase and composition of materials where a laser beam excites characteristic vibrational modes of chemical bonds in a material. Conducting Raman spectroscopy under a microscope (i.e., Raman microspectroscopy) with confocal capabilities allows the chemical constituents to be mapped with high spatial resolution in the x, y and z directions. Simultaneously, the excitation laser from Raman can also generate photocarriers in a semiconductor. In a solar cell, these …


Broadband Investigation Of The Pyrolysis Of Propane Using A Mir Optical Parametric Oscillator, Robert Greene Jan 2022

Broadband Investigation Of The Pyrolysis Of Propane Using A Mir Optical Parametric Oscillator, Robert Greene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The chemistry of propane continues to play a pivotal role in today's power production technologies. As reliance on natural gas expands as greener cleaner fuels are sought throughout the world, especially as countries are attempting to transition away from traditional coal and crude-oil fired plants towards solar, wind, and hydro-electric sources. Natural gas, often seen as a bridge fuel between these two competing ends, has been in the recent past and for the foreseeable future will continue to play an important role in the energy sector. Among the components of natural gas, propane plays a key role in the chemistry …


Patient Perceptions Of Shared Decision-Making In The Acute Care Hospital And Their Association With Patient Experience And Readmission, Jill Haladay Jan 2022

Patient Perceptions Of Shared Decision-Making In The Acute Care Hospital And Their Association With Patient Experience And Readmission, Jill Haladay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Avoidable hospital readmissions continue to be a concerning and costly healthcare issue. While the emphasis on reducing avoidable hospital readmissions persists, incentivization strategies are evolving. Initial strategies prioritized medical care delivery, but recent regulation highlights the value of effective transitional (discharge) care planning, and particularly, patient involvement in that process. This latter aspect of care has a clear indication for the application of shared decision-making. Shared decision-making (SDM) practice in the acute care setting largely represents a gap in the literature; yet understanding patient perceptions of SDM during hospitalization is an important and timely first step in exploring the effectiveness …


Can Feeling Like An Imposter Be Favorable? A Qualitative Study On The Role Of Appraisal In Harnessing The Imposter Phenomenon For Growth, Emily Hill Jan 2022

Can Feeling Like An Imposter Be Favorable? A Qualitative Study On The Role Of Appraisal In Harnessing The Imposter Phenomenon For Growth, Emily Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

The imposter phenomenon is a psychological experience characterized by feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite evidence of achievement and success. Employees with these imposter-like thoughts feel as if they ended up in notable roles and positions not because of merit, but from oversight or luck. Research and popular press articles have portrayed the imposter phenomenon as a negative experience, bringing costs to the individual's well-being and work life. Yet, recent research has revealed that perhaps a favorable trajectory to the imposter experience might exist. To address this question, participants were identified and interviewed using a two-phase, sequential …