Digital Commons Network^™

Assessing Generalization Of Behavioral Interventions In Teaching Independent Play Skills To Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review, David Anthony Defranco

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

A myriad of evidence-based practices has been effective in teaching independent play skills to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These interventions include video modeling, activity schedules, task correspondence training, task organization, individual work systems, and matrix training. This systematic review is aimed at examining the various behavioral interventions used to teach independent play skills to children and adolescents with ASD as the independent play literature will be evaluated to see if generalization was programmed for and assessed within the study. As one of the main dimensions of behavior analysis, generalization of skills, specifically independent play skills, is important to …

Exploring The Utility-Privacy Trade-Off In Social Media Data Mining, Guangxi Lu

Computer Science Dissertations

Social media data has become an invaluable source of information for data mining. However, developing a high-utility social media model requires a significant amount of training data, which can pose significant privacy challenges. The collection and use of social media data can lead to privacy rights violations and the misuse of personal information, making the trade-off between utility and privacy a complex issue. This dissertation examines the trade-off between utility and privacy in social media data mining from several perspectives. Firstly, it explores how to balance the robustness and fidelity of the social media data mining model in the design …

Advancements In Cancer Genomics: Graph-Based Motif Discovery And Single-Cell Analysis, Sayed Hossein Saghaeiannejad Esfahani

Computer Science Dissertations

Studying biology of cancer cells enables us to understand how disease is growing and leads to new methods of diagnosing and treatment of many types of cancers. Over the past decades, researchers have surveyed multiple features of cancer cells such as genetic alteration in tumors, mutational patterns, copy number changes, and transcription factor binding sites. For this reason, scientists have employed Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) as it enables sequencing of thousands of DNA molecules. In this thesis, we aim to design and apply effective algorithms for interpreting and analyzing cancer genomics data using NGS technique. In particular, we take advantage …

Perception Intelligence Integrated Vehicle-To-Vehicle Optical Camera Communication., Khadija Ashraf

Computer Science Dissertations

Ubiquitous usage of cameras and LEDs in modern road and aerial vehicles open up endless opportunities for novel applications in intelligent machine navigation, communication, and networking. To this end, in this thesis work, we hypothesize the benefit of dual-mode usage of vehicular built-in cameras through novel machine perception capabilities combined with optical camera communication (OCC). Current key conception of understanding a line-of-sight (LOS) scenery is from the aspect of object, event, and road situation detection. However, the idea of blending the non-line-of-sight (NLOS) information with the LOS information to achieve a see-through vision virtually is new. This improves the assistive …

On The Analysis Of Non-Euclidean Data: Sparsification, Classification And Generation, Yang Ye

Computer Science Dissertations

In light of the groundbreaking achievements of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in 2D image processing, there has been a pronounced interest in adapting these methods to non-Euclidean data, such as graphs and 3D geometric data. Point clouds, in particular, present unique challenges as they are sparse, unordered, and locality-sensitive, making the adaptation of CNNs to point cloud processing a non-trivial task. Similar challenges are encountered in the context of graph data. Consequently, the exploration of extending successful neural processing paradigms from 2D images to these non-Euclidean domains has emerged as a vibrant and dynamic research area.

This thesis focuses on …

Integration Of Misaligned Spatial Data For Evidence-Based Planning And Disaster Risk Assessment, Faris Hawamdeh

Computer Science Dissertations

Disasters, whether natural or anthropogenic, can be catastrophic and deadly. Without readiness and a well-planned response from local agencies and public health authorities, the number of casualties and the damage to the infrastructure can have long-term effects on the economy and the well-being of the community and country. The main obstacle to developing robust disaster plans and estimating hazard impacts is the availability of region-specific data. This dissertation encompassed the creation of a data repository of geospatial and demographic data in support of emergency response and risk assessment tools such as Re-PLAN and RAMP. Several hazard specific geospatial data types …

Relationship Between Patient Satisfaction And Hospital Financial Performance Among U.S. Acute Care For-Profit Hospitals, Dione Dillard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Examining Faculty Transformational Leadership Style And University Sophomores’ Institutional Commitment, Olusegun Oladayo Kuteyi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Minority Owned Businesses’ Success, Dr. Phillip J. Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Retention Strategies Nursing Managers Of Long-Term Care Facilities Develop And Implement To Reduce Registered Nurse Turnover, Shirley Enfort Bartholomew

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

China's Military Strategy Under Chairman Xi: More Steel, More Gas, And Harder Bones, Dexter T. Lensing

Political Science Dissertations

Under China’s leader Xi Jinping, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has continued to rapidly modernize. However, in what ways has China’s military strategy changed, and stayed the same, compared to its previous leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao? I use a qualitative comparative case study approach to look for changes and continued similarities between the Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping eras starting from 1997 until the present day. I examined roughly twenty-five Chinese articles from each era on army building. These articles on army building from Chinese scholars and officials are deeply analyzed to track changes in language …

Motivations For Providing Social Support On Social Media, Yuehan Liu

Communication Dissertations

Social support provision plays an important role in the mechanism of exchanging social support on social media. Support provision can be beneficial to both receiver and provider. Grounded in the empathic-altruism hypothesis (Batson et al., 2011), negative-state relief model (Cialdini et al., 1987), need to belong theory (Baumeister & Leary, 1995), and work on impression management, this study sought to examine how altruistic traits (empathic concern, perspective-taking), egoistic traits (need to belong, negative affect, impression management), belief in altruism, and outcome expectations play a role in support provision on social media. College students (N=418) completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple …

“We Ain’T Playing F*Cking Nice…”: Reactionary Fandom, Playful Platforms, And The White Masculine Crusader Fan Identity, Anthony Dannar

Film, Media & Theatre Dissertations

This dissertation will explore the role of brand culture, digital platforms, and fan play in the development of a reactionary fan identity that I call the white masculine crusader (WMC). By interrogating the playful affordances of digital platforms and how people adopt fan practices in reaction to contemporary politics, I reveal three distinct (yet interconnected) fannish and playful embodied expressions of reactionary politics and white supremacy conspiracy theories (the tactical body, the fit body, and the spiritual body). The following chapters highlight how fan communities not only seek and spread reactionary content but often poach brands to play out fantasies …

Use And Evaluation Of A New Nurse Practitioner Fellowship Program, Brandi Herman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The project addresses fellowship programs for new graduate nurse practitioners. The goal is to determine if a nurse residency or fellowship program is beneficial in role transition as a new graduate nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioner residency or fellowship programs are typically 12 months in duration, have small cohort sizes of two to four trainees, and are composed of a combination of didactic educational content, clinical supervision, peer support and debriefing, and self-reflection The study utilizes a survey design to measure the impact of a nurse practitioner fellowship program versus a standard orientation period. The article concludes with barriers and recommendations …

Sexuality And Dementia: Assisted Living Staff Negotiate The Autonomy Of Residents’ Sexual Needs, Josephine Misaro

Sociology Dissertations

Assisted Living (AL) communities are residential care settings designed to offer support and assistance to adults aged 65 or older who demonstrate a physical or mental impairment that makes it difficult for them to care for themselves. These communities provide support with activities of daily living (ADL) without the level of medical care typically found in nursing homes. By offering housing, personal care services, and social engagement opportunities tailored specifically to older adults' needs, ALs aim to promote independence while improving quality of life. Apart from care, ALs provide an environment where social relationships, intimacy, and sexuality for residents are …

Destroyed By Madness: Fighting Stigma And Building Empathy Through The Narrative Experience, Kelley N. Gladden Walker

English Dissertations

This dissertation challenges the stigma of mental illness by analyzing 20^th century American life narratives written by persons with mental disorders. Focusing on the writing and lives of Zelda Fitzgerald, Allen Ginsberg, Mary Jane Ward, Kay Redfield Jamison, Meri Nana-Ama Danquah, Tennessee Williams, Elizabeth Wurtzel, Cameron West, and Susanna Kaysen, while applying the theories of Michel Foucault, Erving Goffman, Sigmund Freud, William C. Cockerham, and Otto F. Wahl, I contend mental illness life narratives fight stigmatization by questioning the common stereotypes perpetuated by dominant cultural narratives. Through a historical lens, the project explores a variety of sources from 20 …

Ultrafast Nonlinear Dynamics Of Finite Graphene Systems, Ahmal Zafar

Physics and Astronomy Dissertations

We study theoretically nonlinear dynamics of a graphene nanoflake placed in the field of an ultrashort optical pulse. We describe the graphene system within an effective model with infinite mass boundary conditions. For an optical pulse with a duration of just a few femtoseconds, the electron dynamics is coherent and is described by a time-dependent Schro ̈dinger equation. For graphene nanoring, if the optical pulse is circularly polarized, then two valleys of graphene are populated differently, resulting in a finite valley polarization of the system after the pulse. Such valley polarization is a unique property of graphene nanoscale systems, while …

Studies Of Attosecond Time Delay And Superheavy Elements In Atomic Photoionization, Rezvan Khademhosseini

Physics and Astronomy Dissertations

This research consists of two distinct but related elements in the realm of atomic photoionization. The first was to explore the photoionization in superheavy elements. Employing the fully Relativistic Random Phase Approximation (RRPA), we calculated the photoionization cross sections for the Oganesson (Og), the heaviest element, since the influence of relativity becomes more significant as the atomic number increases. The results revealed the importance of relativistic interactions along with the predominant influence of interchannel coupling on the photoionization cross sections. Encouraged by the ability of the RRPA to deal with the combination of relativistic and many-body correlation effects, we proceeded …

Ultrafast Field-Induced Nonlinear Optical Processes In Two Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Quantum Dots, Aranyo Mitra

Physics and Astronomy Dissertations

In this dissertation, we theoretically study the nonlinear optical response of Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) Quantum dots to an ultrafast optical pulse. The applied ultrafast laser pulse has a duration of a few femtoseconds, with the electric field amplitude being of the order of a few V/nm. The electron systems of the disk-shaped Quantum dots studied, are described within a low-energy effective k.p model Hamiltonian with infinite mass boundary conditions and applied separately at symmetry-points known as K and K’ valleys. The electron dynamics generated after interaction with the pulse, is investigated and found to be highly reversible for the …

Micromagnetic Investigation Of The Dynamics Of Domain Walls And Substructures In Non-Uniform Magnetic Thin Films, Trae Staggers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the discovery of gigantic magnetoresistance and the advent of spintronics, magnetic materials have become ubiquitous in modern technology. As such, a wide range of research areas within this field are being continuously explored for potential means to improve device scaling, decrease energy consumption, or increase speed, as well as to understand the fundamental physics governing spin order at the micro- and nanoscale. One of the avenues under current investigation involves the use of the spin-orbit interaction in systems with broken inversion symmetry through the introduction of interfaces or compositional variations. I will introduce the theory of micromagnetism and demonstrate …

An Educational Intervention To Increase Knowledge And Awareness Of Hypertension Among Nurses, Sylvia Kabba

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Leadership Strategies For Improving Employee Engagement In The Multimodal Transportation Industry, Michael S. Throgmorton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Experiences Of Hospice Human Service Professionals Caring For Terminally Ill Patients, Cynthia Renee Rector

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Correlating Leadership Styles To Job Satisfaction In The U.S. Army’S Parachute Rigger Community, Angela Hunter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Biopsychosocial Markers Of Impulsive Eating And Emotional Eating, Lucia Foster-Engen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Sexual Minoritized Women’S Sexual Orientation And Masculine Gender Expression As Predictors Of Their Experience Of Enacted Stigma And Problematic Drinking, Brynne Velia

Psychology Theses

Minority Stress Theory posits that health disparities, such as the disproportionate development of problematic drinking, among sexual minoritized people are attributable to lifelong, experienced stressors such as enacted stigma. Researchers have examined downstream processes of stigma (i.e., what happens after stigma is experienced); however, there is little research on upstream processes (i.e., what leads to the experience of stigma in the first place). The present study sought to examine perception accuracy and perceived masculine gender expression as potential antecedents to experienced stigma and resultant problematic drinking among sexual minoritized women. Two samples of participants were recruited: 180 cisgender sexual …

The Perils And Promises Of Using Online Survey Experiments To Study (Visual) Frames In Science Communication, Justin Kingsland

Political Science Dissertations

It is important to identify methods for effectively communicating about the issue of climate change with the public. The inherent complexities of climate science, and existing partisan divisions and polarization on the issue makes finding ways to effectively communicate information with messaging that resonates with diverse audiences crucial for developing the public consensus needed to take the necessary actions, develop strategies, and support policies intended to address and mitigate the current and future threats posed by climate change. In this dissertation, I present the results of a 7-condition, two-wave survey experiment exploring the impact of textual and visual frames highlighting …

Investigating Telomere Lengths In Chestnut-Crowned Babblers, Gabriella Rose Beberg

Honors Thesis

Telomeres are chromosomal elements that protect and maintain genes as DNA replicates in many organisms. As individuals age and DNA replicates, telomeres often shorten; thus, telomere length often corresponds with an individual’s lifespan, and early-life decreases in telomere length can be predictive of longevity. Here, I investigated the relationship between telomere length and developmental environment in a cooperatively breeding species, the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps; CCB). Cooperative species are unique, as some individuals give up their own breeding opportunities to help rear the offspring of others; further, cooperative breeding systems generate considerably more variation in adult carers, which …

The Critical Role Of Interleukin-6 In Protection Against Neurotropic Flavivirus Infection, Tabassum Tasnim Auroni

Biology Dissertations

West Nile virus (WNV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) are emerging mosquito-borne flaviviruses that cause encephalitis globally. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) upregulation is associated with viral infections in mice and humans, implying that it may influence the outcome of the disease. In this study, we investigated the role of IL-6 during neurotropic flavivirus infections. We found that IL-6 neutralization in human neuronal cells and its deletion in primary mouse cells led to increased flavivirus titers, suggesting that IL-6 inhibits flavivirus replication in vitro. In vivo experiments using IL-6 knockout mice (IL-6^−/−) showed higher mortality and viral titers in the periphery …

Investigating Exposure Learning Of Family-Resemblance Categories, Brooke Jackson

Psychology Dissertations

One important type of category follows a family-resemblance structure. Family-resemblance category members share an overall similarity, but no criterial attributes define all members of the category. Many of the world’s natural categories follow a family-resemblance category structure (e.g., Rosch & Mervis, 1975). We can learn a single family-resemblance category merely by being perceptually exposed to members of the category even when there is no discussion of their category membership (e.g., Homa & Cultice 1984; Palmeri & Flanery 1999; Zabberoni et al., 2021). Research has shown that pre-exposure to category members benefits learning two family-resemblance categories simultaneously (Jackson et al., 2023), …