Digital Commons Network^™

Reconfiguration-Driven Assembly Of Inorganic Nanomembranes, Divya Jyoti Prakash

Chemical and Biological Engineering ETDs

This thesis focuses on the guided self-assembly of metastable nanomembranes (NMs) that are either amorphous or polycrystalline. Guided self-assembly of NMs is a robust and scalable method to obtain a variety of three-dimensional structures such as helices, rolled-up tubes, and networks of interconnected channels. These 3D structures have important applications as on-chip actuators, sensors, inductors, transformers, waveguides, and antennas. Furthermore, a large amount of strain and strain gradient can be imparted in NMs by bending them to a nanoscale and microscale radius of curvature, making guided self-assembly on NMs a viable route to extreme strain engineering of amorphous and polycrystalline …

“Mexico Has Spilt American Blood Upon American Soil!” The Role Of The Mexico-U.S. Border In The Promotion Of American Nationalism, 1821-1920, Jon M. Williams Phd

Sociology ETDs

International borders not only serve as the edge of a nation-state's sovereign territory, but they also aid in informing popular conceptions of its national identity. This study examines how the Mexico - U.S. border served as a spark for episodes of American nationalism from 1821-1920. In examining three historical periods whereby the border was forming, disrupted, or challenged, I demonstrate how borders serve as sources, both symbolically and physically for the expressions of American nationalism. I utilize inductive qualitative discourse analysis of American actors embedded along the border, in Mexico, or serving as political leaders, to sample some of the …

Along For The Journey: Graduate Student Perceptions Of Research, Alissa Droog, Kari D. Weaver, Frances Brady

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

Graduate student identities and personal lives are heavily tied to their experiences of research, and many struggle to find, understand, and use information for research purposes. Using a drawing exercise rooted in visual research methods combined with semi-structured interviews, a research team in the United States and Canada explored graduate student perceptions of research with 19 participants. Thematic analysis identified six themes: research is abstract; research is an odyssey; social support makes or breaks the student experience; research is an emotional continuum; interplay between identity/values; information is problematic. The study has implications for how librarians support graduate student research.

Disciplinary Differences And Scholarly Literature: Discovery, Browsing, And Formats, Chad E. Buckley, Rachel E. Scott, Anne Shelley, Cassie Thayer-Styes, Julie A. Murphy

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This study reports faculty experiences regarding the discovery of scholarly content, highlighting similarities and differences across a range of academic disciplines. The authors interviewed twenty-five faculty members at a public, high-research university in the Midwest to explore the intersections of discovery, browsing, and format from diverse disciplinary perspectives. Although most participants rely on similar discovery tools such as library catalogs and databases and Google Scholar, their discovery techniques varied according to the discipline and type of research being done. Browsing is not a standard method for discovery, but it is still done selectively and strategically by some scholars. Journal articles …

An Exploration Of Adult Children’S Attachment To Their Parents Across Two Cultural Groups: Indians In India And Indians Who Immigrated To The United States, Vilasini Meenakshi Arun

Doctoral Dissertations

Typically, attachment theory has been studied and explored with western populations. Individuals seeking mental health treatment within the United States include western and nonwestern cultural groups and research, theories and interventions that apply to diverse populations are necessary. Attachment relationships are often a part of, or reasons for clients to seek therapy either overtly or covertly, thus allowing research on attachment to better inform treatment plans and practice. An attachment relationship between a parent and child can be influenced by several factors and may change over the course of development, but little is known about this process among Indians …

Derogatory, Racist, And Discriminatory Speech (Drds) In Video Gaming, Sean Woodford

Dissertations

Video games have been examined for their effects on cognition, learning, health, and physiological arousal, yet research on social dynamics within video gaming is limited. Studies have documented the presence of derogation, racism, and discrimination in this anonymous medium. However, gamers‟ firsthand experiences are typically examined qualitatively. Thus, this study aimed to establish a quantitative baseline for the frequency of derogatory, racist, and discriminatory speech (DRDS) in gaming. DRDS frequency, sexual harassment, and hate speech measures were administered to 150 individuals from online forums and social media groups. Descriptive and inferential analyses were used to gauge which factors affected DRDS …

Excited State Processes In Radical Elaborated Platinum Donor-Acceptor Complexes, Sangita Paudel

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Organo-transition metal complexes are being widely studied to understand their photophysical properties for their wide range of applications as efficient emitters in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), light emitting electrochemical cells (LEECs), etc. Cyclometalated organo-transition metal complexes such as cyclometalated square planar platinum(II) complexes are becoming suitable candidates for such applications because of their highly efficient luminescence. Understanding the excited properties of such complexes is useful in designing highly efficient and color tunable phosphors with desired excited state lifetimes. We aim to explore the influence of radical substituents on electronic structure, luminescence quantum efficiencies, and excited state lifetimes by synthesizing …

A Review Of A Ketogenic Diet In The Treatment Of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Eugene Reznik

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Autism Spectrum Disorder effects millions of people every year, however pharmacological and behavioral treatments remain limited. The need for adjunctive therapies such as diet invervention [sic] that target autism spectrum disorder symptoms Is [sic] needed now more than ever. A connection between a ketogenic diet, which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, and autism spectrum disorder can be made as the diet has shown potential in ameleriotating [sic] common comorbidities within the autism spectrum disorder population such as metabolic dysfunction, gut-microbiome dysfunction, medication resistant epilepsy, and various psychiatric disorders. Hence, this review focuses on the results and methods …

Cooperative Pathways: Insights From Teacher Experiences On Improving Union And District Cooperation, Whitney Fink

Dissertations

This study involved an evaluation of teacher experiences within their districts, schools, and unions across the United States. The primary research question was: How are teachers currently experiencing the relationship between their unions, districts, and administrators and what opportunities exist to improve cooperation and shared ownership between those groups? The study used a mixed methods approach by gathering quantitative data in the form of a survey and qualitative data through open-ended responses on the survey as well as interviews with seven teachers. The results formed a general understanding of the current state of teacher experiences that was then applied to …

Scared To Give? A Look Into How Terrorism Affects The Flow Of Foreign Aid, Madelyn Jarjoura

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of formal ties to terrorism and its effect on foreign aid

from donor countries considered either democratic or not. I hypothesize that as more seats are occupied in a recipient country’s government by a known terrorist organization, the less total aid democratic donor countries will send to that country (vice versa for non-democratic donors). However, with stronger ties to terrorism, the more aid democratic donors will bypass through NGOs (vice versa for non-democratic donors). To test this, I used Hezbollah’s seats in Lebanon’s Parliament from the years 1995 – 2021 as a case study for …

Exploring Barriers To Rural Practice: A Pilot Study, Caitlin Vu

Educational Specialist, 2020-current

There is a shortage of mental health professionals in rural areas around the world. Current literature on barriers to healthcare professionals choosing to practice in rural areas mainly focuses on medical professionals, with few studies examining the barriers to rural practice for mental health professionals. Along with examining the perceived barriers and enablers to rural mental health practice, researchers wanted to further examine the reliability of the revised Barriers to Rural Mental Health Practice instrument. Researchers distributed the survey to mental health professionals across the United States. Preliminary findings support high internal reliability for the total scale and three of …

The Power Of Reflection: Understanding The Impacts Made Upon Employees Who Have Managers Who Reflect On Their Professional Development, Ryan Heath Jordan

Business Administration Dissertations

No matter the level, managers who reflect on their professional development will impact their careers in various ways. But what impact can this same reflection have on those individuals who are led by those managers? It is widely known in the literature that professional development reflections can have positive effects on one’s career. With that knowledge, it is intended to drill down into this concept to help identify how a manager’s professional development reflection can have the same impact on their employees. The impact of managers’ professional development reflection on their employee’s increased interest in career development, improved job performance, …

The Implications, Magnitude, And Development Of Traumatic Brain Injury For Individuals Undergoing Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder, Hannah G. Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an established bidirectional relation between substance use and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Despite the high rate of prescribing opioids for pain management following a TBI and the epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States, scarce research has specifically analyzed the association between TBI and OUD. In a series of three interrelated manuscripts, the present study will first examine the prevalence and features of TBIs among persons seeking treatment for OUD. Next, the present study will evaluate the association between TBI and indicators of risky health behaviors and OUD severity, including the risk of overdose and …

The Association Between Uncertainty, Reproductive Distress, And Avoidance In Assigned Female At Birth Adolescent And Young Adult (Aya-F) Cancer Survivors, Devon Ann Pons

Doctoral Dissertations

Family building and fertility is a complex component of survivorship for assigned female at birth Adolescent and Young Adult’s (AYA-F’s), often accompanied by a mix of cognitive uncertainty, emotional uncertainty, reproductive distress, and avoidance. These psychological components present in survivorship for AYA-F’s can impact coping, identity development, and individualized care plans throughout survivorship. This novel examination of data from a cross sectional study shed light on the associations between reproductive distress, uncertainty, and avoidance and how they are experienced differently by various subgroups within the sample.

Results demonstrate that reproductive distress fully mediated the association between emotional uncertainty and avoidance, …

Stability Of Quantum Computers, Samudra Dasgupta

Doctoral Dissertations

Quantum computing faces a persistent challenge with noise. This dissertation addresses the fundamental question of how to define and differentiate computational accuracy, result reproducibility, output stability, and device reliability amidst spatio-temporal non-stationarity in quantum registers. It explores characterizing spatial and temporal noise statistics, estimating performance limits via characterization data, mitigating time-varying quantum noise with adaptive algorithms, and understanding trade-offs when using unreliable devices. Sources of noise include interaction between qubits and the environment, as well as imperfections in implementing quantum logic gates, leading to decoherence (the loss of coherence) in quantum states. Quantum states' survival is brief, making reliable output …

Physical And Stochiometric Controls On Nutrient Uptake And Ecosystem Respiration In Contrasting Sites, Jancoba K. Dorley

Civil Engineering ETDs

Meteorological, hydrological, and biogeochemical processes naturally control stream ecosystems. These processes define the frequency and distribution of precipitation and the supply and demand of solutes and particles to support aquatic food chains through space and time. Studies have also found that stream ecosystems are also controlled by anthropogenic activities, which occur on a much shorter timescale. These anthropogenic activities affect stream ecosystems' structure and function from local to planetary changes to the environment. It is essential for scientists and engineers to understand the relationships between naturally occurring processes and those created by human activities for a better interpretation of stream …

Progression Of Black Women In Tenure Ranked Positions, Unique Givens

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The intersectionality of race and gender affects the progression and experience of Black women in tenure-ranked positions in higher education. As Black women navigate the tenure process, they encounter systemic issues while fulfilling the criteria of teaching, service, and research. Black women's experiences while obtaining and maintaining tenure-ranked positions in Southern California reflect the discrimination, biases, lack of respect, and value of their roles and contributions to academia. In addition, Black women are being challenged more and questioned regarding their abilities and roles by peers, students, and academic administration. Research studies in the past have demonstrated the underrepresentation of Black …

The Lived Expereines Of Adult Musicians With Dyscalculia: Implications With Practice In K-12 Settings, Sheerin Hosseini

ABLE Assembly Conference Session Materials

No abstract provided.

Implementation And Evaluation Of A Structured Mentorship Program, Cary Bedinghaus, Caroline Hillman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The project addresses mentorship in a graduate nursing anesthesia program. The goal is to improve the existing mentorship program and to implement a durable and consistent system that gathers and responds to feedback from the students. Two literature reviews form the underpinnings of the structure and evaluation components of the project. Three structural components were identified in the review as highly effective in multiple studies of diverse mentorship programs. The first component is establishing an effective dyad matching scheme. The second component is establishing clear goals. The third component is maintaining the relationship and achieving goals through frequent and consistent …

Inclusive Settings In Belizean Primary Schools: A Focus On Teacher Practices, Katherine A. Curry, Jentre Olsen, Ed Harris, Candy Garnett, Dian Danderson

Journal of Global Education and Research

Educators in Belize are charged with ensuring that all Belizeans are given an opportunity to acquire a quality education that promotes personal development and productive citizenship. Consequently, Belizean law now requires all children from ages five through fourteen to attend at least eight years of primary school. Students with special needs have historically not received accommodations in the education system, so many teachers struggle with meeting the needs of students with learning disabilities in these inclusive settings. This qualitative case study explored teaching strategies and contextual factors in inclusive primary classrooms in Belize and was conducted in the form of …

Implications Of Ai Chatbots In Education: Challenges And Solution, W. Awad, J. Moosa

Journal of Statistics Applications & Probability

AI Chatbots are commonly used nowadays in different sectors such as real estate, marketing, healthcare, as well as education, in which both students and educators use these intelligent systems to gain personalized support and guidance to perform their tasks. Usage varies from solving assignments or setting the assignment questions, similarly, matters arising on whether these uses are acceptable, salutary, or ethical. In this research, a review of AI chatbots, and their ethical implications are presented, and a framework for better use of AI Chatbots in Educational Institutions is proposed in order to control the unethical use of it.

Exploring Code Vulnerabilities Through Code Reviews: An Empirical Study On Openstack Nova, Taleb Fahmawi, Ahmad Nabot, Issam Jebreen, Ahmad Al-Qerem

Journal of Statistics Applications & Probability

Effective code review is a critical aspect of software quality assurance, requiring a meticulous examination of code snippets to identify weaknesses and other quality issues. Unfortunately, the biggest threat to software quality is developers’ disregard for code-writing standards, which leads to code smells. Despite their importance, code smells are not always identified during code review, creating a need for an empirical study to uncover vulnerabilities in code reviews. This study aimed to explore vulnerabilities in code reviews by examining the OpenStack project, Nova. After analyzing 4873 review comments, we identified 187 comments related to possible vulnerabilities, and a pilot study …

What Would It Take To Prepare Critical Spanish Heritage Language (Shl) Instructors?, Gabrielle Yocupicio

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

In the last decade, prominent scholars (Beaudrie & Loza, 2021; Leeman & Serafini, 2016; Martinez, 2016; Parra, 2016) have called for the adoption of critical language awareness (CLA) as a primary framework for carrying out Spanish heritage language (SHL) instructional goals. Thus, research on preparing SHL instructors for critical teaching continues to necessitate the opinions and advice of current practitioners engaging in CLA efforts. This presentation hopes to contribute to this research by honing into the recommendations of five educators working in a well-established SHL program at a U.S. Southwest university. Drawing from my dissertation, I employed qualitative semi-structured interviews …

Resumption And Code-Switching In The Relative Clauses From Heritage Speakers Of Spanish: A Variationist Approach, Miguel Román

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

Previous research on relative clause (RC) accessibility, the mental resources required to process and produce RCs (Lau & Tanaka 2021), is widely documented across many varieties of Spanish (Lope Blanch, 1988; Silva-Corvalán, 1999; Bentivoglio, 2003; Betancourt et al., 2009; Ezeizabarrena, 2012; del Río et al., 2012; Cerrón-Palomino, 2018; Checa-García, 2019; Lau & Tanaka 2021). In the case of heritage Spanish, eye-processing research shows that subject RCs (SRCs) are more accessible than (direct) object RCs (ORCs) (Madsen 2018). Although there are no production studies that attempt to examine whether this accessibility hierarchy holds for production, the use of resumptive pronouns offers …

No Soy Intrusa: Testimonios Of Latina Doctoral Students, Maryann Rocha

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

The number of Latinas who earn a doctoral degree has increased steadily in the United States, however, the numbers fail to describe the experiences of doctoral Latina students.

The qualitative pilot study was conceived from a graduate Mexican American Studies course project. The study collected testimonio of three Latina doctoral students enrolled in a counseling program at a public university in Texas. Platica was utilized in the research methodology and design, a mutualistic approach that honors the participants testimonio instead of the classic approach of extracting information from the participants.

Latino Critical Theory and Theory in the Flesh were used …

“Le Nom Es El Nombre Or The Last Name?” Translanguage Awareness In A French Class For Spanish Speakers, Robert Watson

11th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language

The presentation draws on personal experience teaching French with Spanish as co-language of instruction with majority-Hispanic classes as well as the emergence of a Spanish-centered approach to Romance language instruction at Hispanic-serving institutions primarily in California (Martinez 2014) and more recently in Texas.

Exploring the advantages and difficulties of using Spanish as a “gateway language” (Donato 2018) alongside French in A1-level classes, the presentation will share the experiences of students enrolled in these classes who fall under various categories, including Heritage speakers and bilinguals.

The presentation will use interviews conducted with current and former students to explore the concept of …

Displaying Gifted Students’ Mathematical Reasoning During Problem Solving: Challenges And Possibilities, Attila Szabo, Ann-Sophie Tillnert, John Mattsson

The Mathematics Enthusiast

When solving problems, mathematically gifted individuals tend to internalize intuitive ideas and approaches, and to shorten their reasoning. Consequently, for teachers it is difficult to observe gifted students’ mathematical reasoning in the context of problem solving. In this paper we investigate nine gifted Swedish 9th grade students’ mathematical reasoning during problem solving in small groups at vertical whiteboards. The data consists of 5 filmed group-activities, that were analysed according to a framework of collaborative problem-solving (Roschelle & Teasley, 1995). The analysis shows that every group solved proposed problems successfully within different socially negotiated Joint Problem Spaces (JPS) and, importantly, that …

Today’S Mathematics Student: Take Two, Carmen M. Latterell

The Mathematics Enthusiast

Current mathematics students are members of Generation Z, a generation proving to be quite different than previous ones. Generation Z has never known a time without Google, nor a time of safety. Generation Z has a declining tendency to even attend college. If they do attend college, their expectations need to be met to keep them engaged in mathematics. Professors will need to adjust pedagogy.

Teaching In The “Home Language” Is Not Enough: Navigating Spanish Raciolinguistic Ideologies In A Dual Language Bilingual Program, Gladys Yacely Aponte

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This ethnographic case study examines how fourth graders in a New York City Spanish/English dual language bilingual public school navigate hegemonic language ideologies about Spanish. Drawing on the scholarship of raciolinguistic ideologies—those that position the language practices of people of color as inherently deficient (Flores & Rosa, 2015), I analyze the discourse of seven Kiskeyanx students to examine how they navigate the widespread raciolinguistic marginalization of Kiskeyanxs— a demographic that is racialized as more Black than other Spanish-speaking groups.

As a first-generation Kiskeyana-New Yorker, a bilingual teacher educator and researcher, and a former dual language bilingual public-school teacher, it …

Exciton Dynamics, Interaction, And Transport In Monolayers Of Transition Metal Dichalcogenides, Saroj Chand

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Monolayers Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted much attention in recent years due to their promising optical and electronic properties for applications in optoelectronic devices. The rich multivalley band structure and sizable spin-orbit coupling in monolayer TMDs result in several optically bright and dark excitonic states with different spin and valley configurations. In the proposed works, we have developed experimental techniques and theoretical models to study the dynamics, interactions, and transport of both dark and bright excitons.

In W-based monolayers of TMDs, the momentum dark exciton cannot typically recombine optically, but they represent the lowest excitonic state of the system …