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Non-Destructive Testing Of Stressed Materials Using X-Ray Diffraction And Second-Harmonic Generation, Melissa Nguyen Lumogdang Apr 2025

Non-Destructive Testing Of Stressed Materials Using X-Ray Diffraction And Second-Harmonic Generation, Melissa Nguyen Lumogdang

Theses and Dissertations

A material in use, anywhere from a plastic bag to common infrastructure, will eventually fail from deformation. When strained, the material chemical structure can change, and that change is dependent on many factors, including the amount of strain and strain rate. Understanding the relationship between physical properties and structural changes due to deformation can allow structural manipulation to achieve the desired physical properties. Additionally, research into non-destructive testing (NDT) methods can be used as supporting evidence for replacing destructive testing methods and possible infield stress monitoring. In this dissertation, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and second-harmonic generation (SHG) are the main NDT …

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Finding Patterns In Disturbance: Modeling Ecosystem Recovery Using A Machine Learning Approach, Paden D. Allsup Apr 2025

Finding Patterns In Disturbance: Modeling Ecosystem Recovery Using A Machine Learning Approach, Paden D. Allsup

Theses and Dissertations

Some of the most visible effects of Anthropogenic climate change are shifts in resource (water) availability, and disturbance regimes across the world. Ecosystems across the world are now being forced to adapt to amplified disturbances, or in some cases, completely new disturbance types. These shifts have major implications for ecosystem stability and functioning, and more broadly for nutrient cycling across the world. In the western USA, wildfire is playing a larger and more dramatic role than before, altering vegetation communities, landscape stability, and soil and stream chemistry. While fire has always played an important role in semi-arid ecosystems, the scale …

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Assessing Innovations In Wildlife Monitoring: Estimating Abundance And Inferring Parturition Of Ungulates With Technology, Elicia Cotcher Apr 2025

Assessing Innovations In Wildlife Monitoring: Estimating Abundance And Inferring Parturition Of Ungulates With Technology, Elicia Cotcher

Theses and Dissertations

Enhancements in technology are creating opportunities for novel methods of wildlife monitoring. Traditional methods of wildlife monitoring are often costly or time-consuming, and new technological advancements such as remote cameras and GPS collars are creating opportunities for exploration as these technologies become more accessible and reliable. We sought to assess the efficacy of two novel methods of ungulate monitoring. The first is an abundance estimation method using remote cameras termed Instantaneous Sampling (IS). IS seeks to estimate abundance using time lapsed remote cameras on a population of unmarked individuals. Our goal was to compare IS estimations against the true observed …

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I Do, And I Will: Effectual Religiosity May Strengthen The Triad Chord Of Commitment To Promote Marital Flourishing For Women Of Faith, Tamara M. Chamberlain Apr 2025

I Do, And I Will: Effectual Religiosity May Strengthen The Triad Chord Of Commitment To Promote Marital Flourishing For Women Of Faith, Tamara M. Chamberlain

Theses and Dissertations

Although religiosity often associates with marital satisfaction in sociological studies, very few studies have examined religiosity strengthening marital commitment for women of faith. This study used an exemplary sample to explore how religious, heterosexual married women view religion strengthening their marital commitment. Interviews from 196 highly religious couples provided insight into the following themes and subthemes (1) personal commitment, (a) decision to marry, (b) religious beliefs and practices, and (c) requires effort and sacrifice; (2) moral commitment, (a) sexual relations before marriage, (b) promises made before God, friends, and family, and (c) fidelity and feelings about divorce; and (3) structural …

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Innovations In Sample Handling Automation To Increase Accessibility Of Sample-Limited Proteomics, Nathaniel Ben Axtell Apr 2025

Innovations In Sample Handling Automation To Increase Accessibility Of Sample-Limited Proteomics, Nathaniel Ben Axtell

Theses and Dissertations

Innovation is the vehicle that drives scientific research forward in virtually every field. Advances in genome sequencing propelled the human genome project to completion in 2003 and set the stage for the era of proteomics. Now decades of innovation in liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) have improved sensitivity sufficiently to enable single-cell proteomics and other sample-limited studies. Single-cell proteomics reveal patterns of gene expression that are often obscured by bulk-scale proteomics, leading to the identification of new protein biomarker candidates. Sensitive targeted proteomics is the key to successful translation of low-abundance protein assays into clinical applications. With a …

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Reconnaissance Investigation Of Soil-Structure Harmonics And Building Collapse Patterns In The 2024 Noto And 2016 Kumamoto Japan Earthquakes, Nathan Cole Chesnut Apr 2025

Reconnaissance Investigation Of Soil-Structure Harmonics And Building Collapse Patterns In The 2024 Noto And 2016 Kumamoto Japan Earthquakes, Nathan Cole Chesnut

Theses and Dissertations

This study used ambient vibration data collected during a reconnaissance mission to assess whether harmonics between structures and the underlying soil played a significant role in the pattern of buildings that collapsed in the magnitude 7.5 Noto Japan earthquake on January 1, 2024, and the magnitude 6.2 to 7.0 Kumamoto Japan earthquake series that occurred between April 14 and 16, 2016. Portable seismometers were used to measure the natural soil and structural frequencies of vibration under ambient loading at sites in Wajima, a city located on the Noto Peninsula, and in four locations in and around Kumamoto City. Soil frequency …

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Improving Efficiency Of Wind Flow Modeling For Wildfire Applications Using Analytical Parameterization And Neural Networks, Laura Jane Housley Apr 2025

Improving Efficiency Of Wind Flow Modeling For Wildfire Applications Using Analytical Parameterization And Neural Networks, Laura Jane Housley

Theses and Dissertations

We model wind velocity fields for applications in wildfire modeling. We improve the accuracy of the mass-conserving WindNinja solver without compromising efficient temporal complexity. We consider two approaches: the parameterization method and the neural network method. In the parameterization method, we analyze eddies in the wake of obstacles by parameterizing cavity zones as inspired by the research by Kaplan & Dinar in 1996. Kaplan & Dinar parameterize cavity zones around rectangular buildings, and we approximate a continuous landscape with rectangular buildings in order to extend this parameterization to complex terrains. In the neural network method, we train a U-net CNN …

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Mythology Of Autism: Pop Culture, Rhetoric, And Vaccines, Makenzi Strate Apr 2025

Mythology Of Autism: Pop Culture, Rhetoric, And Vaccines, Makenzi Strate

Theses and Dissertations

Myths are stories told to provide an explanation for the unknown, reflect cultural beliefs of populations that hold them, and lack scientific evidence to support these stories. Some myths, such as the myth that vaccines cause autism, are harmful toward the groups that they target. Popularized in 1998 with the publication of the Wakefield study, the myth that vaccines cause autism continues to spread and thrive today. To understand the widespread nature and detriments of belief in harmful myths such as this, I implement mythology rhetoric to examine how celebrity Jenny McCarthy utilizes elements of myth to persuade others to …

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Advancing Global Flood Inundation Mapping From Srtm To Fabdem, Taylor James Miskin Apr 2025

Advancing Global Flood Inundation Mapping From Srtm To Fabdem, Taylor James Miskin

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates how elevation and hydrography inputs influence flood extent accuracy using ARC (Automated Rating Curve), a raster-based flood inundation model. It focuses on how spatial resolution and vertical accuracy, reflecting the satellite mission from which each dataset was derived, and bare-earth processing of the DEM affect the accuracy of predicted flood extents. The assessment compares four dataset combinations--FABDEM with GEOGLOWS River Forecasting System Version 1(RFS1), FABDEM with GEOGLOWS River Forecasting System Version 2(RFS2), SRTM with RFS1, and SRTM with RFS2--across five study locations: the Suncook River in New Hampshire, North Fork Kentucky River in Kentucky, Nimishillen Creek in …

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Teaching Information Synthesis In First-Year Writing: A Replication And Extension Study, Rachel M. Terry Apr 2025

Teaching Information Synthesis In First-Year Writing: A Replication And Extension Study, Rachel M. Terry

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the challenges and strategies associated with teaching information synthesis to first-year college students. Synthesis, a higher-order cognitive skill described as "knowledge-transforming," is critical for academic success and informed engagement in an information-saturated society. However, many students enter college with underdeveloped foundational reading and writing skills, compounded by declining literacy rates and the prevalence of fragmented digital content consumption. This study builds on prior research in composition, education, and information literacy to address three key questions: (1) How do students understand synthesis? (2) What strategies do students employ when attempting to synthesize information? (3) What instructional implications arise …

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Durability Of Rapid-Setting Concrete Repairs On Pavement Panels And Bridge Decks In Utah, Steven Benjamin Burdette Apr 2025

Durability Of Rapid-Setting Concrete Repairs On Pavement Panels And Bridge Decks In Utah, Steven Benjamin Burdette

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to evaluate the durability of rapid-setting concrete batched using volumetric concrete mixers and placed in a cold region. The scope of work included field and laboratory evaluations of rapid-setting concrete repairs on both pavement panels and bridge decks in Utah. Six sites in northern Utah were selected by Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) personnel for evaluation. At the time of inspection, the repairs had been in service for 4 to 5 years. Field research included visual inspection, Schmidt rebound hammer testing, resistivity testing, and concrete sampling. Laboratory research included stiffness testing, compressive strength testing, …

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Inquiry-Style Planetarium Activities, Emma Rasmussen Groberg Apr 2025

Inquiry-Style Planetarium Activities, Emma Rasmussen Groberg

Theses and Dissertations

Introductory astronomy students often face challenges in exploring their own ideas and investigating astronomical phenomena due to the limitations of nighttime observation and weather conditions. Planetariums overcome these barriers by simulating the night sky, making it accessible during class sessions regardless of external conditions. This provides an opportunity to engage students in inquiry-based activities, where they are presented with a scenario and encouraged to use their own reasoning to reach conclusions. In this study, we implemented inquiry-based activities in PHSCS 127 using the planetarium as an investigative tool. We developed four activities designed to help students explore their ideas and …

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Reclaiming Identity: Miné Okubo's Self-Portraiture And Authorship In Citizen 13660, Caroline E. Johnson Apr 2025

Reclaiming Identity: Miné Okubo's Self-Portraiture And Authorship In Citizen 13660, Caroline E. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that Miné Okubo's repeated self-portraiture in Citizen 13660 asserts her authority of the soul author of the text, forcing her reader to acknowledge the perspective in which the story is being told. Through the images of herself, she makes clear the fact that the story is filtered through her personal experience, rather than the widely accepted understanding that the novel is a universal story. While the written account strives for a sense of objectivity, the images of Okubo, especially when analyzed through the context of her contemporaries, including comics and photographers, shows how her work …

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Assessing The Effectiveness Of Aging Techniques On Cloning Fpga-Based Configurable Ring Oscillator Pufs, Jonathan Thompson Apr 2025

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Aging Techniques On Cloning Fpga-Based Configurable Ring Oscillator Pufs, Jonathan Thompson

Theses and Dissertations

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are reconfigurable devices that are used in industries that often require increased security. Physically unclonable functions (PUFs) are a security primitive used on FPGAs for device authentication and key generation. However, the output of a PUF can be susceptible to changes in the environment, such as voltage and temperature, as well as changes in device performance that occur due to transistor aging. Previous work has shown that it is possible to induce targeted accelerated aging in order to intentionally change a PUF response, even to the point of cloning one PUF to behave like another. …

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Organismal Classification And The Phylogenetic Tree: Improving Its Teaching Using Decision-Based Learning, Melissa Cavan Apr 2025

Organismal Classification And The Phylogenetic Tree: Improving Its Teaching Using Decision-Based Learning, Melissa Cavan

Theses and Dissertations

For a lot of students, learning biology is like learning a new language. There are new terms and concepts that a lot of new students have never heard of. Evolution is the cornerstone for understanding biology, yet it is one of the more misunderstood topics. In combination with learning new terms and concepts some students come in with preconceived ideas about evolution or misunderstandings about how evolution and the phylogenetic tree work. The research indicates instructors attempting active learning techniques to increase understanding of the phylogenetic tree with mixed results, where there appears to be some improvement but nothing significant. …

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"The Things I Hate": Romans 7 And The Construction Of Self, Nicole Francis Apr 2025

"The Things I Hate": Romans 7 And The Construction Of Self, Nicole Francis

Theses and Dissertations

The construction of the self has been a central topic of discussion throughout Graeco-Roman history and continues to shape modern theoretical debate. This paper situates Paul’s construction of self in Romans 7 within these ongoing conversations, engaging both ancient and modern perspectives. While many scholars have written books on the topic of the Hellenistic and Roman constructions of self that include thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca, Epictetus, and others, none of these extant works have explored Paul’s contribution to this discourse. Acknowledging the historical interests and the academic conversations about the historical Paul, this paper seeks to add …

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"The Truth Of Our Historic Encounter": Curating Networks Of The Past In Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, Holden O. D'Evegnee Apr 2025

"The Truth Of Our Historic Encounter": Curating Networks Of The Past In Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad, Holden O. D'Evegnee

Theses and Dissertations

What unites the critical response to Colson Whitehead's 2016 novel The Underground Railroad is universal interest in the text's attitude towards historical truth. I contend that critics fixate so much on the issue of truth that they miss how the novel offers an alternative to historic truth in the form of an aesthetic encounter. During her employment as a "living exhibit" in North Carolina's Museum of Natural Wonders, protagonist Cora despairs at the apparent absence of truth. Despite the overt manipulation of history to justify white imperialism in the museum, Cora experiences a transcendent moment of refuge when she works …

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Partial Replication Of The Severe Outcome Questionnaire (S-Oq): Determining Benchmarks Using Ecologically Valid Data, Joshua J. Allen Apr 2025

Partial Replication Of The Severe Outcome Questionnaire (S-Oq): Determining Benchmarks Using Ecologically Valid Data, Joshua J. Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Background: The Severe Outcome Questionnaire (S-OQ) is a self-report tool whose most recent manual was published in 2008. It measures the treatment progress of the seriously mentally ill (SMI). Objective: 1). Partially replicate the outpatient and inpatient admission, change, and internal consistency data. 2). Provide a manual extension including admission and change data for new settings of care and include treatment modality benchmarks. Method: OQ Measures provided an archival data set drawn from six different community mental health organizations from around the United States covering 101 different clinics (N = 25,511; Male = 11,524, Female = 13,987). We constructed normative …

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Hydrologic Decision Support In The Nile Basin: Creating Status And Outlook Products From The Geoglows Hydrologic Model, Rachel Huber Apr 2025

Hydrologic Decision Support In The Nile Basin: Creating Status And Outlook Products From The Geoglows Hydrologic Model, Rachel Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Decision makers and stakeholders need information about current and future streamflow to make informed decisions and we show how the GEOGLOWS Hydrologic Model, known as River Forecast System (RFS), can be used to provide hydrologic status and outlook products to inform these decisions. We examine a specific use case of RFS in the Nile River Basin and how RFS is used to provide users with hydrologic status products. We work with stakeholders at the Nile Basin Initiative to assess their needs for this information. We use basic low flow calculations to compute the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) and the 95th …

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Systematic Analysis On The Applications Of Infrastructure Asset Management In Utah, Kelvin Kozakevitch Apr 2025

Systematic Analysis On The Applications Of Infrastructure Asset Management In Utah, Kelvin Kozakevitch

Theses and Dissertations

Public infrastructure is essential to a region’s economic stability and quality of life, especially its rural infrastructure where most consumable and essential goods derive from. Given the high capital investment required for infrastructure development and maintenance, asset management plans (IAM) are critical. Even though academic research exists on the problems rural infrastructure management face, little is known about the actual state, barriers and causes for the challenges IAM faces in rural Utah. This study examines the current challenges and barriers in IAM among rural communities in Utah. Employing a grounded theory approach, data was collected through a two-phase methodology: phase …

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A Complete Guide To Multi-Fidelity No-U-Turn Sampling With Application To An Inverse Wave Problem, Paul Smith Apr 2025

A Complete Guide To Multi-Fidelity No-U-Turn Sampling With Application To An Inverse Wave Problem, Paul Smith

Theses and Dissertations

We employ a Bayesian framework to solve an inverse problem that aims to identify the initial condition distribution of wave propagation, given a limited set of observable data. To optimize sampling efficiency, we introduce a multi-fidelity No-U-Turn Sampler (MF-NUTS) with an adaptive mass matrix. Maximizing sampling efficiency is crucial, as our ultimate goal is to extend this methodology to a large-scale inverse problem to identify the source parameters of historical tsunami-generating earthquakes. The forward model for tsunami propagation (GeoClaw) requires over 20 minutes of supercomputer time on 24 cores to evaluate each sample for a triple-fault rupture, necessitating a strategy …

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A Low-Cost Micro Actuator Driven By Electrowetting-On-Dielectric, Behzad Parsi Apr 2025

A Low-Cost Micro Actuator Driven By Electrowetting-On-Dielectric, Behzad Parsi

Theses and Dissertations

Microfluidic techniques have been shown to address limitations of reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) antennas and filters in efficiency, power handling capability, cost, and frequency tuning. However, the current devices suffer from significant integration challenges associated with packaging, actuation, and control. Recent advances in reconfigurable microfluidics that utilize the motion of a selectively metalized plate (SMP) for RF tuning have demonstrated promising RF capabilities but have exposed a need for an accurate fluid actuation model. This research presents models for the dynamics of plate actuation under multiple scenarios. In the first phase, the mechanical motion of a moving plate (e.g. SMP) …

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Heavy Ion Testing Of Versal Acap Ai Engines, Caleb S. Price Apr 2025

Heavy Ion Testing Of Versal Acap Ai Engines, Caleb S. Price

Theses and Dissertations

With recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI), there has been an ever increasing need for computation power in space. These AI models are traditionally implemented on GPUs. However, these units come at a high cost in terms of weight and power usage. Due to these limitations, many organizations are turning to the Versal ACAP device, a system on chip (SOC) with hundreds of AI engines. This option delivers more computation per watt than a traditional GPU. The desire to use Versal ACAP in space has created a need to perform radiation testing on the device. Extensive testing has been performed …

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Gnss-Denied Navigation Using Lte Signals Of Opportunity On Low-Cost, Low-Swap Hardware, Tyler Sweat Apr 2025

Gnss-Denied Navigation Using Lte Signals Of Opportunity On Low-Cost, Low-Swap Hardware, Tyler Sweat

Theses and Dissertations

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) navigation is crucial in the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). GNSS signals are susceptible to jamming, spoofing, multipath, and urban canyons and may provide incorrect position information or may not be available at all. For autonomous missions, a backup for GNSS is desirable in the event that it is unavailable. Terrestrial cellular signals are a promising option for navigation because they are continuously transmitted at higher power levels. Optimizing hardware size, weight, and power (SWaP) is critical for UAVs to maximize endurance, payload capacity, and operational efficiency. We present a system that uses long-term …

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The Role Of Positive Psychology Within Professional Athletes’ Performance, Jasmine C. Olsen Apr 2025

The Role Of Positive Psychology Within Professional Athletes’ Performance, Jasmine C. Olsen

ScholarsArchive Data

This literature review delves into the influence of these practice such as mental resilience, coach-to-athlete relationships, and satisfaction in performance within athletes. It’s aim is to voice any needed changes within such research for future studies.

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Measuring The Effects Of The Leaves On Stalk Strength And Dynamic Response In Maize, Grant C. Ogilvie Apr 2025

Measuring The Effects Of The Leaves On Stalk Strength And Dynamic Response In Maize, Grant C. Ogilvie

Theses and Dissertations

Maize is one of the most widely cultivated grains in the world, making it crucial to world food security and important economically. One major problem in maize production is stalk lodging (greensnap), which results in billions of dollars in lost harvests annually for maize farmers in the US alone. Understanding the mechanical properties of maize plants is crucial to addressing this problem. Previous studies have suggested that the leaf blades and leaf sheaths affect maize mechanical properties. The objectives of this thesis are twofold: to present measurement techniques for the stalk bending strength, damping ratio, and natural frequency of maize …

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A Novel Wrench Decomposition And Development Of A Large-Scale Soft Robot For Displacement-Based Human-Robot Collaborative Manipulation, Dallin Cordon Apr 2025

A Novel Wrench Decomposition And Development Of A Large-Scale Soft Robot For Displacement-Based Human-Robot Collaborative Manipulation, Dallin Cordon

Theses and Dissertations

This work represents an examination of various facets of physical human-robot collaborative manipulation and the implementation of compliant, soft-robotic manipulators. A survey of physical human-human interaction and haptic communication is presented, alongside an investigation into the decomposition of force and torque components that enable effective human-robot collaboration. To address the inconsistent terminology found in previous literature, a standardized framework for force decomposition is proposed. A new taxonomy is introduced to categorize the force components involved in collaborative manipulation tasks. This taxonomy clarifies the role of each component in an agent's applied force during task execution and provides a structured framework …

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"Our Darker Purpose": Jean-François Ducis's Le Roi Léar In Eighteenth-Century France, Zerin Biehn Apr 2025

"Our Darker Purpose": Jean-François Ducis's Le Roi Léar In Eighteenth-Century France, Zerin Biehn

Theses and Dissertations

Jean-François Ducis's French adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear has received little critical attention since its publication in 1784. The play retains many of the main plot points that are familiar from Shakespeare along with Ducis's changes that helped make Shakespeare and King Lear more acceptable for the French stage. John Golder has interpreted Le Roi Léar as a pro-royalist play, but I argue that the play's portrayal of kingship and treason is much more nuanced. Ducis's Cordelia is framed for rebellion by her oldest sister, a situation which lacks the rich ambiguity of Shakespeare's Cordelia refusing to placate her father …

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From Casa To Career: Language Domains Of Adolescent Heritage Spanish Speakers In The United States, Rachel Emily Koncurat Apr 2025

From Casa To Career: Language Domains Of Adolescent Heritage Spanish Speakers In The United States, Rachel Emily Koncurat

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence is a critical time for identity development. At this stage, it is important that heritage speakers hear positive messages about their heritage language and have programs that meet their linguistic needs and aspirations. This thesis examines the sociolinguistic domains in which adolescent heritage Spanish speakers use English and Spanish. It addresses two key questions: 1) In what domains do adolescent heritage Spanish speakers use English and Spanish? 2) Do these domains align with the future contexts in which they wish to use Spanish? To answer these questions, I distributed an online survey about language domains and future language goals …

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Steps Towards Effective Human-Robot Co-Manipulation Through Real-Time Modus Detection And Effects Of Stiffness Variation For Human-Soft-Robot Dyads, Shaden Moss Apr 2025

Steps Towards Effective Human-Robot Co-Manipulation Through Real-Time Modus Detection And Effects Of Stiffness Variation For Human-Soft-Robot Dyads, Shaden Moss

Theses and Dissertations

A group of individuals can coordinate very easily to carry a large or heavy object together. This act of collaborative carrying is called co-manipulation. Unlike human teammates, robots cannot easily detect and respond to the intent of human partners during co-manipulation tasks. This shortcoming can be compensated for via the physical design and the software design of robots. This work treats software design with a neural net that detects human modus (or the manner in which a team moves an object together) in real time. This work treats physical design with the use of a soft robot in human-robot co-manipulation, …

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