Digital Commons Network^™

Ptsd Symptoms And Cannabis Use Among College Students: Examining The Role Of Trauma-Related Cannabis Use To Cope, Christopher T. Latourrette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are more than four times as likely to develop cannabis use disorder (CUD) as those without PTSD. This common co-occurrence is often interpreted through a self-medication framework in which cannabis is used to manage PTSD symptoms. Prior work has relied heavily on veteran samples, includes measures of cannabis coping that are not specific to PTSD, and has most commonly examined total PTSD symptom severity, limiting precision in understanding how discrete symptom clusters relate to cannabis outcomes. The present study sought to examine associations between individual PTSD symptom clusters and cannabis use severity and to …

Role Of Listeria Adhesion Protein In Monocyte-Associated And Extracellular Translocation Of Listeria Monocytogenes Across The In Vitro Placental Barrier Co-Culture Model, Ayesha Atique

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular foodborne pathogen capable of crossing the placental barrier, leading to miscarriage, stillbirth, and neonatal sepsis, and has a fetal/neonatal fatality rate of ~20–30%. Although the importance of canonical virulence factors such as Internalin A (InlA) and Internalin B (InlB) in L. monocytogenes crossing of the placental barrier has been demonstrated, clinical strains lacking functional canonical internalins have been reported to cause severe neonatal disease, suggesting additional mechanisms of placental translocation.

To investigate these virulence mechanisms, we adapted a physiologically relevant co-culture human placental barrier Transwell model composed of BeWo trophoblasts and primary human placental …

“Recollecting The Told Story”: Storytelling, Activism, And The Black Maternal Health Emergency, Lamaya C. Williams

English Theses & Dissertations

Storytelling is a foundational component of Black knowledge creation and transmission. This dissertation centers Black women’s stories of birth and mothering—drawing on both primary source birth stories and fictional narratives—to examine the United States’ Black Maternal Health Emergency (BMHE). The BMHE is a complex and urgent issue wherein structural racism, medical bias, and intersecting social determinants disproportionately endanger the health of Black mothers. As such, Black mothers in the United States are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related condition compared to their white counterparts.

This study examines the birth stories of women who survived the BMHE and …

Profiles Of Science Students’ Achievement Emotions: An Exploration Of Motivational Antecedents And Persistence Outcomes Over Time, Arianna White-Levatich

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This is a longitudinal study focused on the importance of students’ beliefs and emotions for their persistence in science majors. The primary goals of this study are threefold. First, to examine how undergraduate science students’ academic achievement emotions combine into profiles across two time points in the context of introductory Chemistry and Biology Courses. Second, to examine how students’ beliefs and perceptions of belonging relate to profile membership and to the likelihood that students will transition between profiles of emotions over time. Third, to evaluate how emotion profile membership and transition are related to students’ intentions to pursue science and …

Biocrude From Organic Waste And Its Conversion To Hard Carbon: Experimental And Modeling Study, Isamu Umeda

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study establishes a technical and theoretical foundation for the efficient conversion of organic waste into biocrude and high-value carbon materials, aiming to facilitate the industrialization of hydrothermal and solvothermal liquefaction. The dissertation research is structured as follows:

Chapter 2 developed a novel chemical kinetic model for the HTL of corn stover based on elemental balances (C, H, N, and O). By incorporating temperature, residence time, solid loading as an independent variable, the model successfully predicted product yields and properties, revealing that there was non-pseudo-first-order reaction pathways in the conversion of water soluble organics in aqueous phase (AP) to hydrochar. …

Extending The Job Demands-Resource Model In Classified Work Environments: A Longitudinal Analysis Of Job Demands, Resources, Job Satisfaction, And Retention Among Engineers, Gregory Gooden

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model is a widely used framework for understanding how work conditions influence employee attitudes and retention-related outcomes. However, empirical evidence testing JD-R dynamics in classified technical work environments remains limited, particularly using longitudinal designs that account for structural constraints, nonrandom participation, and outcome-specific measurement challenges. Classified work is characterized by persistent demands, restricted flexibility, and security-driven limitations on available resources, raising questions about whether and how JD-R processes generalize to this context.

This study examines whether job demands and job resources predict subsequent job satisfaction and retention intent in a classified technical workforce using multi-wave longitudinal …

Bioengineering The Future Of The Human Species: H+’S Ideological Iterations Of Trans-/Posthumanity As Exemplified By Futurist Literary Texts = (Bio)Technological Solutions For (And/Or) Reification Of Systemic Inequities?, Marjorie E. Bomhower

English Theses & Dissertations

While humanity has, throughout our species’ history, endeavored to dream and create astonishing, and ever-evolving, (bio)technologies with the utopian ideals of bettering our day-to day lives and achieving greater longevity, our endeavors have (thus far) not only produced remarkable, beneficial advances in longevity and quality of life, but have also yielded devastating and dire outcomes; often at the cost and victimization of marginalized communities. This dissertation focuses on select (bio)technologies – particularly, those promoted by H+ (the most current and popular technoutopianist non-profit, “educational,” organization) – with an investigation of current and nascent (bio)technological evolutions, futurist literary texts, and critical/digital …

A Study Of Short-Range Correlated Pair Formation Mechanisms, Noah S. Swan

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Short-Range Correlations (SRCs) refers to pairs of nucleons that are temporary high density fluctuations with high relative momenta and lower center-of-mass momenta com pared to the nuclear Fermi momentum (kF). SRCs account for 20–25% of the nucleons in medium to heavy nuclei, make up essentially all nucleons with momentum greater than kF, and contribute most of the kinetic energy carried by nucleons in nuclei.

The existing semi-inclusive and exclusive measurements only cover a handful of light nu clei or heavy elements. This does not allow for a systematic study of the dependence of SRC pairs on nuclear mass and proton-neutron …

The Psychology Behind Ai-Generated Phishing And Social Engineering Attacks, A’Shya Reynolds

School of Cybersecurity Master's Level Projects and Papers

Cybercrime has evolved significantly with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), transforming traditional phishing and social engineering attacks into highly sophisticated and personalized threats. While early phishing attempts relied on generic messaging and low success rates, modern AI-driven attacks leverage advanced data analytics, natural language processing, and behavioral prediction to manipulate victims more effectively.

This research examines how cybercriminals utilize AI to enhance psychological manipulation techniques in phishing and social engineering attacks, increasing victim susceptibility. Drawing from interdisciplinary literature in cybersecurity and psychology, this study explores key psychological mechanisms, including cognitive biases, emotional triggers, and decision-making processes that influence victim …

Paraeducators' Implementation Fidelity Of Functional Communication Training Following An Intervention Package Of Behavior Skills Training And ECoaching, Autumn M. Alexander

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

My first purpose of this study was to determine if an intervention package of Behavior Skills Training (BST) and eCoaching was effective in increasing and maintaining paraeducator implementation fidelity when implementing Functional Communication Training (FCT) with students with multiple disabilities. Second, I sought to measure the effectiveness of FCT on three students’ challenging behavior and a functional communicative response (FCR). Third, I collected information from paraeducators and teachers about the perceptions of the training methods and FCT for practical usage in the classroom. I used a multiple-probe research design across three paraeducator and student dyads and demonstrated that the intervention …

How Women Community College Department Chairs Experience Leadership Work, Stephanie L. Goldenberg

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Women remain underrepresented in higher-level administrative roles in community colleges, a disparity shaped by systemic barriers, limited mentoring, and inconsistent pathways into leadership. Department chairs occupy a critical midlevel position that influences faculty, students, and the implementation of institutional priorities, yet little is known about how women experience this role or how their pathways into leadership take shape. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how women community college department chairs experience leadership work and what experiences influence their entry into leadership roles. Guided by feminist standpoint theory and grounded in narrative inquiry methodology, this study centers the …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Community College Presidential Job Announcements And The American Association Of Community Colleges Competencies For Community College Leaders, Leslie M. Boon

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Women are overrepresented as students and employees of community college, yet they are underrepresented in presidential leadership roles. Prior research has examined the career trajectories and experiences of women aspiring to community college presidencies; however, less research has examined how discourse shapes expectations of leadership. Because community colleges have been described as gendered, the language used to describe leadership competencies may reinforce gendered assumptions about effective leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine the discourse of community college presidential job announcements and the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) Competencies for Community College Leaders (4th edition) to examine …

Observations Of An Oscillatory Mechanochemical Reaction Between Tetrathiafulvalene And Chloranilic Acid, Alastair Deans

Physics Theses & Dissertations

Mechanochemistry is the study of chemical reactions driven by the input of mechanical en ergy in addition to thermal activation. Mechanochemical reactions from powders are carried out by manual grinding or milling using various types of ball mills, or in twin extruders. While mechanochemistry has great potential affording economically and environmentally advantageous “green” synthetic methods, a drawback is that its chemical mechanisms are not well understood. One example of such a reaction currently under study involves tetrathiafulvalene, an organic elec tron donor with two polymorphs (orange and brown), and chloranilic acid, an electron acceptor. Previous results show that neat grinding …

Enhancing Nasa Sounding Rocket Capabilities Through Composite Material Adoption, Robert Burth

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Sounding rockets are a suborbital research platform employed by NASA for heliophysics, astrophysics, geospace science investigations, and for technology development. They follow semi-parabolic trajectories and are launched using surplus military, and commercial, solid-propellant rocket motors. NASA sounding rocket payloads are comprised of standard, modular subassemblies, designed to perform specific functions critical to achieving specific mission success criteria.

Since the program’s inception, payload length and mass have trended upwards, limiting the capability of the platform to reach exospheric apogees and decreasing the time above critical altitudes to observe solar and celestial targets. To offset this trend, composite materials may be of …

Optimization Of Niobium Film For Particle Accelerators And Quantum Applications, Bektur Abdisatarov

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Niobium (Nb) films play a central role in superconducting technologies used in particle accelerators and superconducting quantum circuits. Optimizing the physical properties of Nb films is therefore critical for improving both radiofrequency (RF) performance in superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities and coherence in superconducting qubits. This thesis investigates the relationship between Nb film microstructure, impurity content, and electromagnetic response across these two application domains.

For particle accelerator applications, we studied Nb films deposited using high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) with DC bias onto a 1.3 GHz elliptical SRF cavity. Nb film cavities exhibit a pronounced medium-field Q-slope, limiting their achievable accelerating …

Early Parenting Stress And Later Abuse Risk: Dyadic Mediation By Maternal And Paternal Negative Attributions, Jewelian N. Fairchild

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Parenting stress and negative parental attributions are key contributors to child abuse risk. Early parenting stress may increase a parent’s risk of negatively appraising their child’s behaviors, which, in turn, may influence their likelihood of harsh or abusive parenting. Grounded in Social Information Processing (SIP) Theory, the present study explored how these processes evolve over time and differ between mothers and fathers. Specifically, this study investigated whether parental negative attributions mediated the relationship between early parenting stress and later abuse risk. A sample of 203 first-time mothers and 151 of their male partners were recruited prenatally as part of a …

Assessing Shifts In Leadership Language: A Comparative Study Of The Aacc Competencies For Community College Leaders, Bethany A. Siehr

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Leadership competency frameworks are widely used in community colleges to guide hiring, professional development, and succession planning. However, little is known about how leadership expectations evolve within these frameworks over time or how revisions reflect shifts in what the field values as legitimate leadership preparation. This study examined longitudinal change in the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Competencies for Community College Leaders across four editions published in 2005, 2013, 2018, and 2022.

Using a structured comparative document analysis, the study applied an extraction grid, a modification classification framework, and the Semantic Aspect Scale to identify additions, deletions, augmentations, separations, …

Perceptions Of The Community Eligibility Provision (Cep) Program, Angela H. Napier

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how educators and families perceive and experience the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and its influence on student attendance, engagement, well-being, and school climate within one public school division. While prior research has established quantitative links between universal meal programs and academic outcomes, limited research has explored how stakeholders interpret and experience these effects in practice. Addressing this gap, this study employed a convergent mixed-methods design, integrating archival attendance data, surveys, and semi-structured interviews with principals, assistant principals, teachers and families. Quantitative findings revealed modest but inconsistent changes in absenteeism following the CEP implementation, while qualitative findings provided …

"On The Same Rope": An Exploratory Study Of Staff Experiences At The Mountain Seed Foundation's Healing Base Camp Program, Jill C. Kivikoski

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Since the escalation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainians have faced significant social and public health challenges, particularly among Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF), including disability, traumatic stress, and barriers to mental health care (Kostenko et al., 2024; Krasnodemska et al., 2023; O’Grady & Galouchka, 2023). Retreat based programs grounded in shared military identity may offer an accessible form of support (Barrett & Currin, 2024). Mountain Seed Foundation’s (MSF) Healing Base Camp (HBC) was developed to promote healing and resilience among Ukrainian SMVF (Mountain Seed Foundation, n.d.).

This qualitative dissertation used a single-case study design (Yin, …

Considering Special Education Program Performance Analysis And Teacher And Student Involvement In Transition Planning: A Delphi Study To Prioritize Student Interests, Strengths, And Transition Assessment, Charles S. Thull

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Individualized education program (IEP) transition plans are required to be based on student interests and strengths, and use age-appropriate transition assessments, yet limited guidance exists on how to prioritize these elements. Despite decades of transition planning research and policy development, students with disabilities continue to experience poor postsecondary transition outcomes, special education teachers report limited readiness to support transition planning, university special education programs lack transition focused coursework, and transition plans are created for compliance and lack transition assessment information. Considering these concerns, this study used a modified Delphi method, informed by Human Performance Technology (HPT) and Ecological Systems Theory …

Electromyography, Prosthetic Properties, And Running Biomechanics In Recreationally Active Persons With Lower Extremity Amputation, Paige M. Agnew

Rehabilitation Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Lower extremity loss affects nearly 150,000 individuals in the United States yearly yielding extreme health care costs annually. Typically, prosthetic devices are prescribed for 5-8 years despite known changes to an individual’s gait as time progresses. Patients can expect to undergo approximately 8-12 weeks of gait retraining to improve their comfort and efficiency. Biomechanical changes occur when running with a specific running prosthetic including considerable biomechanical and neuromuscular interlimb asymmetries and alterations in loading patterns. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the biomechanical demands for lower extremity prosthesis users during running. The first study synthesized peer reviewed evidence …

Objectification And Discrimination Among Bi+ Women: Body Image Outcomes And The Moderating Role Of Relationship Type And Partner Gender, Kaitlyn E. Ryan

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Objectification theory posits that being sexually objectified by others leads to a greater likelihood of engaging in body surveillance behaviors, which in turn is associated with higher body shame (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Prior research has identified both objectification and anti-bisexual discrimination as significant predictors of body surveillance and body shame among bi+ women (i.e., bisexual, pansexual, queer) (Brewster et al., 2014; Salim et al., 2024). No studies, however, have considered the unique experiences of romantically partnered bi+ women, including the potential moderating effects of partner gender and relationship type. The present study examined whether romantic relationships are protective for …

Microstructural And Thermal Studies Of Niobium On Copper Fabricated By Sputtering And Multicharged Ion Deposition, Md Obidul Islam

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Niobium-coated copper (Nb/Cu) superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities are a promising alternative to bulk niobium cavities for next-generation particle accelerators due to their reduced material cost and superior thermal conductivity of the copper substrate. However, cavity performance is fundamentally limited by the microstructural quality of sputtered Nb films and thermal transport across the Nb/Cu interface. Reduced thermal diffusivity in thin films and high interfacial thermal resistance contribute to localized heating and performance degradation under high RF fields. This dissertation addresses these challenges through a combined experimental and methodological investigation of thermal transport in Nb thin films, focusing on interface engineering using …

The Role Of Autonomy And Motivation On Teacher Retention: A Mixed Methods Study, Jordan Overton

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Teacher retention remains a persistent concern in the United States, with nearly 13% of classrooms unfilled by licensed teachers. Grounded in self-determination theory and basic psychological needs theory, this mixed methods sequential explanatory study examined the relationship between teacher autonomy, motivation, and intentions to leave, while also exploring the contextual factors that shaped teachers’ perceptions of autonomy within their work environments.

In the quantitative phase, survey data were collected from 123 elementary and middle school teachers across three school divisions in Southeastern Virginia. Measures included teacher autonomy, work motivation, and intentions to leave one’s school or division and the teaching …

Fabrication Of Flexible Laser-Induced Graphene-Based Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor For Diabetes Management, Reagan Aviha

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research focuses on developing a flexible non-enzymatic glucose sensor to address the issues of cost, stability, and limited sensitivity associated with enzymatic glucose sensors. Regular monitoring of glucose levels is required to manage the global health challenge of diabetes. The sensor is built on a cost-effective, durable, flexible, conductive, and high-surface-area substrate acting as a scaffold for modification with easily tunable and electroactive species to enhance glucose detection. The electroactive materials used are zinc oxide (ZnO), palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt). Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is created by laser engraving. ZnO, Pd and Pt are electrochemically deposited and optimized based …

Personality Predictors Of Cybersecurity Vulnerability: Insights From Self-Reports And Stimulated Threat Scenarios, Saroja Roy Grandhi

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

In this cyber dependent and enabled era, understanding the role of human factors in digital security is essential. This study investigates the relationship between Big-Five personality traits and cybersecurity behaviors by examining both self-reported and stimulated behaviors in security threat scenarios. Participants completed validated questionnaires to report their personality traits, cybersecurity practices and engage in task-based stimulations to capture behaviors such as phishing detection, password creation, and response to security alerts. The study tested whether higher conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness would be associated with stronger cybersecurity practices and smaller discrepancies between self-reported and observed behaviors. And, whether greater extraversion and …

Learning Techniques In Prediction Of Functional Epigenomic Events, Mohammad Shiri

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Accurately predicting functional epigenomic events from DNA sequences is critical to understanding gene regulation and the functional impact of non-coding variants. Despite considerable progress, critical challenges hamper the effectiveness and efficiency of existing deep learning approaches. These challenges include negative transfer in multi-task learning (MTL), suboptimal network architectures, and pervasive label noise, particularly the positive-unlabeled problem arising from data sparsity in single-cell assays. This dissertation presents a cohesive framework of novel learning techniques to effectively address these challenges. First, a highly scalable task grouping framework is presented to mitigate negative transfer in deep MTL. This method clusters tasks based on …

Pushing High-Performance Private Inference Towards Resource-Constrained Edge Clients, Xiangrui Xu

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

The widespread adoption of Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) has enabled resource constrained edge clients, such as mobile and IoT devices, to leverage powerful deep learning mod els hosted on the cloud. However, this paradigm introduces critical privacy challenges regarding the client’s sensitive input data and the server’s proprietary model parameters. While cryptographic techniques like Homomorphic Encryption (HE) and Multi-Party Computation (MPC) enable Private Inference (PI), existing frameworks impose prohibitive computational and communication overheads that render them impractical for edge deployment. This dissertation introduces three novel frameworks—SPOT, LUTless, and PrivShap—to systematically address the efficiency bottlenecks of PI in edge …

Radicals Transforming Organic Matter: Implications For Non-Pyrogenic Black Carbon And Nitrogen Formation, Molecular Dynamics In Tropical Soils, And Lignin Valorization, João Vitor Dos Santos

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

Radicals drive the transformation of organic matter in natural and engineered systems, altering its structure, reactivity, and stability. Condensed aromatic carbon (ConAC) and condensed aromatic nitrogen (ConAN) are among the most persistent forms of organic matter in soils and are traditionally interpreted as products of biomass burning. This dissertation challenges the long-standing assumption that these materials are exclusively pyrogenic, showing that iron-mediated radical chemistry can generate condensed aromatic structures under ambient conditions.

Chapters II and III show that Fenton-like radical oxidation of lignin-rich biomass produces condensed aromatic structures compositionally similar to pyrogenic black carbon and black nitrogen when assessed with …

Learning In Motion: How Small Groups Can Promote Self-Regulated Learning In Physical Therapy Students, Sara Mclaren

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a critical skill for success in rigorous graduate health professions programs, where students must independently manage complex academic demands. Despite its importance, limited research has examined SRL processes among Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students in the didactic phase of training. Guided by Zimmerman’s cyclical model of self-regulated learning, this study examined SRL behaviors among second-year DPT students and explored how small group learning contexts may influence engagement in SRL processes and academic performance.

This mixed-methods study included 39 DPT students enrolled in a physical therapy program at a public university in the southeastern United States. …