Digital Commons Network^™

Computational Modeling Of Bubble Dispersion In Alginate Hydrogel Foams For Radiologically Equivalent Biomedical Phantoms, Godson N. Brako

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The foaming of hydrogels presents a promising strategy for tailoring mechanical and radiological properties to replicate biological soft tissues for biomedical phantoms. Achieving uniform and predictable void fraction distributions in alginate hydrogel foams remains a challenge due to the complex interplay between bubble dynamics, matrix rheology, and interfacial forces during the pre-gelation aeration stage. This thesis develops a Computational Fluid Dynamics framework using the transient Eulerian two-fluid approach to predict void fraction distribution in alginate hydrogel precursor solutions aerated by air injection through a bottom nozzle. The objective is to use the framework for design of the foaming system to …

Examining Team Leader Visual Dynamics And Team Performance In Pediatric Emergency Simulations, Annamarie Brosnihan

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Pediatric medical emergencies are dynamic, high-intensity clinical situations that demand coordinated interdisciplinary actions for optimal patient outcomes. Effective teamwork and leadership are critical, especially during the preparatory phase. Here, team leaders define task goals, assign individual roles, and maintain situational awareness. This phase directs attention, organizes team dynamics, and ensures medical interventions are deployed properly. Medical simulations provide a unique opportunity to capture dynamic leadership behaviors in a controlled low-stakes environment using multimodal data, such as eye tracking, to gain insight into team leader cognitive processes (i.e., attention allocation and information processing). Prior research suggests that leaders who visually attend …

Making Art For The Love Of The Game, Alissa Beth Burch

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

“Making Art for the Love of the Game” interweaves visual aesthetics from video games and associated online fan community practices with self-portraiture to reflect and process personal past medical trauma, a developmental period in online interactive environments, and showcases self-expressive fan content which joins an underrepresented and emerging sub-culture to contemporary art. Working through an interdisciplinary studio practice, combining printmaking, found-sticker collage, and painting refracts digital aesthetics found in online communities. I intentionally juxtaposed these physical modes of making with digital subjects to examine these subjects’ merit as artistic mediums.  It reflects a contemporary mode of art making, and acts …

Club Sport Injury Rates, Injury Characteristics, Functional Movement Screen Relationships, And Impact Of Core Training, Rebecca Carson

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

It is estimated that over 10% of college students take part in club sports at their college or university, yet sport-related injuries are a common consequence of participation. The Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS™) is a movement analysis tool that identifies functional deficits and asymmetries and is widely applied in athletic settings to assess injury risk and inform rehabilitation and injury prevention programs. Core strength and stability play a crucial role in functional movement quality and may even reduce risk of injury and improve sport performance. This dissertation aimed to establish club sport injury rates and characteristics for club men’s ice …

Applying Harm Reduction To Binge-Eating Disorder: Protective Behavioral Strategies Against Uncontrolled Eating, Emily Burr

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Binge-eating disorder (BED) is a highly deleterious mental illness, with ramifications ranging from psychological impairment to premature mortality. Despite the awareness of intervention urgency, treatment strategies to manage BED have limited long-term efficacy. Therefore, it is of high necessity to illuminate other methods of reducing the potential effects of binge eating (BE), either by combatting severity or frequency of the behavior. Protective behavioral strategies (PBS), first identified in the substance use field, are methods by which an individual attenuates potential harm from a behavior without expectation of abstaining (i.e., a harm reduction approach). Given high likelihood of treatment relapse for …

Detection And Discrimination Of Targets In Infrared Imagery, Adam T. Cuellar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Automated infrared (IR) imagery analysis is essential for persistent surveillance, defense, and security, yet it remains difficult when sensors move and when unknown objects appear. This dissertation addresses two fundamental problems: (1) detecting small moving targets amid platform-motion induced parallax and (2) distinguishing between known stationary targets and out-of-distribution (OOD) objects.   For detecting moving targets while the platform itself is in motion, auxiliary Global Positioning System and Inertial Navigation System data are combined with image analysis. Direction Cosine Matrices from calibrated inertial measurements enable sub-pixel frame alignment unattainable with purely image-based registration. The stabilized sequence is processed by a Reed–Xiaoli …

En Tiempos De Extinción, Adialyz Del Valle Berríos

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

En Tiempos de Extinción is a collection of short, mostly speculative, stories exploring themes of community, exploitation, resistance, and the ever-present effects of colonialism in nearly every aspect of life. “El Amor de una Diosa es Amor Suficiente” centers on a young girl’s initiation into a community that will do whatever it takes to indoctrinate the young. “Al Aire Libre” focuses on two tenured professors determined to enjoy their last day on the job, navigating the complicated feelings of what progress means in a world that prioritizes capital. In “OVNI,” the history of a wacky television dating show unravels …

Repeatability And Reproducibility Of Likelihood Ratio Estimation For Forensics Using Machine Learning: An Application To In-Silico Fire Debris Data, Cameron Ezazi

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The importance of using statistical evidence to help inform the interpretation of forensic evidence has grown greater over time. This is especially evident in the field of forensic fire debris analysis, where the reliability and reproducibility of statistical results are crucial. This thesis investigates how the application of 5 different common machine learning methods on an in-silico fire debris dataset can be reduced to a univariate forensic score to create score-based likelihood ratios (SLRs), and how these ratios should be interpreted. These SLRs are crucial in supporting or rejecting a Prosecutor’s or Defense’s hypothesis, thus making the previously mentioned reliability …

Temperature And Speciation Measurements Of Aluminum-Laden Detonation Flows Via A Three-Color Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopic Sensor, Marc B. Etienne

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Tunable diode lasers are widely used and are known to be great options for continuous wave lasing applications. Because of their stability and spectral selectivity, they have become an important diagnostic tool for modern combustion research. Previous combustion research, particularly those focused on solid and hybrid rocket systems, have shown that the interaction of aluminum with a reacting flow can greatly affect the dynamics and the thermochemical properties of the surrounding gas, therefore understanding the effects of aluminum-laden flows is critical for the advancement of these propulsion systems. However, due to the high degree of optical interference, high temperatures, and …

I, Cock-A-Doodle-Do: Reclaiming Masculinity Through Queer Joy And Humorous Self-Exploration, Nelson J. Garcia

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

I examine the contemporary norms of masculinity. My research wrestles with ultimately unresolvable stereotypes and imagery influencing current masculine behavior. I unearth queer potential through the physicality and behavior of the stereotypical “man’s man”. I infuse my own queer identity into my studio practice with an emphasis on humor and joy to subvert traditional models of male performance. This process drives self-exploration that allows me to personally respond, react, be directed, and redirected by the interactions between queerness and masculinity. Masculine and queer representations across various media, such as film, music, and television, historically and continuously inform restrictive cultural norms. …

Privacy-Preserving Matrix Computations Using Homomorphic Encryption With Applications In Ai, Yang Gao

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Homomorphic encryption (HE) enables computation directly on encrypted data, offering strong privacy guarantees for sensitive applications. Despite its promise, the practical adoption of HE remains limited by high computational overhead and inefficient support for fundamental operations such as matrix multiplication, sparse computation, and secure retrieval.

This dissertation addresses these challenges by developing efficient and scalable methods for privacy-preserving computation under HE. First, it presents HEGMM, a framework for secure general matrix multiplication that reduces redundant computation and improves efficiency through optimized data layouts. Second, it introduces the Compressed Sparse Sorted Column (CSSC) format for sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMV), enabling efficient …

An Examination Of The Impact Of School Accountability On Data-Driven Decision-Making By Florida Educational Leaders, Emily Galucho

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This mixed-methods study examined how accountability influences educational leaders' data-driven decision-making (DDDM) practices in Central Florida. Grounded in the principal-agent and consequential accountability frameworks, the study investigated demographic predictors, implementation challenges, and the role of accountability in DDDM. Educational leaders completed online surveys measuring DDDM perceptions across five subscales and responded to open-ended questions. The responses were analyzed through multiple regression, correlation, and thematic coding.

Accountability emerged as DDDM's strongest predictor, significantly exceeding demographic and organizational variables. Five implementation challenges were identified: Data Literacy Gaps, Data Timeliness Issues, Resource Constraints, Implementation Fidelity, and Systemic Barriers. Accountability demonstrated dual effects: many …

Carbaryl Exposure Alters Gut Microbiome Composition Without Affecting Morphometrics In Eastern Purple Martin (Progne Subis Subis) Nestlings, Stephanie A. Gaspar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Eastern purple martins (Progne subis subis) rely entirely on human-provided nesting structures throughout their breeding range in eastern North America. To control haematophagous mites that commonly infest these nests, many landlords apply the carbamate insecticide, carbaryl. Although effective at reducing ectoparasite populations, carbaryl exposure may have unintended effects on the gut microbiome, growth, and condition of developing birds. This study examined the effects of carbaryl exposure on gut microbial communities and morphometric condition in wild nestlings. Nests were experimentally treated with carbaryl, and nestling morphometrics and fecal microbiomes were compared between treated and untreated groups at 18 days …

Emotional Support Friends: Creating Social Impact Through Art And Polite Humor, Kenyari Gil Rosario

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis aims to provide new imagery to the conversation of mental health and neurodivergence. It does this through forms of soft sculpture, digital paintings, marker drawings, and community murals. Inspired by the practices of Keith Haring, iconographic characters are used to portray common struggles and coping habits of mental conditions in an endearing light. With the goal of social impact, this project is affiliated with the non-profit organization Providing Autism Links and Support (P.A.L.S). This partnership has given the community an opportunity to share their compassion through art and donations and uses art as a means of social impact …

Reflection In Still Waters: Generative Ai's Production Of Language, Jonathan D. Hawks

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Language is a conceptual process of meaning-making as well as a social construction as defined by Saussure, Bakhtin, and Lacan. Large Language Models (LLMs) engage with neither process and instead present language as a finished and consumable product which undermines its fundamental aspects. The difference between representing language through probability and its structural components instead of its more inherent qualities is not a pointless distinction. This paper utilizes Narcissus as a central metaphor to show how people misread the outputs of LLMs as language which imparts to those reflected words meaning on par with our own conceptualizations of reality. People …

Centered A Story Of Family And Compassion In The Face Of Parkinson's Disease, Savannah Hill

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Centered is a three-dimensional (3D) animated short film that explores the topic of parental illness and how families must respond with compassion and adaptability when loved ones face mental or physical challenges. The story is inspired by the director’s own experience with her father’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease when she was in high school. The main characters, a father and daughter, must navigate the father’s changing needs after his diagnosis by prioritizing their connection and adapting to his new physical challenges. In the film, they do this through the creation of pottery. The imperfect, handmade design style of the film …

If Your Muses Don't Hate You..., Hannah Howe

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

If Your Muses Don’t Hate You… interrogates a speaker who feels she lacks the tools needed to properly assess trauma and grief. This collection follows the speaker as she delves into obsessive analysis of self, often using metaphysical lenses as methods of comprehension. Each section explores a facet of the subject’s identity, and examines whether her heartache is self-inflicted, preordained, or both. Six of the seven sections provide the reader with imaginative interpretations of the speaker’s natal chart, allowing the reader the opportunity to analyze alongside the speaker. The first half of these sections present the speaker struggling to separate …

Benchmarking And Advancing Heterogeneous Data Reasoning With Large Language Models, Yebowen Hu

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Large language models (LLMs) increasingly face complex real-world tasks requiring complex reasoning over heterogeneous inputs, including text, numbers, and structured data. This dissertation first investigates the capability boundaries of LLMs under such scenarios. Through the MeetingBank and SportsMetrics benchmarks, we show that while LLMs exhibit linguistic fluency, they struggle with factual accuracy, information density, and quantitative cross-referencing in meeting summarization and sports analysis. Using DecipherPref, a pair-wise evaluation framework grounded in the Bradley-Terry-Luce model, we further probe LLMs' inherent preferences for information-rich and lengthy inputs, and we identify critical deficiencies in financial decision-making through DeFine, where models lack precise insight …

Essays On Network Resilience: Enhancing Network Resilience Through Network Governance Structure, Process, Environment, And Leadership, Hanvit Kim

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As disasters become more complex, their impacts often cascade across interdependent systems, creating failures that extend beyond any single organization or sector. Because such crises cut across organizational and sectoral boundaries, effective response depends not only on the capacity of individual organizations but also on the resilience of interorganizational networks. Yet despite the growing importance of networked coordination in disaster response, the concept of network resilience remains underdeveloped in the literature, with limited consensus on its definition, measurement, and determinants. This dissertation addresses that gap by systematically examining what network resilience is, how it can be conceptualized and assessed, and …

Investigation Of Bulk And Periodically Stacked X(2) And X(3) Materials Using Mid-Infrared Femtosecond Pulses, Woraprach Kusolthossakul

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region represents a vital part of the electromagnetic spectrum, offering applications in spectroscopy, biomedicine, and remote sensing. However, there are no direct broadband MIR laser sources. Nonlinear frequency conversion techniques using second-order nonlinear materials, such as optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and intra-pulse difference frequency generator (IDFG), are promising methods for generating a broadband MIR spectrum. To achieve an efficient conversion, the phase matching condition between the interacting waves of the nonlinear process must be satisfied. Quasi-phase matching (QPM) is a special technique that enables efficient nonlinear processes in materials that cannot be conventionally phase matched using birefringence. …

Numerical Simulation Of Micro-Cutting Processes For The Estimation Of Material Fracture Toughness, Juan J. Lainez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Accurate determination of plane-strain fracture toughness is essential for structural integrity assessments of engineering components, yet conventional ASTM standardized testing methods require large, notched specimens that are impractical in many industrial and research contexts. This thesis presents a finite element method-based approach for estimating the mode I plane-strain fracture toughness of engineering materials from orthogonal micro-cutting simulations if the continuum damage mechanics-based fracture locus is calibrated. This method will eliminate the need for pre-cracked specimens while maintaining physically grounded fracture mechanics principles. The methodology applies to the Atkins energy-based cutting force model, in which the depth-independent intercept of the specific …

Behavioral Economic Factors Implicated In Young Adult Drinking In The Natural Environment: An Ema Study, Tatiana Magri

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Background: Young adult (YA) alcohol use remains a prominent public health concern. Despite research efforts aimed at mitigating harms related to drinking, rates of alcohol use and adverse outcomes related to use, remain high among YAs. Previous research has identified alcohol demand, craving, and delay discounting as risk factors for problematic drinking among YAs. However, few studies have concurrently examined these constructs using methodologies that maximize ecological and contextual validity. Method: YA individuals (N=104) completed an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol assessing three demand indices (i.e., intensity, Omax, and breakpoint), delay discounting, craving, and alcohol use and problems. Participants received …

Viral Dynamics Across Managed And Wild Pollinators: Integrating Immunity, Ecology, And Community Structure, Allison Malay

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) are critical agricultural pollinators, yet colonies continue to experience persistently high losses across North America and Europe. These declines are driven by interacting stressors, including parasites, pathogens, nutrition, and landscape context. Viral pathogens are key contributors to colony morbidity and mortality, but the processes governing variation in viral prevalence, load, and host response remain incompletely understood. This dissertation investigates how viral dynamics in honey bees emerge from interactions among host immunity, colony condition, environmental context, and pollinator community structure. By integrating measures of viral prevalence, viral load, and immune gene expression across multiple …

The Revelations, Lily Mckenna

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The Revelations is a self-actualization in the form of a poetry collection. The speaker’s realization that reality is relative arrives through a Title IX case against an abusive boyfriend and former bandmate. Poems such as “Complainant / Respondent” use rigid legal structures to investigate the fluidity of truth and perception and how they can be manipulated. With her band on hiatus and the case propelling her into a new world, the speaker starts running DIY shows alongside a cast of characters with a shared love of music. She interrogates their realities in the character studies “On The Relative Reality Of…,” …

The Intersection Of Abuse, Child Welfare, And The Law For Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: Gender Violence As An Antagonistic Social Force, Julio Montanez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Intimate partner violence (IPV)—as gender violence—pits children’s civil rights and women’s civil liberties against each other. To explore this phenomenon, the current work features five (5) studies that aim to understand the systemic consequences of IPV and child maltreatment for victims and survivors of both types of abuse.

• Study 1 is a qualitative-deductive study featuring a directed content analysis of news media pertaining to a trial court case on lethal child maltreatment and IPV.
• Study 2 is a qualitative-inductive study featuring a feminist critical discourse analysis of trial court data on lethal child maltreatment and IPV.
• Study 3 is a …

"Time And Place Have Had Their Say": A Digital Historical Context Guide To Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Anna Kephart Norris

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Harlem Renaissance author, anthropologist, and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) is best known for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. As part of the modern American literary canon, Their Eyes Were Watching God is assigned in countless secondary and post-secondary classrooms across the United States each year. Yet students find the book difficult to understand and educators find it challenging to teach due to its dialect, racial themes, and nuanced historical setting. In this paper, I argue that better understanding of Their Eyes Were Watching God's historical context eases these difficulties in reading and teaching the …

A Theoretical Study Of Molecular Photoionization: Applications To Molecules Of Astrophysical And Atmospheric Interest, Conner Penson

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis is devoted to the development of the model for total molecular photoionization spectra which is general to diatomic molecules and the application of this model to two benchmark systems, CH and N2, for verification. This model combines multi-channel quantum defect theory, first-principles ab initio molecular calculations, and vibrational frame transformation to accurately model molecular photoionization and electron impact including vibrational dynamics. The scattering data and transition dipole moments for the molecular systems were calculated using R-matrix method through the UKRMol+ codes. A vibrational frame transformation is then performed and multi-channel quantum defect theory is used to calculate closed …

Adaptability And Applications Of Advanced Laser Absorption Diagnostics In High-Pressure Shock Tube Environments, Lucas R. Pitts

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Theoretical application and physical implementation of various laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) diagnostics are examined within a high-pressure shock tube facility. Research focuses on the rationale behind the specific optical alignment layouts used across three distinct experimental campaigns, detailing the methodology required to maintain signal integrity in varied reacting flow environments. The first research campaign addresses the pyrolysis of hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) solid propellant binders for solid fuel ramjet (SFRJ) applications by measuring the species time histories of alkenes and aromatics. Alignment configurations prioritized beam stability and signal strength for the decoupling of overlapping absorption features to ensure measurements accurately …

Old Maps Of The New World & New Theories On The European Encounter With La Florida: An Historical Archaeological And Four Field Anthropological Approach To Peter Apian's Cosmographia (1575), Emerson S F Richards

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis examines the 1575 Spanish edition of the Cosmographia, a geographic textbook initially authored by Peter Apian and expanded by Gemma Frisius, as a source for anthropological inquiry into early European encounters with the Americas. Little attention has been given to the text’s potential as a source for anthropological analysis, particularly regarding its representations of the Americas and the cultural information embedded in the geographic data. This study addresses that gap by applying a Four-Field anthropological framework—cultural, biological, linguistic, and archaeological—to this edition, which incorporates excerpts from Ieronimo Girava’s qualitative and quantitative description of the Americas, including a …

Shock Tube Speciation Analysis Of Hydrocarbon Mixtures Relevant To Solid Fuel Combustion, Diego N. Ruiz Pena

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Solid Fuel Ramjets (SFRJs) are often used in tactical applications due to their simplicity, robustness, and reliability. No moving parts, atmospheric oxidizer usage, and scalable fuel grain designs make them a great solution for compact, high-speed air-breathing propulsion systems. SFRJs operate by compressing incoming air through a fixed geometry inlet and directing it over a regressing solid fuel surface, where pyrolysis gases are released and transported downstream to the combustion chamber where thrust is generated. Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is a commonly used fuel binder in SFRJ systems due to its high energy density, stable combustion behavior, and ease of processing. …