A Comparison Of Combined Scoring And Standard Setting Approaches Applied To An Interim Assessment In Predicting Statewide Assessment Performance, Michelle Paul

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The validity of score interpretation and application for specific purposes is dependent upon both the appropriate assignment of test scores and the methods through which those scores are given meaning by defining performance benchmarks. This study seeks to examine the combined utility of various scoring (i.e., number correct, two-parameter logistic, and nominal response model) and standard setting methods in accurately predicting performance on an external assessment. The study will highlight the implementation of the embedded standard setting method, a newer standard setting procedure that is not yet well represented in the literature. Embedded standard setting will be compared to a …

An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study On Usable Cybersecurity And The Behaviorial Effects Of Cognitive Load, Corey Leong

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This study investigated individuals’ behaviors and perceptions, and actions of a cybersecurity event after reviewing relevant cybersecurity content published in a cyber alert. As new technologies are developed and released, humans experience pressure to defend against threats while at work to remain productive and meet desired organizational goals (Chowdury & Skinner, 2019). The first part of the study randomly assigned participants to respond to a pre-questionnaire followed by an intervention, reading a cyberalert. Participants then answered a post-questionnaire that included the identical questions from the pre-questionnaire, in addition to, biographical and career related questions as well. The second part of …

First Principles Studies Of Nano-Scale Phenomena At Surfaces: From Characteristics Of Single Atom Catalysts To Molecular Structure Formation, Dave I. Austin

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The dissertation explores the electronic structures induced by the adsorption of atoms and molecules on surfaces. It focuses on the physical and chemical properties of dispersed metal atom sites on oxide surfaces and the formation of novel molecular structures at hybrid organic-inorganic interfaces. The study uses density functional theory (DFT) calculations to simulate atomic-scale behaviors and aims to contribute to understanding reaction mechanisms and enhancing catalytic activity. Part one investigates the local environments of single platinum atoms on a cerium oxide surface by analyzing their physical and electronic properties. The next part studies the local environments of single platinum atoms …

An Ultrafast, Mid-Wave Infrared Source For Driving High-Order Harmonics Beyond The Water Window, Zachary A. Marra

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation details the development of the world’s first cryogenically cooled Fe:ZnSe-based chirped pulse amplifier, a mid-wave infrared source for strong-field physics experimentation. The long upper-state lifetime provided by cryogenically cooling the Fe:ZnSe gain medium allows free-running, diode-pumped Er:YAG lasers to be used as pump lasers. The amplifier is seeded by a novel two-stage optical parametric amplifier pumped at 1 μm, which is potentially carrier-envelope phase-stable. The system is capable of producing 247-fs pulses at 333 Hz and 4.6 mJ with a center wavelength of 4.07 μm, although exact characteristics vary for different repetition rates and arrangements. The spectral bandwidth …

Transcriptomic Underpinnings Of Diversification, Phenotypic Plasticity, And Disease Response In Non-Model Amphibians, Nicholas Christodoulides

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Anurans (frogs) are spectacularly diverse in their life histories, evolutionary trajectories, and morphological features. Advancement of next-generation sequencing techniques has improved knowledge of anuran genetics, but the functional genomic underpinnings of adaptation in most frog species remains uncharacterized. Transcriptomic approaches are some of the most powerful tools available to understand the molecular workings of adaptation among lineages and species. Because anurans face a multitude of anthropogenic threats and are unique in their biphasic life history, a question of particular interest is how gene expression profiles relate to phenotypic variation within and among species. In this dissertation, I tackle this question …

Feedback-Related Negativity, Reward-Based Learning, And Adhd Symptoms: Preliminary Findings In A Pediatric Sample With Prominent Mood Symptoms, Giulia C. Salgari

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Reward-based learning is the ability to alter our future behavior following a novel reward. Dysregulation in this system has been linked to different forms of adult and pediatric psychopathologies such as mood disorders, for which it has proved to be an important treatment target given its link to broader health outcomes for these disorders. However, more research is needed to better understand its underlying mechanisms in the pediatric population. The current study examined how probabilistic reward learning, feedback-related negativity (FRN; an event-related potential from EEG), and dimensional ADHD symptom severity relate in adolescents with prominent mood symptoms. The final sample …

Exploring Fraction Comprehension And Interest In Elementary Education Through Ai-Powered Personalized Learning, Kenneth Holman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Fraction proficiency is crucial for foundational mathematics and broader STEM fields. This dissertation investigates the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in mathematics classrooms, with a primary focus on students with mathematical learning challenges. AI technologies offer unique advantages for personalizing instruction and providing tailored feedback. The empirical study in the dissertation addresses a gap in the research related to AI's application during primary school fraction instruction.

The first manuscript presents a comprehensive literature review of AI in mathematics education, synthesizing research from 2020 - 2024. The second manuscript describes a quasi-experimental study evaluating Mathbot, an AI-based personalized learning platform. Repeated …

The Experience Of Blind Mothers In Parenting Children With Disabilities ``, Abeer S. Ali

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Blind or visually impaired mothers (BVIMs) raising children with disabilities experience an exceptional set of challenges that have been largely overlooked in disability and parenting research and teacher education. With this study the researcher examined how BVIMs support their children with disabilities in key areas such as behavior management, educational advocacy, caregiving, and accessing resources. Additionally, the researcher sought to understand how these mothers navigate their experiences as they challenge with societal perceptions, institutional barriers, and the daily caregiving demands. The researcher employed a qualitative case study methodology, using in-depth individual interviews and a focus group with six BVIM participants. …

The Role Of The Principal In The Recognition Of High Ability Students Who Are Black, English Language Learners, And Low Socio-Economic Status, Nadia N. Winston

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Researchers consider the underrepresentation of Black, English Language Learner, and Low Economic status students who are high ability in gifted and advanced programs, an issue largely due to multiple issues (i.e. lack of standard definition or single conception, identification testing flaws, bias). Though many district and school related mitigation factors have been studied and suggested, there is very little research on the school principal and their role in mitigating these effects. This sequential, exploratory mixed methods study examined the challenges leaders face when implementing policies and processes for supporting and recognizing Black, English language learner, and low socio-economic students who …

Developing A Multi-Level Model Of Integrated-Organizational Resilience, Reza Bahari

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Most contemporary organizations work in unsteady environments and are impacted by various types of disruptions that have profound impacts on performance such as natural disasters, globalization, and financial recessions. Due to this, the concept of integrated organizational resilience (IOR) has become an important issue for both academic researchers and practitioners in recent years. A review of the literature shows that much of the research has focused on identifying and measuring the factors that affect OR in an effort to improve organizations' capacity for resilience. While significant research has been conducted in this area, much of the evidence focuses on a …

A Near Field Lagrangian Particle Modeling For The Multiphase Flow Of Reaction Control System Thrusters In Space Environments, Janice Zou

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

In the current age of space exploration, the push to reach further to deep space presents a greater need for analysis and verification and validation of rocketry components in the space environment. Due to the nature of space, firings of rocket thrusters in space is a multi-regime problem. With the low density, pressure, and temperature of the environment, the resultant plume structure, seeded with unburnt fuel droplets, extends up to multiple orders of magnitude in distance as compared to a plume structure in the Earth’s atmosphere. The frozen droplets, or particles, create concerns including surface contamination and erosion, calling a …

Video Action Understanding: Action Classification, Temporal Localization, And Detection, Praveen Tirupattur

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Video action understanding involves comprehending actions performed by humans, depicted in videos. Central to the task of video action understanding are four fundamental questions: What, When, Where, and Who. These questions encapsulate the essence of action classification, temporal action localization, action detection, and actor recognition. Despite notable progress in research related to these tasks, many challenges persist and in this dissertation, we propose innovative solutions to tackle these challenges head-on.

First, we address the challenges in action classification (``What?"), specifically related to multi-view action recognition. We propose a novel transformer decoder-based model, with learnable view and action queries, to enforce …

Advances In High Performance Computing Through Concurrent Data Structures And Predictive Scheduling, Kenneth M. Lamar

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Modern High Performance Computing (HPC) systems are made up of thousands of server-grade compute nodes linked through a high-speed network interconnect. Each node has tens or even hundreds of CPU cores each, with counts continuing to grow on newer HPC clusters. This results in a need to make use of millions of cores per cluster. Fully leveraging these resources is difficult. There is an active need to design software that scales and fully utilizes the hardware. In this dissertation, we address this gap with a dual approach, considering both intra-node (single node) and inter-node (across node) concerns. To aid in …

Optimizing Ai With Advanced Data Structuring: A Comparative Analysis Of K-Means And Gmm Clustering Techniques, Amir Alipour Yengejeh

Data Science and Data Mining

This study presents a detailed comparison of Kmeans and Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) clustering algorithms, illustrating their unique capabilities and limitations across various synthetic datasets. By utilizing metrics such as the Adjusted Rand Index (ARI) and Normalized Mutual Information (NMI), the research provides nuanced insights into how these algorithms handle datasets with varying structures and complexities. For instance, while both K-means and GMM show robust performance on well-separated clusters, GMM demonstrates a distinct advantage in scenarios with overlapping clusters or unbalanced data distributions. Conversely, K-means excels in identifying clear, distinct groupings, highlighting its utility in simpler clustering contexts. This study …

Film As Ritual: Healing From Complex Trauma And Transmuting Pain Through Film, Lorraine I. Sovern

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Forward Fast, Always/Never (Together Forever) and Shotgun Baby are three short experimental documentary films as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Feature Film Production from the University of Central Florida. These films focus on the unique power of cinema and its ability to assist in healing from complex trauma. Three films were produced on an artisanal, micro-budget scale.

This body of work confronts and examines the significant traumas from an abusive childhood upbringing (Shotgun Baby), the effects of misogyny in Western media on my developing filmic sensibilities (Forward Fast), and …

Spotting The Signs: An Investigation Of The Effectiveness Of A Peer Training Program In Increasing Students' Ability To Detect And Report The Warning Signs Of A Peer School Shooting Plot, Ashley T. Winch

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

To date, there are no evidence-based peer bystander intervention trainings (BIT) aimed at educating peers in school shooting warning behaviors. The purpose of this study was to examine an interactive BIT where peers were taught warning behaviors related to someone planning a school shooting and how to report this information. This training was evaluated against a currently available training method (i.e., PowerPoint presentation based) and a control group to determine the best training approach. College students between 18 and 19 years old (N = 57) completed pre, post, and one-month follow-up assessments. At each timepoint accuracy in detection of …

Next-Generation High-Performance Virtual Reality And Augmented Reality Light Engines, Zhiyong Yang

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The immersive virtual reality (VR) and the optical see-through augmented reality (AR) are expected to revolutionize human lives in work, education, entertainment, healthcare, spatial computing, and digital twins, just to name a few. Next-generation VR/AR devices should exhibit a wide field-of-view (FoV), crisp image without screen-door effect, high dynamic range, compact form factor and lightweight, and low power consumption. Such demanding requirements pose a significant challenge to traditional direct-view display panels. To address these technical challenges, novel approaches need to be proposed. This dissertation is devoted to developing next-generation high-performance display light engines toward high resolution density, high optical efficiency, …

Predicting Telecommunication Customer Attrition Using The Hopfeld Neural Network Model., Benedict Kongyir, Emil Agbemade, Kelvin Njuki

Data Science and Data Mining

Customer churn prediction has become one of the crucial steps for customer retention. Telecommunication companies rely on loyal customers to make their proft. It is often very easy for customers to switch from one service provider to the other. To prevent or reduce the rate of customer attrition, there needs to be a model that can identify customers who are at risk of churning in the future in advance. Previous literature has shown that predictive models are efective in predicting customer churn. In this work, four tentative machine-learning models are built using data obtained from Kaggle on telecommunication customer attrition …

Comical, Familial, Satirical: Exploring Visual Culture Through Portraiture And Graphic Narrative, Matthew D. Dunn

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

My art examines visual culture using a plethora of techniques, formats, and materials. Recent works address family, pop-culture, and politics utilizing portraiture and short-form comics. Much of my art expresses humor through colorful, irreverent imagery, and many works employ satire and parody. Leveraging my experience as a professional illustrator and designer, I tailor my approach to each project, drawing upon divergent styles with an emphasis on polish and accessibility. I frequently adapt well-known images to recontextualize subjects. In my investigation of graphic narrative, I produced political comics, vintage comic book parodies, and experimental, interactive work. This body of work was …

On Vulnerabilities Of Building Automation Systems, Michael Cash

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Building automation systems (BAS) have become more commonplace in personal and commercial environments in recent years. They provide many functions for comfort and ease of use, from automating room temperature and shading, to monitoring equipment data and status. Even though their convenience is beneficial, their security has become an increased concerned in recent years. This research shows an extensive study on building automation systems and identifies vulnerabilities in some of the most common building communication protocols, BACnet and KNX. First, we explore the BACnet protocol, exploring its Standard BACnet objects and properties. An automation tool is designed and implemented to …

Privacy And Security Of The Windows Registry, Edward L. Amoruso

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The Windows registry serves as a valuable resource for both digital forensics experts and security researchers. This information is invaluable for reconstructing a user's activity timeline, aiding forensic investigations, and revealing other sensitive information. Furthermore, this data abundance in the Windows registry can be effortlessly tapped into and compiled to form a comprehensive digital profile of the user. Within this dissertation, we've developed specialized applications to streamline the retrieval and presentation of user activities, culminating in the creation of their digital profile. The first application, named "SeeShells," using the Windows registry shellbags, offers investigators an accessible tool for scrutinizing and …

Psychometric Evaluation Of A Brief Measure For Body Image Concerns Related To Breast Appearance, Sivanne Mendelson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The complexity of breast-specific body image concerns among women considering cosmetic breast surgery (CBS) underscores the need for a nuanced assessment tool. Despite numerous existing body image measures, there remains a need for a concise, validated instrument focusing on satisfaction with breast appearance. The development of the Breast Appearance Concerns Scale (BACS) aimed at assessing the multifaceted nature of breast-specific concerns through a patient centered lens within a population of otherwise healthy young adult women. The BACS was developed through a comprehensive review of existing literature and refined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, in addition to Rasch measurement analysis. …

A Handheld, Biomimetic, Phase Change Microsystem For Breath Condensate Based Point-Of-Use (Pou) Diagnostics Assays, Pablo Morales-Cruz

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

A variety of biomimetic [Stenocara gracilipes (Namib desert beetle), Dendrocalamus brandissii (Velvet Leaf Bamboo), and Opuntia microdasys (Bunny Ear Cactus)]-based microsystems, were developed to collect exhaled breath for use in point-of-use (POU) settings. The overall platform consists of a 50 x 50 mm 3D printed micro-chamber which is decorated with a PDMS micromolded Breath Condensate Collection Chip (BCCC) emulating the morphology of the biomimetic architectures. The micro-chamber and BCCC are further treated with a nanoscale superhydrophobic coating and infused with oil for enhancement in condensate collection. Different designs and setups were tested for optimum breath collection along with different …

A Case Study Examining The Implementation Of Multi-Tiered System Of Supports During Mathematics Intervention In Grades 3-5, Sarah Lumpkin

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

ABSTRACT

This case study examined how Multi-Tiered System of Supports were implemented in mathematics at an elementary school, the factors that influenced teachers’ instructional choices, and how school leadership impacted implementation. Participants consisted of four elementary school teachers and four members of the school’s leadership team. The study focused specifically on mathematics teachers in grades 3-5. These three research questions guided the study: (1) How do mathematics teachers implement MTSS in grades 3-5? (2) What influences the teachers’ choices during MTSS implementation? and (3) How does school leadership impact the implementation of MTSS in mathematics intervention? A triangulation of data …

Capable Rhetoric: Embodied Rhetorical Listening And Midwives' Arguments For The Maternal Body On Instagram, Aminta C. Quintero-Jackson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

When women find out they are pregnant, they encounter discourse about their bodies they may not have consciously considered before. Frequently, the information is based on ideologies that consider maternal bodies to be inherently problematic. The discourse in this information informs and shapes women’s choices about the role of medical oversight in their pregnancies and impacts the perceptions they have of themselves.

Midwives argue that mothers and their bodies are not inherently problematic but are powerful and capable of childbirth. They argue that medical oversight has been too aggressive in birth management, interrupting the natural process of birth and causing …

Development And Evaluation Of Dns Of Aluminum Droplet Combustion Using The Vof Approach, Soomin Lim

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis focuses on the direct numerical simulation of the combustion of a single aluminum droplet with phase change. For this purpose, the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method is employed for the direct numerical simulation of two distinct phases. To model the droplet combustion, the phase change (evaporation) and chemical reactions are modeled by setting source terms for each governing equation. This work proposes a new form of species source term by phase change, derived using the local instant formulation of two-phase flow.

The Stefan problem is used to verify the modified source term. Evaporation fluxes calculated with both modified …

Bending Mechanics Of Bio-Mimetic Stiff Scale-Covered Plate, Pranta Rahman Sarkar

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Biomimetic scale-covered systems offer immense potential and applications, particularly in soft robotics, protective armors, wearable materials, and multifunctional aerospace structures. A typical system consists of stiff rectangular plate like scales embedded in a softer media and arranged periodically. Experimentally, these systems indicate pronounced nonlinear strain stiffening behavior even when the underlying substrate strains are small. However, capturing these behaviors using commercial finite element (FE) codes has proved difficult due to multiple sliding contacts between the scales after engagement. Therefore, accurate and reliable analytical models of architecture-property-relationships are needed for analysis and design. This thesis investigates the contact kinematics and mechanics …

Modelling Of The Viscoelastic Relaxation Of A Stowed Telescope Starshade, Rahul Raghu

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The Habitable Worlds Telescope Starshade is an occulting disk that orbits in tandem with a telescope that occludes and diffuses the light from stars to observe the relatively dim exoplanets in orbit around them. It achieves this in part with tailored petals that diffuse light to soften the light from the star. Due to the relative sizes of the star and the planet, NASA considers the shape stability of the Starshade's petals to be a Key Technology Gap. The Starshade is developed to be a deployable composite structure that folds on itself to fit within modern rockets. Due to the …

A Cfd Framework To Study Complex Effects Relating To Airborne Viral-Pathogen Transmission, Rajendra Shrestha Mr.

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This research used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to examine the behavior of airborne droplets released during respiratory events. The CFD model utilizes an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach, with turbulence resolved using the Spalart-Allmaras detached eddy simulation. The first part investigates airborne transmission and how modifying saliva during a sneeze impacts this process. The study employs CFD to simulate these respiratory events in a ventilated room. It finds that larger droplets alone are insufficient for droplet settling due to secondary breakdown processes. Modifiers that increase the Ohnesorge number show resistance to aerosolization from secondary breakup, resulting in more droplets with high settling rates, …

Human Performance In Context: Exploring The Effect Of Social Support On Vigilance, Allison E. Garibaldi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Over many decades, vigilance research has consistently found that performance on vigilance tasks decline over time (i.e., the vigilance decrement; Davies & Parasuraman, 1982), and that performing a vigilance task is both mentally demanding and stressful (Warm et al., 2008). Researchers have subsequently implemented a wide range of interventions to both understand and attempt to attenuate the vigilance decrement and its associated affective effects. Among these efforts, little attention has been devoted to understanding the effects of the social environment on vigilance. Nonetheless, a handful of studies have indeed suggested that the presence of others can affect performance, workload, and …