Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Associations Between Mental Disorder And Creativity, David A. Romero Mora

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Mental disorder has been misunderstood and misrepresented throughout history, leading mental health research to be severely behind where it needs to be. Years of misinformation, over-medicalization, negative rhetoric, and stigmatization at the hands of the very same institutions that were believed to care for mental disorder have kept this misunderstanding alive. Further, studies throughout history have failed to look at the nuances of mental health, prioritizing generalizability. This thesis explores the relationship between mental disorder and creative expression, how other factors like cultural discourse and cognitive processes inform this relationship, as well as how analyzing this relationship can provide a …

Bilingualsim In The Workplace: How Work Attitudes Influence Burnout And Turnover Intentions, Andrea Del Aguila

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Understanding whether language status functions as a risk or protective factor for employee well-being and retention is essential for developing organizational policies that support workers from varied demographic backgrounds. This study examined how work attitudes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and work engagement are seen among bilingual and monolingual workers and how these outcomes relate to employee burnout and turnover intentions. An outside researcher from Talent Metrics Consulting collected data via an online survey utilizing previously validated measures of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, burnout, work engagement, and turnover intentions. Participants were recruited through online advertising and social sampling obtaining …

Artificial Intelligence In Cybersecurity: Applications, Threats, And Implications, Brandon A. Rodriguez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The point of this thesis is to analyze the growth of artificial intelligence in the world of cyber security, highlighting the specific impacts it has in the use of defense and offensive misuse. The way that this research was done was by using three main methods, those being interviewing cybersecurity specialists, testing the uses of public AI models and by reviewing peer-reviewed studies. Some of the findings that were discovered with the research were that AI can be a great asset in supporting defensive systems with such things as assisting in the creation of scripts, but there are also negatives …

A Chicken Model For Non-Invasive Diagnosis Of Infant Developmental Dysplasia Of The Hip (Ddh) Using Acoustic Transmission Measurements, Aliza Shah

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a condition characterized by abnormal development and stability of the hip joint. In a healthy infant, the femoral head (ball) fits securely within the acetabulum (socket of the pelvis), allowing for proper joint function. In DDH, the relationship is disrupted, ranging from mild acetabular dysplasia to partial (subluxation) or complete dislocation of the femoral head. This condition represents a range of structural abnormalities that develop during early growth. The integrity of the hip joint is essential for physical mobility, and disruption of this structure can lead to significant functional impairment. DDH may result …

Establishment Of An In Vitro Dss-Induced Epithelial Injury Model To Investigate Il-6 Signaling And Microbial Metabolite Mediated Barrier Recovery, Srijal Kunwar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Dextran sodium sulphate (DSS) is widely used in vivo to induce epithelial injury; however, the molecular effects of DSS on intestinal epithelial cells, that investigate inflammatory and metabolic repair mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we establish an in vitro DSS-induced epithelial damage model using differentiated Caco-2 cell monolayer. Exposure to 2.5%(w/v) DSS for 24 hours resulted in significant upregulation of pore forming protein Claudin-2(2.677-fold) and oxidative marker, NOX-1(1.866-fold), accompanied by increased ROS production confirmed via DHE staining. Increased epithelial permeability was observed by TEER analysis, without significant cytotoxicity. Surprisingly, ELISA analysis revealed significant downregulation of IL-6 (p-value …

The Lifeboat Project Team 30: Introduction To Advertisement, Holland H. Roedema, Kenna Carlson, Jasmyne Iemnak

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Our project highlights the research we have completed about the Lifeboat Project and strategic recommendations that would benefit them as an organization in terms of audience engagement and reach. In this presentation, we cover Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to the organization's social media content. We also include potential utilization of ad placement and budgeting the organization could use for Newspaper advertisement. And finally, we curated mock social media posts for the Lifeboat Project after our team conducted a public survey.The survey's results revealed common social media habits and preferences of individuals in our target audience. Our Service Learning Project …

Effects Of Kratom Mixture On Cell Death In Cos-7 Cells Using Immunofluorescence, Hoa A. Nguyen

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

The purpose of this project was to visualize the cellular impact of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a supplement commonly utilized for pain management and opioid withdrawal. The project investigated the effects of a 5% Kratom mixture on COS-7 monkey kidney cells. By using immunofluorescence, the cytoskeleton could be observed, and we can determine if Kratom could result in cellular failure.

In the immunofluorescence protocol, the cells were fixed in a methanol based solution to preserve position, while also permeabilizing the membranes with Triton X-100, and applying specific fluorophores. We used indirect staining for Tubulin (Red, Goat anti-mouse 568), direct staining for …

Variability In Parainfluenza Virus Derived From Persistently Infected Lung Epithelial Cells, Cassidy R. Conte

Honors Undergraduate Theses

An acute infection (AI) with RNA virus can progress to a persistent infection (PI) where infected cells continue to grow and replicate while producing progeny virions. PIs with respiratory viruses are clinically important, as they can lead to prolonged shedding of viruses and generation of mutant viruses that are altered in pathogenesis and/or immune responses. Parainfluenza type 5 (PIV5) is a prototypic RNA virus shown to cause PIs in cell culture. Plaques in tissue culture from an acute infection with parental PIV5 were homogeneous in size and shape. By contrast, plaques from PIV5 persistently infected cells were heterogeneous, having a …

Factors Related To Deviant Behavior, Chiara S. Popp

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Understanding the factors that contribute to deviant behavior across the life span remains an important goal in psychology and criminology. Guided by life course theory, the present study examined whether childhood trauma, social connectedness, perceived childhood socioeconomic status, and key life transitions are associated with deviant behavior in adulthood. The purpose of this research was to better understand how early life experiences and social relationships may shape behavioral outcomes later in life. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with adult participants in the United States, aged 18 to 55. Participants completed measures assessing adverse childhood experiences, perceived childhood socioeconomic status, …

Honor Of Culture, Gender Socialization And Behavioral Outcomes In College Students, Ana Maria Moreno Henriquez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Honor of culture is a culturally based concept that involves holding a strong defense for  the dignity and reputation on one’s family and self. This thesis focuses on the relationship between this honor of culture and gender socialization in the behavioral outcomes of college students, who are in a highly important learning phase of discovering their identity and independence from familial values. Participants were University of Central Florida (UCF) students who completed an online Qualtrics survey, which included an Honor of Culture Scale (Rodriguez Mosquera et al., 2016), Gender Role Beliefs Scale (Kerr & Holden, 1996), the Short Dark Triad …

The Role Of The Amygdala In Huntington Disease-Associated Aggression, Luis Torres

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide CAG expansion in the huntingtin gene (HTT). HD is characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms that significantly impact patient and caregiver quality of life. Psychiatric symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and irritability, are common manifestations of HD and can emerge years before the onset is clinically diagnosed. Aggression is a common and challenging psychiatric symptom in HD, often misunderstood and associated with caregiver stress, early institutionalization, and reduced quality of life. Despite its clinical impact, aggression in HD lacks effective, targeted treatment options. Similar to HD …

The Importance Of The Proline Residue In The Ldiapa Motif Of Cholera Toxin, Akash Bharathan

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Cholera is currently on its seventh global pandemic, disproportionately affecting developing countries. Vibrio cholerae, the bacterial etiologic agent, is able to cause infection by adhering to intestinal epithelial cells and secreting cholera toxin (CT), an AB-type exotoxin that dysregulates signaling pathways. Previous research by the Teter lab has shown that Hsp90, a host cytosolic chaperone, is required for CT to enter the cytosol where it produces toxic effects. Hsp90 binds to CT at two specific motifs, RPPDEI and LDIAPA. The prolines in the RPPDEI motif are essential for binding, but the proline in the LDIAPA has yet to be …

Designing Presence Together: A Coi-Guided Summit And Accountability Approach, Latisha D. Haag, Rachel Dolechek, Janet Stramel, Jessica Heronemus-Claiborn

Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

This strategy, developed as part of a Digital Teaching Champions initiative at a regional comprehensive university, describes an Engage & Elevate summit and accountability model that helps faculty implement small, presence‑focused changes in their online courses using the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework. In two synchronous Zoom summits, faculty cohorts completed a brief CoI self‑assessment, explored discipline‑neutral examples of social, cognitive, and teaching presence, and analyzed low‑, moderate‑, and high‑presence versions of common online activities. Guided by summit worksheets and templates, each instructor selected one existing activity (such as a discussion, peer review, or feedback workflow), identified one “small teaching” …

Efficiency Without Compromise: Automating Group Formation And Peer Accountability In Online Graduate Courses, Aj Dalal, Whitney Newman, Tanla Bilir, Liz Drabkin

Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository

This strategy uses Canvas's built-in random group assignment tool paired with FeedbackFruits' Teammate Evaluation to create a near-fully automated group work pipeline in online graduate courses. By eliminating manual group formation and connecting peer evaluations directly to the gradebook, instructors can implement accountable, structured group work with minimal administrative effort.

Fear, Uncertainty, And The Chilling Effect: A Case Study Of Organizational Racialized Omission, Annie Jones

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Florida passed House Bill 7 in 2022 and Senate Bill 266 in 2023, both policies that restrict how race and racism are discussed and taught in the public higher education setting. Although scholars of race and racism contend that colorblind ideology drives the “new racism,” the U.S. is experiencing a resurgence in similar curriculum bans explicitly based on topics related to race and racism. With these trends has emerged a need to understand how explicitly racialized policies fit within the “new racism” framework. Using Victor Ray’s Theory of Racialized Organizations, this study analyzes how colorblind ideology and racialized threat are …

Advancing Multi-Modal Learning, Swetha Sirnam

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Multimodal learning aims to develop systems that understand and reason across multiple sources of information such as images, videos, audio, and text. These capabilities are central to applications including visual search, digital assistants, robotics, and visual question answering. Despite recent progress in multimodal large language models, current approaches struggle to capture the structured complexity of real-world visual data. Fine-grained visual details are often lost during multimodal alignment, models frequently fail to capture nuanced human intent, and existing methods remain limited in understanding long-form videos with complex temporal dynamics. Furthermore, many evaluation benchmarks rely heavily on explicit visual cues, which can …

Come And See: Exploring Complex Dynamics And Abjection Through A Southern Gothic Family Portrait, Lenee N. Peterson

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

“COME AND SEE: Exploring Abject Theory Through a Southern Gothic Family Portrait” examines the artist’s complex familial upbringing through the visual and narrative traditions of Southern Gothic art. Drawing upon abject theory and the cultural references of folk horror and Southern Gothicism, this thesis positions the family portrait where intimacy, trauma, and cultural inheritance collide. The project argues that direct confrontation with abjection can foster recognition, shared experience, and the possibility of collective healing. Grounded in practice-based research, this work functions as a critical and creative response to familial strain shaped by scarcity, social oppression, and emotional precarity. Through a …

Examining Attrition In Rtms For Smoking Cessation: The Roles Of Perceived Research Burden And Delay Discounting, Miranda Proctor

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This secondary analysis examined predictors of attrition in a randomized clinical trial conducted by Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center evaluating repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for cigarette smoking cessation. Smoking cessation reduces cancer risk and mortality and improves mental health outcomes. Although rTMS shows promise for supporting sustained abstinence by targeting neurobiological mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, participant attrition threatens statistical validity, reduces power, and limits generalizability. Identifying predictors of attrition is therefore critical for optimizing trial design and retention.

Research examining predictors of attrition in smoking cessation trials remains limited. Prior work in other clinical populations suggests that higher perceived …

Reclaiming The Self: A Visual Narrative Of A Process Of Individuation Through Artistic Practice, Stacie Becker

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Reclaiming the Self: A Visual Narrative of a Process of Individuation Through Artistic Practice features a multidisciplinary practice that uses visual narrative, metaphor, and symbolism to reconcile the complex intersections of internal and external identity-shaping experiences, informed by lived experience as a woman. Working across painting, mixed media, printmaking, book arts, sculpture, and restorative medical tattooing, the artist dissects the tension between internal identity and external expectations, addressing themes of gender roles, relationships, trauma, and agency. Various artistic methods serve not only as a process but also as a parallel for reclaiming, healing, and restoring an authentic, unashamed sense of …

High Intensity Ablation By Laser Filaments At Standoff Distances, Owen Thome

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The high-power densities delivered to a target material by a laser allow for melting and vaporization to occur, a process called laser ablation. At higher intensities, plasma formation occurs and more complex material removal mechanisms take place. As laser power increases, nonlinear effects occur during propagation. One such effect, Kerr self-focusing, leads to beam collapse and ionization, resulting in a channel of plasma and region of high intensity light referred to as a laser filament. Filaments carry intensities on the order of 10¹³ W/cm² to significant distances without the use of large-scale focusing optics. Laser filament ablation is …

Motivational Interviewing Impact On Provider Burnout, Julie Cook

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The study of patient–provider communication rarely considers the impact of provider–patient dialogue on providers themselves. This dissertation explores why motivational interviewing (MI) has been shown to reduce burnout among health care providers who use it. Using the empathic communication model (ECM) as a lens, it examines possible explanations for how MI contributes to lower burnout in providers. A mixed‑methods approach was used, consisting of a survey‑based quantitative study and a qualitative study using semi‑structured interviews. The quantitative study surveyed physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Participants were asked questions assessing their knowledge of MI, the types of empathy they experience …

Code-Switching, Identity-Shifting, And Identity Distress Among Black Undergraduate Women Attending Predominantly White Institutions, Erin Smith

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Code-switching (altering language or speech) and identity-shifting (modifying appearance or behavior) are adaptive strategies often used by individuals from marginalized groups to navigate environments shaped by dominant cultural norms. Although these behaviors are commonly discussed in qualitative literature, relatively few quantitative studies have examined their psychological correlates among Black undergraduate women attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs). These behaviors may function as coping strategies in response to racialized and gendered expectations, yet the psychological implications of these strategies remain understudied. The present study examined the relationships among identity distress, code-switching, identity-shifting, and gendered racial identity centrality within a diverse sample of …

For Whom The Tale’S Told: Multilevel Perspective On Narrative And Identity In Information Ecosystems, Jihye Song

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In contemporary online information environments, narratives do not merely convey facts. They organize meaning, signal identity, and guide collective sensemaking. During periods of crisis and uncertainty, these processes become especially salient, as individuals and communities turn to social media to interpret unfolding events. At the same time, these environments are shaped by complex sociotechnical dynamics, including platform affordances, algorithmic amplification, elite influence, and grassroots participation. These dynamics form ecosystems in which narratives and identities are constructed, contested, and stabilized. Drawing on theory and empirical analyses of COVID-19 discourse on Twitter, this work develops and applies a multilevel framework to explain …

Building Eden Where We Can, Ireland Thomas

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Building Eden Where We Can is a nonfiction memoir told in vignettes that come together to build a wider story. Through these vignettes, we are shown a narrator who is simultaneously surviving an abusive family, navigating a rare diagnosis, and coming to terms with their queerness. By braiding narratives and maintaining these various threads, this collection examines the intersections of sickness and religion, tradition and freedom, as well as fear and love. The lattermost dichotomy is represented in the narrator’s ultimate choice to leave behind a life of fear in the mother figure’s safe cage. In exchange, they receive a …

Thermomechanical Modeling Of Transpiration Surfaces For Hypersonic Propulsion, Spencer D. Smith

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Hypersonic flight vehicles are a promising form of high speed passenger transport and efficient space access architectures. However, they are fundamentally a thermally limited technology. High heat fluxes exceeding 10 MW/m2 and gas temperatures between 3000-4000K can be found both within the engine, and on the outer surface. Current conventional engineering materials are non-viable at these conditions. In order to make these materials viable, active cooling strategies could be utilized. One particularly promising type is transpiration cooling, where a coolant is diffused through a porous surface. Although researched heavily in the 1960s, adoption is still minimal. Part of the reason …

Chirpi - Implementing And Analyzing The Chirp Communication Algorithm On Esp32 Hardware, Calvin Vanwormer

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This work presents the implementation and experimental evaluation of the CHIRP communication algorithm on resource-constrained ESP32-S3 microcontrollers, bridging the gap between simulation-based validation and real-world deployment. CHIRP is a lightweight, fully decentralized peer-to-peer protocol designed for IoT networks with dynamic node membership, enabling runtime node join and leave operations without centralized coordination or global reconfiguration. The implementation comprises two main components: C-based node firmware running on FreeRTOS [1, 2], which implements the full CHIRP protocol including peer discovery, round-robin pairing, and firefly-inspired phase synchronization, and a Python-based experiment controller that orchestrates network experiments and collects per-node metrics without influencing protocol …

A Sensor Fusion And Optimization Framework For High-Resolution Power Outage Detection And Energy Asset Allocation, Elizabeth Trader

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Existing power outage datasets lack the spatial and temporal resolution required for neighborhood- level risk assessment, and conventional energy system design optimizes for cost without accounting for community-level demand - resulting in inefficient and inequitable asset de- ployment. This dissertation presents IONCORTEX, a framework integrating three technical contributions: a heterogeneous sensor fusion pipeline combining social media signals with municipal infrastructure records for intersection-level outage detection at six-hour tempo- ral resolution, maintaining detection capability during telecommunications disruptions; a techno-economic analysis pipeline evaluating photovoltaic, battery storage, hydrogen, and diesel portfolios using NREL’s System Advisor Model with Monte Carlo uncertainty quan- tification; and …

Threads Of The Past: Exploration Of Banal Medievalisms In Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine, Evan Garrett Wallace

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how medieval historical narratives circulate within contemporary Western digital discourse surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian political rhetoric has frequently invoked the medieval polity of Kyivan Rus’ to assert civilizational continuity between the medieval past and the modern Russian state. While these claims have been widely discussed in political and media contexts, less attention has been given to how such narratives appear within everyday online discourse. This study investigates how medieval references are mobilized, circulated, and interpreted within social media environments during the early conflict.

The research draws on a dataset of approximately 160,000 tweets collected from …

Sonic Costumes For Immersive Theme Park Storytelling: Developing Interactive Wearables To Enhance Performer, Audience, And Environment Interaction, Rachel Yee

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Costumes enhance the themed experience through visual storytelling while also allowing performers to interact fluidly with a physical space. These garments are typically passive storytellers in theme parks, even if the performers interact directly with guests. Some garments coordinate with and react to elements of the themed environment, predominantly when worn by performers within live shows, parades, or streetmosphere settings. However, this interactivity is often available only at a distance from guests, causing a separation between audience and performer. For instance, lights on parade costumes, such as those throughout Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park, often synchronize only with parade floats and …

Interactions Of Complement With Paramyxovirus Persistently Infected Cells, Nasser N. Yousef

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Persistent RNA virus infections (PI) are often characterized by extended viral shedding and maintained cycles of inflammation. We have an incomplete understanding of interactions between exogenous and cell intrinsic Complement (C') factors and paramyxovirus PI cells. Parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) acute infected (AI) cells can be recognized and lysed by exogenous C’ factors, but PI cells become resistant to C’-mediated lysis. We hypothesized that the relative sensitivity of AI and PI cells to C’ lysis is correlated with viral glycoprotein expression on the surface of cells. PI cells display lower levels of viral glycoprotein expression compared to AI cells. Pharmacological …