Digital Commons Network^™

Nursing Interventions To Decrease Depressive And Anxious Symptoms In Hispanic-American Youth, Vanessa C. Hernandez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Introduction: Hispanic-American youth are less likely to receive mental health services despite being at increased risk for depression and anxiety. Having depression and anxiety at a young age can have detrimental long-term effects such as sexual risk behavior, delinquency, and suicide. Various kinds of nurses interact with this age group which can be a missed opportunity to intervene for the welfare of these youth. Interventions exist for depression and anxiety; however, they are not specific to nurses who care for young Hispanic-American patients. Methods: An integrative literature review was performed to identify nursing interventions for Hispanic American youth with depression …

Host Cell Responses Modulate Oncolytic Viral Treatment Of Neuroblastoma Cells, Kritika Kedarinath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive pediatric cancer that is poorly responsive to traditional cancer therapies. Oncolytic viral (OV) vectors such as Zika virus (ZIKV) and Parainfluenza virus type 5 (P/V virus) are promising neuroblastoma therapeutics, but the role of innate immune responses in the effectiveness of OV killing is not well understood. Previous studies showed the neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS (expressing low CD24) had low permissivity for ZIKV infection, and this restriction was relieved by ectopic CD24 expression (CD24-high cells). Compared to permissive CD24-high cells, the non-permissive CD24-low cells had elevated basal levels of IRF-1, NF?B and phosphorylated STAT1; these cells …

The Associations Among Racial Discrimination, Perceived Stress And Birth Satisfaction Among Black Women, Amanda De La Serna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this dissertation research was to examine the associations among experiences of racial discrimination, perceived stress and birth satisfaction among Black women, and to examine the mediating effect of perceived stress on the association of experiences of racial discrimination with birth satisfaction among Black women. The first manuscript is an integrative literature review which evaluates prior research of the association of stress with birth satisfaction, with consideration to studies that included Black women in their samples. This review revealed a need for further research evaluating stress and birth satisfaction specific to Black women. The second manuscript examines the …

Analysis Of Multi-Drug Resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Using Split Deoxyribozymes, Abryana Fergus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Globally, tuberculosis, a disease caused by the species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) complex, stands as a leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Even though antituberculous drugs are available, treatment is challenging due to antibiotic resistance associated with point mutations in the bacterial genome. Resistance to the first-line antibiotics – rifampin and isoniazid – results in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR) requiring a more complicated treatment regimen. Timely and accurate identification of drug-resistant TB cases can help prescribe the most effective treatment and prevent the spread of infection. This research aims to develop an assay to discern multi-drug resistant forms …

A Puerto Rican Diasporic Study In Central Florida, Chelsea Vélez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study seeks to explicate the intercultural experiences of Puerto Ricans within the diaspora of Central Florida. Specifically, the navigation of communication behaviors among intergroup and outgroup behaviors as Puerto Rican individuals acculturate into the area. This study utilizes communication accommodation theory as its basis to understand integration into a host culture and the impacts on socio-cultural communication behaviors. Findings show the importance of studying diasporic communities as they develop such as that of the Puerto Rican community in Central Florida because it situates the reality of an individual and groups sense of identity in a new cultural context. This …

A Developmental Investigation Of Separation And Analysis Of Molecular Mass 302 Da Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons Using High Performance Liquid Chromatography And Chiral Stationary Phase, James Janesko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

High molecular weight – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HMW-PAH) are often found where air, water, and soil are subject to higher levels of industrial pollutants. These molecules are environmentally concerning due to their carcinogenic, mutagenic, and tumorigenic propensities. Furthermore, the isomers in this family are challenging to separate due to similar retention parameters, spectroscopic fingerprints, and mass spectral patterns. The primary purpose of this dissertation is to expand on the methodology for separation and analysis of the molecular mass 302 Da six-ring isomers using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Retention behaviors of 21 commercially available isomers in synthetic mixture were collected via …

Defining Sober Harms And Factors That Influence Them: Blame It On The Alcohol?, Jessica Flori

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Reductions in alcohol use have often led to smaller reductions in harms than expected, and this may result from inadequate measurement of alcohol-related consequences. Harms questionnaires typically include consequences that can occur in the absence of alcohol use leading to an over attribution of certain harms to drinking (e.g., an individual might endorse engaging in risky behavior while drinking and while sober). The purpose of this study was to examine limitations of harms assessment by collecting data on frequency of harms while drinking and while sober, and to identify potential determinants of harms unrelated to alcohol use. College student participants …

The Dynamical Measurement And Modeling Of Metacognition And Engagement Using Self-Report And Multimodal Data With Advanced Learning Technologies, Megan Wiedbusch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Interdisciplinary research has demonstrated that learning and problem solving with advanced learning technologies (ALTs) such as intelligent tutoring systems, simulations, hypermedia, serious games, and virtual reality can promote and foster the development of 21st century skills (e.g., collaboration, problem solving, self-regulated learning) by measuring and using the interactions between cognitive, affective, metacognitive, motivational, and social (CAMMS) processes. Interdisciplinary researchers focused on self-regulated learning (SRL) have developed several theoretical models which model students' CAMMS processes and their learning behaviors. However, when empirically testing these models, researchers face complicated methodological decisions around modeling, measuring, processing, and analyzing student data. Many of these …

Acausal Modeling Of Wind Turbines With Validation And Control Studies, Kazi Ishtiak Mohsin

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This thesis involves the modeling, validation, and control studies of a Control-Oriented, Reconfigurable, and Acausal Floating Turbine Simulator (CRAFTS), that is currently under development. CRAFTS uses Modelica®, an object-oriented, declarative, multi-domain modeling language for physical system modeling in the Dymola environment. The CRAFTS simulator facilitates rapid dynamic simulation of wind turbines with various model variants and enables control co-design.

A major emphasis of this thesis is in the validation of the CRAFTS simulator for a 15-MW land-based wind turbine through several test cases. These test cases were collaboratively developed in conjunction with other participating research entities. CRAFTS has undergone rigorous …

Social Media-Based Crisis Communication: Analysis Of Twitter Data From Local Agencies During Hurricane Irma, Naiyara Noor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As social media platforms have become vital means of communications, it has become imperative for emergency managers and policy makers to understand how people are interacting with different agencies on these platforms for enhancing community response coordination during disasters. Although many public agencies have already adopted social media platforms for crisis communication purposes, empirical evidence on whether and how these agencies are effectively engaged on these platforms is lacking. This research aims to examine crisis communication activities of a variety of agencies on Twitter in response to Hurricane Irma in 2017. In this study, we analyzed 13,353 hurricane-related tweets posted …

Improving Deep Neural Network Training With Knowledge Distillation, Dongdong Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Knowledge distillation, as a popular compression technique, has been widely used to reduce deep neural network (DNN) size for a variety of applications. However, in recent years, some research had found its potential for improving deep neural network performance. This dissertation focuses on further exploring its power to facilitate accurate and reliable DNN training. First, I explored data-efficient method for blackbox knowledge distillation where the specifics of the DNN for distillation is inaccessible. I integrated active learning and mixup to obtain significant distillation performance gain with limited data. This work reveals the competence of knowledge distillation to facilitate large foundation …

Towards Optimization And Robustification Of Data-Driven Models, Ehsan Kazemi Foroushani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

In the past two decades, data-driven models have experienced a renaissance, with notable success achieved through the use of models such as deep neural networks (DNNs) in various applications. However, complete reliance on intelligent machine learning systems is still a distant dream. Nevertheless, the initial success of data-driven approaches presents a promising path for building trustworthy data-oriented models. This thesis aims to take a few steps toward improving the performance of existing data-driven frameworks in both the training and testing phases. Specifically, we focus on several key questions: 1) How to efficiently design optimization methods for learning algorithms that can …

A Framework Of Critical Success Factors For Implementation Of Industry 4.0 In Aerospace And Defense Industries, Lina Khan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, is essential to the success of Aerospace and Defense (A&D) organizations as it showcases the ability to adapt, innovate, and remain competitive. Industry 4.0 technologies such as cyber-physical systems (CPS), big data, cognitive computing, smart factories, connected manufacturing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) focus on revolutionizing manufacturing through embedding digital and physical systems, with the goal to maximize the desired output(s) while using minimal resources. Although there are numerous advantages, there are challenges associated with implementation of these complex systems. This doctoral research investigates the critical factors needed for successful implementation of …

Variational Autoencoder And Sensor Fusion For Robust Myoelectric Controls, Keith A. Currier

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Myoelectric control schemes aim to utilize the surface electromyography (EMG) signals which are the electric potentials directly measured from skeletal muscles to control wearable robots such as exoskeletons and prostheses. The main challenge of myoelectric controls is to increase and preserve the signal quality by minimizing the effect of confounding factors such as muscle fatigue or electrode shift. Current research in myoelectric control schemes are developed to work in ideal laboratory conditions, but there is a persistent need to have these control schemes be more robust and work in real-world environments. Following the manifold hypothesis, complexity in the world can …

Modeling Individual Activity And Mobility Behavior And Assessing Ridesharing Impacts Using Emerging Data Sources, Jiechao Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Predicting individual mobility behavior is one of the major steps of transportation planning models. Accurate prediction of individual mobility behavior will be beneficial for transportation planning. Although previous studies have used different data sources to model individual mobility behaviors, they have several limitations such as the lack of complete mobility sequences and travel mode information, limiting our ability to accurately predict individual movements. In recent years, the emergence of GPS-based floating car data (FCD) and on-demand ride-hailing service platforms can provide innovative data sources to understand and model individual mobility behavior. Compared to the previously used data sources such as …

Machine Learning Applications In Advanced Additive Manufacturing: Process Modeling, Microstructure Analysis, And Defect Detection, Peter Warren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are critical for assessing the integrity, health, and mechanical properties of materials manufactured from various methods. High fidelity NDE techniques are essential for quality control but often lead to massive data generation. Such a vast data load cannot be manually processed, this leads to a severe bottleneck for process engineers. Machine learning (ML) offers a solution to this problem by providing powerful and adaptable algorithms capable of learning patterns, identifying features, and finding hidden relationships in large sets of data. Various ML models are used in this work to improve predictions, improve measurements, detect anomalies, classify …

An Evaluation Of Thermocouple Reconstruction Techniques, Derek Brauneis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Temperature measurements can be difficult to obtain across many different harsh environments such as engine combustion chambers, engine exhaust temperatures, and explosion fireballs. While there are alternate methods to measure fluid temperature such as laser measurements, acoustic measurements, and camera imaging techniques, these methods can often be expensive, difficult to implement, and not able to see within the environment. Thermocouples are popular sensors because they are cheap and easy to implement across a wide range of applications and can measure temperature in areas where other methods cannot reach or see. However, while these sensors are very popular and versatile, they …

Diverse Expressions Of The Black Identity In Jackson, Mississippi: Stories, Elisabeth Campbell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Diverse Expressions of the Black Identity in Jackson, Mississippi: Stories is a collection of short stories that seeks to focus on the outsiders, the pariahs, and the social outcasts of Black society in Mississippi throughout the 20^th and 21^st centuries. By way of emigrations and immigrations, a race of people of multiple cultures that do not necessarily identify with the ethno-racial term "African-American" has emerged in the city of Jackson. Through the exploration of historically significant events, including America's involvement in WWI, the legislation surrounding Black History Month and the dawn of the AIDS epidemic, this collection represents …

Defining Creativity And Its Role In Marx's Philosophy, Carlos Avila

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the concept of creativity as it appears in the major works of Karl Marx and to attempt to discern its role in the emancipatory political project that Marx proposes. Contemporary understandings of creativity still rely upon notions of the artist-genius, locating the "true" expression of creative freedom in the work of art. A more recent development is the commodification of creativity as a quality of a good worker, who is now expected to find innovative ways of doing their job more efficiently. Both of these ideas about creativity allow for our creative …

Korean Poetry: A Discussion And Translation, Kassidy N. Menk

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Korea's history has had a deeply influential and significant impact on its modern language, and concomitantly, on the country's modern poetry and prose. Despite the artistic and literary value, there is a substantial lack of English translations available for Korean works. The continued rapid development of Korean and its considerably different grammar and syntax often pose difficulties for English translators. Korean poetry, specifically, follows a form unfamiliar to English readers which makes interpretation for translation challenging. This thesis hopes to provide context for the lack of scholarly translations of Korean poetry by discussing the historical and linguistic context of the …

Pepper Pot And Callaloo: Caribbean Cuisine As Embodiment Of "Otherness" And Resistance, Sheina Senat

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The thesis intends to analyze the Caribbean as more than "elsewhere" in modernism through food research. The Eurocentric viewpoint is that the islands are the "other" and that the Caribbean's contributions are not central to the past and present. Representations of food in Caribbean literature reveal dualism, such as Western/African in the tropic's identity, and this dualism can lead to identity issues. Chapter 1 analyzes Caribbean cuisine's mosaic origins from Indian, European, Native, and African influences. Food imagery in Caribbean literature does not separate the Caribbean from its complicated past. However, it notes that the islands should embrace their differences …

Literature As A Form Of Resistance Against British Colonial Rule In India, Ebada Wasiuddin

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis concentrates on literature during India's battle for independence from the British Empire. These publications look at the outcomes of Europe's intent to colonize and its impact on the marginalized, colonial subjects down to the personal level. Delving into the tragic reality of colonialism and investigating its impact as portrayed in the novels selected, this thesis argues that the selected texts operate as resistance literature subverting the colonial discourse in retrieving South Asian culture and history. This project explores specific forms of resistance within the tropes of memory, history, and gender to pose a larger question of decolonial futures …

Wild Wild Country: Netflix, Orientalism, And The Guru, E. K. D. Wood

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Recent years have produced an influx of popular documentaries of Indian gurus who founded transnational spiritual communities and became embroiled in various forms of controversy. One example of this is Wild Wild Country, a 2018 Netflix documentary that depicts the rise and fall of a spiritual community, started by an Indian guru named Osho (1931-1990) in a failed attempt to build a utopian commune in Oregon. American representations of Asian religious figures have historically been a complex, and often prejudiced, affair. This thesis will attempt to assert the best fit theoretical framework with which to interpret Wild Wild Country …

Treatment Of The Differently Abled: Representations Of Disability From Victorian Periodicals To Contemporary Graphic Narratives, Rachelle Echevarria

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In recent years, a number of efforts have been made to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic institutions, the workplace, and to examine and analyze representations of marginalized populations in a variety of literary and cultural contexts. These efforts usually acknowledge past mistakes, emphasizing the idea that history shall not and should not repeat itself. While analyzing the representations of disability is important in its own right, it's also important to understand why these perceptions exist. This thesis suggests that when the representations of disabilities from different mediums and from different time periods are examined in relationship, readers may …

Ideological Relationships With The Cult Of Isis From Ptolemaic Alexandria To Imperial Rome, Sabrina N. Gutierrez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Through the incorporation of primary source material and prior scholarship this study looks at the Serapeums, Isiac temples and coinage of Hellenistic Alexandria and Imperial Rome. This study seeks to provide, through close analysis and comparison, a more precise picture of the Isaic ideology of the Greco-Roman governing powers of Egypt. I focus on the capital cities of Alexandria and Rome to analyze the message of Isis to their respective inhabitants. Coinage and popular iconography (such as Isis Pelagia) are incorporated into the overall understanding of Isiac uses as coinage serves as a form of ancient propaganda. The amalgamation of …

The Beauty Of Hip-Hop Culture: Linguistic Connections Through Music, Poetry, And Literature, Aminah Patel

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis enters the developing conversation in the linguistic domain about the culture and struggles of the Black community. It explores the collectivist perspective of the Black community in the 20^th and 21^st century through the umbrella of Linguistics and its subfields. Collectively, the literary and musical works in this study demonstrates the frustrations of the Black community—including its correlation to antebellum slavery—the lamentations of oppression, which showcases in a collection of poems and their syntactical aspects, and the Black pride emulating from the societies. Despite the clear correlation between Hip-Hop culture and literary works from the early …

Spilling The Tea: A Comparative Analysis Of Development In Ex-British Colonies, Niamh L. Harrop

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The British Empire was the largest empire the world has ever seen, and as such, has significantly impacted many of the countries it formerly held as colonies. Imposing a Western style of governance would change the political operations of a nation and would fundamentally shift power dynamics within the country. Through a review of the existing literature on the subject, this thesis examines the effects that British imperial rule had on four different countries in both their social and economic development in the post-colonial era. Overall, the results indicate that Britain failed to set their colonies up for long-term development …

Before They Could Be Saved: Aids Voices Before Protease Inhibitors, Julian J. Willis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore writing during the start of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S. States. This time period encompasses the early 1980s to mid-1990s before Protease Inhibitors were FDA approved which was the medical breakthrough drug that helped turn an HIV diagnosis from a death sentence to a chronic condition. This thesis will be an examination of three themes: “Gay White Cis Male Experience of HIV/AIDS”,” Marginalized Identity Experience of HIV/AIDS” and an exploration of two plays written during the height of the AIDS epidemic that were later turned into HBO productions: The Normal Heart …

An Exploration On The Spanish Caribbean Dialectical Community: ¿Unidos O Separados?, Bryan J. Jimenez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Latin America holds a diverse array of people and language. Even regions and countries that speak the same language tend to speak it differently. This leads to interesting variations in language and speech. Most people of Latin American origin are able to note that Mexican Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish are different in terms of intonation, speech pattern, vocabulary, and more. Most popular theories that section Latin America off by dialects group the entirety of the Spanish-speaking Caribbean into a single dialectical community. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic each hold unique histories and are home to a fascinating …

Tomiccama Tomiccanacayo: A Feminist/Spatial Analysis Of Flesh To Bone By Ire'ne Lara Silva, Alyssa B. Bent

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis takes a feminist and spatial approach to the analysis of ire'ne lara silva's collection of short stories flesh to bone, a continuation of the Anzaldúan body of thought. The thesis introduces two aspects–spiritual and spatial–to the wounds suffered by the Chicana collective Self which can be found within the characters and plotlines of lara silva's stories, and which had previously been outlined by Anzaldúa herself. This thesis also explains in depth the steps necessary to achieving the never-ending Coyolxauhqui Imperative, which is Anzaldúa's idea that to heal the collective Self, individuals must continue to create and tell the …