Digital Commons Network^™

When Sediment Meets Strategy: Linking Shoaling Dynamics, Vessel Behavior, And Dredging Optimization, Matthew P. Davies

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Navigation channels are the economic arteries of U.S. maritime trade, yet their efficiency and safety are continually threatened by sedimentation and the escalating costs of dredging. Traditional tools used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to forecast shoaling and estimate dredging needs often fall short of capturing the complex interplay between channel condition, vessel behavior, and maintenance decisions. This dissertation develops and integrates three complementary innovations to address this challenge. First, a Parametric Linear Regression Methodology (PLRM) is introduced to improve shoaling predictions by blending long-term and short-term sedimentation rates with tunable weighting factors. This method achieves forecasting …

Cross-Layer Optimization In C-V2x Towards Level-5 Vehicular Automation, Mahdi Zaman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) necessitate highly reliable, scalable, and responsive Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication systems. Despite recent advancements, Cellular-V2X (C-V2X) in its state-of-the-art form exhibits limitations in managing resource allocation and communication robustness, particularly in dense vehicular scenarios. Additionally, C-V2X standards have been tailored to particularly support periodic broadcasts; whereas true vehicular autonomy demands service-focused communication which differs in transmission behavior compared to periodic safety messages. This document addresses critical bottlenecks within C-V2X by developing cross-layer optimizations across physical, MAC, and application layers. This thesis proposes enhancements on C-V2X resource scheduling protocol with proposing novel adaptive and selective power control …

Examining Information Flows Within Transformer Models Using Transfer Entropy, Clayton Barham

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence, in terms of both power and prevalence, motivates the need for new ways to study explainability in deep neural networks. This is especially true for transformer architectures and large language models, which are the driving force behind the current surge in artificial intelligence. The complexity of transformer architecture foils many pre-existing methods for studying explainability in deep neural networks. To address this gap in knowledge, this dissertation proposes a new method of studying explainability in transformer architectures that leverages insights from neuroscience, employing transfer entropy to map information flows between components of the transformer …

On Transient Dynamics And Persistent Organization Of Landscape Evolution, Aysan Hassanzadeh Bavojdan

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The evolution and organization of landscapes result from the competition between tectonic uplift, fluvial incision, and hillslope diffusion. Understanding how these processes interact under varying external conditions (i.e., extreme climatic events) is critical for predicting landscape dynamics and long-term geomorphic adjustment. Using a physically based landscape evolution model, we first investigate how variations in the fluvial incision coefficient (K) and soil diffusion coefficient (D) mimic different climatic conditions and control the transient and steady-state organization of landscapes. Results indicate that landscapes with the same non-dimensional index (defined as the ratio of the timescales of advective (fluvial) to diffusive (hillslope) processes) …

A Predictive Model Of Adsorption Of Cryogenic Liquids In Aerogel-Based Materials, Julie E. Foroosh

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Commodities that are gaseous at standard temperature and pressure are generally stored in thick-walled pressure vessels, or as cryogenic liquids in vacuum-jacketed tanks. An advantage of cryogenic storage is that more mass can be stored per unit volume. However, cryogenic tanks are often bulky and cannot be made into conformal geometries. Adsorption storage in porous and flexible materials, such as aerogel blankets, is a promising method for storing these commodities. Previous studies have shown that when the commodity is adsorbed from the liquid cryogen, instead of from a gaseous state, the mass adsorbed per unit volume of aerogel blanket is …

Reconfigurable Antenna Arrays For Mm-Wave Directional Software-Defined Radio Communications, Ectis Velazquez Jr

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation explores design challenges and promising solutions for mm-Wave directional software-defined radio (DSDR) reconfigurable antenna arrays. Current state-of-the-art solutions for DSDR antenna arrays at mm-Wave frequencies are typically limited to one beam, which does not take advantage of the directivity and spatial reusability of mm-Wave bands. Additionally, mm-Wave phased array antennas typically incur large amounts of loss from both commercial and state-of-the-art beam steering methods. In this dissertation, both challenges are addressed and so- lutions are proposed through several novel antenna array designs. The first challenge, designing an array for mm-Wave DSDR communications is achieved through a switched-beam array, …

Advancing Heterogeneous Collaborative Perception For Autonomous Vehicles, Babak Ebrahimi Soorchaei

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Recent advances in computational and communication technologies have enabled deep neural networks (DNNs) and high‐speed vehicular wireless links, paving the way for cooperative perception and cognition in autonomous systems. By exchanging complementary observations, these methods overcome inherent sensor limitations, such as occlusions and restricted range, and thereby improve the detection of partially hidden targets. However, real‐world deployments face challenges from noisy measurements (e.g., GPS inaccuracies) and heterogeneous perception stacks: vehicles often rely heavily on visual detectors, yet there is no standardization ensuring uniform object‐detector architectures across a fleet.

In this dissertation, we first explore the design of a lightweight detector …

Communication-Aware Trajectory Prediction And Tracking For Connected And Autonomous Vehicles, Arash Raftari

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation presents a unified framework for communication-aware trajectory prediction and vehicle state tracking in connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) systems. Unlike most deep learning–based forecasting models that assume full observability of surrounding agents, the proposed approach explicitly accounts for limited communication range, packet loss, and bandwidth constraints that characterize real vehicular networks.

A model-based, error-driven information-passing policy is introduced to extend situational awareness beyond one hop. Rather than relaying messages based on distance or freshness, each vehicle evaluates the utility of received content in reducing system-wide position tracking error (PTE). Using compact Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) representations of motion …

Attention-Based 3d-Convolutional Neural Network Model For Mechanical Property Predictions Using, Daniel E. Traczyk

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Additive manufacturing (AM), while commonly used for rapid prototyping and creating components with complex geometries, has not been widely adopted for critical applications across the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, and medical industries. This is, in part, due to the challenges of controlling flaws and uncertainty in the mechanical behavior of additively manufactured components. In recent years, there has been an increase in research aimed at predicting the final mechanical properties of additively manufactured components during the printing process. To address these issues, a 3D-CNN model was trained using low-cost in situ visible-light camera data, anomaly classifications, and the chosen process …

Survivors Speak: Social Media's Influence On The Troubled Teen Industry, Jessica Hoffman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This study focused on a three-year span of Twitter/X public tweets and discussions shared on the topic, The Troubled Teen Industry (TTI). Using the social listening tool Sprinklr, 7,743 public tweets were gathered on the matter and dissected to understand the influence the online conversation had on real-world changes in the industry. Narrowing down the initial 7,743 tweets to 2,447 applicable messages, this research analyzed the conversation surrounding the Troubled Teen Industry from the point of view of industry survivors and the role Paris Hilton and other influencers had on bringing the conversation to the digital space. The tweets meeting …

Insights Into Iapodian Lifeways: Phytolith And Starch Grain Analysis Of Animal And Human Dental Calculus From Croatia, Angelinne Moreno

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The Piplica hillfort is located near the village of Lovinac within the Lika region of Croatia. The Bronze Age is a pivotal period in Europe that encompasses changes in landscapes, social structures, and famously includes vast production of metals. The Bronze Age in Lika is characterized by changes in social, political, and economic lifeways; denser populations; expanded trade networks; and advancements in agriculture, husbandry, and metal-working. However, little is known about the Iapodes people, who inhabited the Lika region during the Late Bronze Age, and how they interacted with their environment.

The Iapodes were only known from classical Greek written …

Better Models For Mosquito Control: Impacts On Nontarget Insects And Joint Species Distributions Of Mosquitoes, Jacob D. Hart

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Since its inception, mosquito control has been vital for limiting the spread of vector-borne pathogens. Modern control efforts balance the protection of public health and the prevention of environmental harm. We addressed this from two directions: the study of mosquito adulticide effects on nontarget insects, and fine scale distribution modeling of mosquitoes to better target control efforts. We first investigated the effects of ultra-low volume (ULV) pyrethroid applications on nontarget insects in Central Florida and found no statistically clear evidence of reduction in abundance or diversity. We reported a slight and statistically unclear reduction of night-flying Lepidoptera, and effective reduction …

Becoming Black In A Divided Diaspora: Identity, Human Security, And The Intra-Group Dynamics Of African Americans And African Immigrants, Pleasant O. Ogedengbe

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation examines the formation of a shared Black identity among Native Black/African Americans and African immigrants in the United States through an expanded intersectional framework that integrates Social Identity Theory (SIT), Intergroup Contact Theory, and Secondary Marginalization Theory, all under the broader lens of human security. Human security is broadly defined as the protection of individuals from critical threats to their dignity, survival, and livelihood. It is deeply implicated in the experiences of Black communities confronting systemic racism and social exclusion. This study conceptualizes shared identity as a socio-psychological construct and a protective mechanism that enhances group-level resilience and …

Enhancing Social Participation: The Role Of Communication Accommodations On Young Children With Ccn, Carli C. Brent

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

BACKGROUND: Children with complex communication needs (CCN) have difficulty using and/or understanding speech to communicate, thus facing barriers for successful social participation in family-leisure activities due to limited access to communication supports in these environments. Social participation includes an individual’s active involvement in activities that consist of a social element to produce opportunities for meaningful interactions with others. Children with CCN benefit from communication supports, like Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices. AAC supports children with CCN to effectively communicate with themselves, others, and their environment. While communication supports have been recently implemented into private and public spaces, the …

Boba Tea Shops And Identity: Exploration Of Boba Shops Among College Students In Greater Orlando, Naydelin Karime Trejo Vega

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis explores the cultural and social significance of boba tea shops among college students aged 18 to 26 in Greater Orlando. Although many people view boba tea as a trendy drink, this study treats it as a meaningful part of some students’ daily lives, identity formation, and sense of belonging. Through a multi-method approach that includes participant observation, surveys, and semi-structured interviews, I examine what motivates college students to purchase boba tea and how boba shops impact their identity and sense of belonging. I conducted fieldwork at three different boba tea shops in Greater Orlando—two franchises and one locally …

Standby To Standby: How Time Weaponization And Social Currency Impact Identity Within The Veteran Community Upon Discharge., Nichole Ann Carminati

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This research project analyzed the first year of transition from active duty to civilian life by conducting 22 in- person interviews from veteran participants who served in the Global War on Terror post 9/11 and were discharged between 2001 and 2022. The purpose of this research was to identify key areas of vulnerability when evaluating veterans’ transition from military identity to civilian life. Global War on Terror Veterans are at an increased risk of difficulty transitioning to civilian life due to contributing factors of multiple redeployments, stigma over receiving medical and mental health care, and knowledge gaps in obtaining benefits …

Everglades Restoration: Interdisciplinary Analysis And Pluralist Approaches, Sarah Swiersz

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This study uses interdisciplinary methods to analyze ecological restoration of the Florida Everglades (Everglades Restoration). Everglades Restoration is considered one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects in the world, relying on complex intergovernmental and sociopolitical relationships. Framing Everglades Restoration as a quintessential “wicked problem”, a problem that is inherently complex and unsolvable, provides grounds for interdisciplinary analysis. This study analyzes two epistemological approaches to Everglades Restoration: Western-scientific knowledge, the epistemological foundation of Everglades Restoration, and Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which challenges the foundations of Everglades Restoration. Interdisciplinary analysis within a decolonial framework identifies limits to integration of knowledge, a core …

The Southern Closet: A Survey Of Queer Community And Protest Methods Against Heteronormativity In Greater Orlando., Edward J. Lay

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

In the United States, there have been efforts by the dominant socioeconomic class in Western countries, such as the United States, to regulate gender conformity and heteronormativity in schools, jobs, family structures, and public policy. Florida is no stranger to these efforts of regulation and has had a turbulent history with the LGBTQIA community, enough so that it has occasionally caught the public eye throughout the years. Exploring the actions and effects of the Johns Committee in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the protests of Anita Bryant in Miami in the 1970s as they challenged equal rights ordinances, …

Exploring Senescence For Improved Diagnosis And Treatment In Head And Neck Cancer, Md Tanjim Alam

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) comprises a heterogeneous group of malignancies originating from the mucosal epithelium of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. Accounting for approximately 4.5% of global cancer incidence and mortality, HNSCC poses a persistent public health concern. Major risk factors include tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and infection with high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) strains. Although conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy have improved patient outcomes, therapeutic resistance and tumor recurrence remain significant challenges. A growing body of evidence implicates therapy-induced cellular senescence as a key mechanism in treatment resistance. Senescence is a stable state …

Targeting Il-6 Signaling And Release Pathways Modulates Inflammation And Restores Intestinal Epithelial Integrity And Function During Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis Infection, Ala' Mahmoud Saleem Alhendi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Like TNFα, IL-6 is upregulated in Crohn’s disease (CD) associated with Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) infection. Limited therapeutic response to anti-IL-6 therapy may be related to the dual role of IL-6. In this study, we investigated the effects and the signaling mechanism of IL-6 in intestinal epithelial integrity and function during MAP infection using an in vitro model that consists of THP-1, HT-29 and Caco-2 cell lines. Clinically, we determined that plasma samples from MAP-infected CD patients have higher IL-6 levels compared to controls (P-value < 0.001). In CD-like macrophages, MAP infection has significantly upregulated the secretion of IL-6 and the shedding of IL-6 receptor (IL-6R). Moreover, it resulted in significant upregulation of intestinal damage markers including CLDN2, NOX-1 and SERPINE1. Blocking IL-6 signaling exacerbated that damage and enhanced the levels of the damage markers. In HT-29 cells, MAP infection upregulated MUC2 expression, a protective response that was reversed when IL-6R was neutralized. More importantly, blocking IL-6 signaling during MAP infection rescued damaged Caco-2 cells from MAP-induced apoptosis. We also examined the role of monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4), a proton-coupled lactate symporter, that facilitates the inflammatory shift in macrophages, and its impact on intestinal epithelial homeostasis during MAP infection. MAP infection increased lactate export and upregulated the expression of MCT4, TNFα, and IL-6 via TLR2. Inhibition of MCT4 during MAP infection using α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCα) significantly reduced TNFα and IL-6 and led to restoring baseline oxidative status, mucin level, and SERPINE1. It also enhanced tight junction protein TJP1 (ZO-1) expression. These findings emphasize the role of IL-6 in MAP-associated CD pathogenesis and explain the ineffective response to IL-6 therapies in CD patients. Moreover, our findings revealed the role of MCT4 in CD pathophysiology during MAP infection and highlighted MCT4 as a potential therapeutic target for effective CD treatment.

Metasurface-Refractive Hybrid Lens Design, Ko-Han Shih

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Refractive optics are widely used in imaging systems while optical aberrations can limit their imaging performance and the typical solution to correct is cascading additional refractive optics with varying materials and shapes. Still, this scheme can result in bulky and costly lenses. Metasurfaces (MSs), with their compactness and ability to locally manipulate wavefronts, offer additional degrees of freedom in aberration correction. Integrating MSs with refractive optics creates MS-refractive hybrid lenses, enabling advanced optical performance while maintaining a compact design. Various methods have been proposed for designing aberration-correcting MSs in hybrid lenses, which often rely on predefined target phase profiles or …

Clinical Educators' Perceptions And Experiences With Interprofessional Education And Collaborative Practice, Laurie Neely

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

As healthcare systems adapt to meet increasingly complex population health needs, interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) has emerged as a vital strategy to improve patient outcomes while decreasing costs. Interprofessional education (IPE) is essential for preparing health professions students to engage in patient-centered, team-based care. However, faculty must be equipped to design and facilitate IPE experiences for successful integration into health professions curricula. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) created Core Competencies for IPCP, including roles and responsibilities, teams and teamwork, communication, and values and ethics, to guide faculty in preparing students to be collaborative healthcare providers. While academic faculty have been …

Gothic Girlhood Horrors, Nina M. Lopez

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Gothic Girlhood Horrors is a collection of creative nonfiction examining the formative experiences of girlhood. Through experimental essays, short stories, and other forms of prose, it investigates how universal and personal a young woman’s experiences can be. Part I, “HOW TO BECOME A GIRL,” opens with a coming-of-age story. “GIRL CRAZY” takes inspiration from memoirist Elissa Washuta’s “Sexually Based Offenses,” with the narrator engaging in a hypothetical conversation. Some essays explore the narrator’s relationship with motherhood; others delve into the complex relationship with her own mother. Key moments of girlhood are highlighted, such as dying hair (“let down your hair”) …

Breaking Barriers: Women's Struggle For The Vote In Jacksonville, Brett M. Nystrom

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

During the first half of the twentieth century, women in Jacksonville brought women’s suffrage to the forefront of the city’s discourse through increased engagement in the public sphere. By forming women’s organizations such as the Woman’s Club of Jacksonville, the Florida Equal Franchise League, and the Duval County League of Women Voters, White women addressed concerns regarding women’s voting rights. However, these White women’s organizations and Jacksonville’s White, male-dominated authority excluded African American women from participating in the public sphere. Therefore, African American women in Jacksonville established the City Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, which served as a platform for …

The Marginalization Of The Malgre Nous In French Society From Its Roots To The 1960s, Marie Oury

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis examines how young Alsatians found themselves on the margins of postwar France. The illegal annexation of their region by Germany in 1940 led them into a bitter paradox: within months, they had to support their enemy's war effort. The National Socialist (Nazi) regime's coercion reached its height between 1942 and 1945, when 130,000 young men and women from Alsace and Moselle were conscripted into the German army against their will. After the war, this generation bore the weight of that history, struggling to reintegrate into France, a nation that sought to avoid grappling with the complex experiences of …

Digitally-Mediated Nature-Connectedness?: Listeners’ Emotional Responses To And Perception Of Digitized Nature Sounds, Marissa Salas

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

• Faced with the potential closure or privatization of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), it is important to reflect on the conservation efforts using soundscapes. This dissertation explores the gap between experts and lay listeners in listening to soundscapes through the digitally-mediated spaces (e.g. YouTube). In a pilot project conducted in 2024 that used facial emotional recognition software and a talk-aloud protocol, data on emotions was collected. Using NPS video recordings on its webpages, social media accounts and via other digital channels (YouTube, etc.) created by NPS experts, this project employed an innovative, interdisciplinary, mixed-methods experimental design to investigate …

Analysis Of Queerness And Race In Black Lightning And Dctv Femslash, Rachel Marks

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

In this dissertation, I research issues of queer representation and race in the CW network’s DC television (DCTV) shows’ fandom by investigating femslash ships, or the fan pairing of female characters. To do this, I compare the femslash ship of the characters Anissa Pierce and Grace Choi (ThunderGrace), a canon multiracial couple from the CW television show Black Lightning, to three other DCTV femslash pairings: the characters Sara Lance and Ava Sharpe (Avalance), a canon white couple from the television show DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the characters Alex Danvers and Kelly Olsen (Dansen), a canon multiracial couple from …

Live Content: Turning Guests Into Co-Creators Of Gamified Attractions, Brittany Mcchesney

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Based on an in-depth exploratory literature review, this thesis proposes to assess how a live content team might interact with the lifecycle of a gamified theme park attraction. To offer unique and memorable experiences to Guests, there has been an increase in the development of theme park attractions that are “gamified,” in that Guests can interface with some interactive game element or experience. This is especially pertinent with the development of video-game-focused lands and attractions, such as Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, Hollywood, and soon to be Epic Universe in Orlando, FL. Attractions can incorporate gamification in a …

Humanity In The Calamity: Hurricane Andrew, The Cold War, And The Demilitarization Of Fema, 1993 – 2002., Luis R. Rios Iii

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Humanity in the Calamity maps out the erroneous land practices that damned the American population to build in the state of Florida in a manner that does not fit the fluid landscape of the environment. Throughout history, as Americans built up Florida on the threatened coastline, the doctrines of disaster polities and emergency management were birthed under the influence of Civil Defense, induced by the militaristic agendas of the Cold War. The influence of Cold War-Era Civil Defense clouded the field of emergency management and FEMA, limiting the response to natural disasters making disasters more violent and deadly.

These issues …

Macabre Therapeutics: An Exploration Into The Cathartic Nature Of Splatter Utilizing The Saw Franchise As Corpus, Rosalind E. Rohrbaugh

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This project positions splatter (a subgenre of horror films that centralizes gore) as applicable for sociopolitical critique and emotional catharsis, disrupting the narrative of splatter as a solely shock-based enterprise. The project utilizes the Saw franchise as a corpus, which reignited audience interest in extreme horror in 2004, rejuvenating splatter film releases since their stagnancy throughout the 1990s. This research seeks to answer why Saw captured the attention of audiences and returned the splatter subgenre to the 21st century, utilizing psychoanalytical film analysis, sociopolitical analysis, semiotics, content analysis, and archival research as methodology and drawing on Aristotle’s Catharsis and Rhetorical …