Digital Commons Network^™

A Content Analysis Of The Mathematics Curriculum Progression For Students Taking Algebra I And Geometry Honors Before High School, Yeidi Diaz Reyes

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

ABSTRACT

This qualitative content analysis study examined different middle school mathematics pathways from a large urban district in Florida to determine possible gaps in the accelerated pathways and differences between the district’s learning targets and Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) Standards. Additionally, the accelerated pathways were compared to the Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) 12 Indicators to identify possible missing content necessary to succeed in Algebra I Honors and Geometry Honors. The study aimed to answer three research questions: (1) In what ways do Florida’s B.E.S.T. Standards included in the non-accelerated and accelerated pathways for middle school mathematics …

Comprehensive Analysis Of The Intersection Between Cryptocurrency And Infrastructure Security, Ayodeji Adeniran

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Cryptocurrencies are experiencing a significant surge, with the total valuation surpassing two trillion US dollars at specific points. This remarkable growth is underscored by the existence of over 23,000 different cryptocurrencies as of 2024, according to CoinMarketCap. These digital assets aim to break down borders and enhance access to financial services, fostering a more inclusive global economy.

However, the swift ascent and widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies come with considerable risks. The growing popularity and promise of these digital assets have opened up new avenues for malicious actors. Cybercriminals are exploiting public infrastructures, the cloud, the metaverse, and various websites to …

Design And Perception Of Diverse Virtual Avatars In Immersive Environments, Tiffany D. Do

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Virtual humans and avatars have become integral components of immersive technologies, shaping various aspects of virtual worlds. This dissertation investigates the nuanced interactions between user demographics and virtual avatars, exploring their impact on perception, embodiment, and persuasive communication. The first study investigates the effectiveness of different speech fidelity levels in virtual humans, revealing gender-dependent perceptions of trustworthiness. Building on this, this dissertation introduces the \textit{Virtual Avatar Library for Inclusion and Diversity} (\textit{VALID}), offering a comprehensive resource for advancing racial diversity and inclusion in virtual environments. Through rigorous validation studies, we shed light on the perception of avatar characteristics worldwide, emphasizing …

Design Automation For Next-Generation In-Memory Computing Systems, Sven Thijssen

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Since the dawn of computing, all practical computing systems, from small laptops and cellphones to large mainframes and supercomputers, have been based on the Von Neumann architecture. In this architectural model, computing units and storage units are physically separated, requiring the computing system to spend most of its time and energy on moving data around. As many recently developed applications are driven by large volumes of digital data, the Von Neumann architecture does not scale well with today’s computational demands. In-memory computing using emerging non-volatile device technologies is a promising orthogonal approach as it mitigates the adverse effects of the …

Resilient Cooperative Control Of Cyber-Physical Systems: Enhancing Robustness Against Significant Time Delays And Denial-Of-Service Attacks, Deepalakshmi Babu Venkateswaran

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

A cyber-physical control system (CPS) typically consists of a set of physical subsystems, their remote terminal units, a central control center (if applicable), and local communication networks that interconnect all the components to achieve a common goal. Applications include energy systems, autonomous vehicles, and collaborative robots. Ensuring stability, performance, and resilience in CPS requires thorough analysis and control design, utilizing robust algorithms to handle delays, communication failures, and potential cyber-attacks.

Time delays are a challenge in CPS, particularly in teleoperation systems, where human operators remotely control robotic systems. These delays cause chattering, oscillations, and instability, making it difficult to achieve …

Advanced Algorithms For Cancer Cell Detection And Tracking, Qibing Jiang

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Microscopy image processing is critical for precision oncology and immunotherapy, two approaches in cancer treatment often combined to enhance patient outcomes. Numerous scientists have studied the effects of drugs on the immune system and tumors. To quantify the impact of various drugs on different immune and cancer cell types, medical researchers conduct ex vivo assays. In these assays, patient-derived live cells are placed in an artificial microenvironment where drug responses are monitored over time. Brightfield microscopy captures one image every half hour of numerous patient-derived cells in an ex vivo reconstruction of the tumor microenvironment treated with 31 drugs for …

Investigating The Effect Of Technological Innovation On Countries' Green Production Capabilities Evolution And Spillover, Hanin Alhaddad

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation presents a novel methodology to examine the evolution of green production capabilities for 226 countries between 2003 and 2017 based on spillovers between the sectors. It identifies the growth potential of sectors and the key sectors driving the spillovers of production capabilities. Moreover, it delves into the patterns observed in the evolution of these capabilities, considering the diverse economic classifications. Lastly, it focuses on 72 developing countries that face unique challenges in pursuing green economic growth, exploring the effect of technological innovations on the spillovers of production capabilities within their green sectors. Three key hypotheses are investigated: the …

Examining How Pejorative Stereotypes About Black Women Shape Their Experiences In Physics Ph.D. Programs, Camille A. Coffie

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This research study is part of a larger study that examines the experiences of Black women in physics graduate programs to identify priorities for departmental change initiatives to remove structures that keep out and/or push out Black women. This research also reinforces the ongoing necessity to raise awareness about the impact of stereotypes on how Black women are perceived and how stereotypes affect the matriculation of Black women in physics graduate programs. Black women represent the lowest percentage of students in physics graduate programs and often contend with stressors like microaggressions, bias, and stereotype threats that impede their success and …

Scalable Transactions In Decentralized Networks, Zachary M. Painter

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The study of shared memory concurrency is extensive. There exist many state-of-the-art strategies for dealing with fundamental concurrency problems, such as race conditions or deadlocks, to leverage massive performance boosts out of modern multiprocessors. With the introduction of blockchain technology as a popular financial tool, we observe many decades-old concurrency problems re-emerge within the context of decentralized networks. These challenges introduce additional constraints, such as the lack of hardware atomic instructions like Compare-And-Swap, or the potential for malicious clients to join the network. In this dissertation, we propose key algorithms which adapt knowledge from the domain of shared memory concurrency …

Dexterous Manual Actions: Motor Learning, Visuomotor Control, And Effect Of Aging, Kimia Kiani

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The human hand is critically important for the performance of many activities of daily living (ADL). This dissertation used three human subject studies to investigate how different types of motor repetition interact with the process of sensorimotor adaptation and learning in complex dexterous manipulation tasks that depend on finger force control or bimanual coordination. Moreover, these investigations were conducted in both young adults (YA) and older adults (OA) to reveal the extent to which the process of aging may alter such interactions. In the first study, it was found that the repetition of simple ballistic force exertion allowed YA to …

The Role Of Adiponectin In Gustatory Perception Of Fat, Fangjun Lin

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Taste is a major driving force that influences food choice and dietary intake. Animals' taste abilities vary due to genetics, sex, age, and hormonal status. There is evidence that several appetite-regulating hormones can modulate gustatory detection of fat, and this hormonal modulation of fat taste likely influences food palatability and selection, thereby altering fat intake. Adiponectin is a key metabolic hormone predominantly released from adipose tissue, which enhances insulin sensitivity and stimulates glucose and fatty acid metabolism. Adiponectin receptors are highly expressed in the taste system, indicating that adiponectin signaling may play an important role in the modulation of gustatory …

Mitigation Of Reliability Risks Associated With Accelerated Thermal Cycling And High Current Density Electromigration In Ball Grid Array Solder Joints, Vishnu R. Shukla

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Ball Grid Array (BGA) solder joints are an array of solder alloy spheres sandwiched between package substrate and printed circuit board (PCB). These solder joints provide electrical connections and mechanical integrity to the assembly of package and PCB. Upcoming advanced packaging applications will involve heavier components, higher service temperatures and higher current densities, which will result in additional stresses on BGA joints accelerating their failure. Additionally, mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between the substrate, solder balls and PCB results in fracture near the solder-substrate interface posing a reliability risk. Moreover, higher current densities at elevated temperatures, also …

Evidence Of Positive Associations Between Intertidal Shoreline And Subtidal Seagrass Communities In A Subtropical Ecotone, Gabriel Benson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Fringing seagrass beds are important components of coastal ecotones. Their association with shoreline morphology and shoreline restoration, however, is poorly understood. We combined GIS analyses with field-based monitoring to better understand intra-ecotone associations between shorelines and fringing seagrass beds. Using GIS analyses of aerial imagery, shoreline characterization models, and seagrass coverage models, the relationship between shoreline morphology, erosion, and fringing seagrass persistence was examined in Mosquito Lagoon, FL between 2011 and 2021. For the field-based portion of the study, fringing seagrass beds growing adjacent to restored, living shoreline segments were monitored throughout the 2023 growing season (March – November). All …

Mesmerizing Moon Mysteries: Unraveling The Compositions Of Irregular Mare Patches (Imps) Using Remote Observations, Nicholas G. Piskurich

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Compositional characterization of lunar surface features informs our understanding of the Moon's thermal and magmatic evolution. We investigated the compositions of hypothesized volcanic features known as irregular mare patches (IMPs) and their surroundings to constrain formation mechanisms. We used six datasets to assess the composition of 12 IMPs: 1) Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M³) derived spectral parameters (e.g., band center positions, shapes), 2) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Diviner Radiometer Experiment (Diviner) measured Christiansen feature (CF) position, 3) SELENE (Kaguya) Multiband Imager (MI) FeO abundance, 4) Clementine 5-band (Ultraviolet/Visible)-derived FeO abundance, 5) LRO Wide Angle Camera (WAC) TiO₂ abundance, …

Spatial Variability Of Hydrodynamics Within Crassostrea Virginica (Eastern Oyster) Reefs: Investigating The Effect Of Canopy Density On Flow And Turbulence., Manisha Thenuwara

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Oysters are ecosystem engineers that shape coastal aquatic environments through hydrodynamic influence, which is governed by the reef structure. Hydrodynamic studies have investigated effects of oyster reefs as whole systems, overlooking the spatial variability inherent in canopy structures. In this research, a field investigation was undertaken to characterize spatial variability of flow dynamics within a single eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reef and query how the local canopy density influences the hydrodynamic environment. High-resolution flow measurements were taken within and above the oyster canopy over a range of flow conditions. Hydrodynamics were compared across reef locations as the oyster …

Climate Change And Coastal Development Impacts On Oyster Abundances In Mosquito Lagoon, Fl, Emily Suchonic

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Live eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs have declined by 62.6% in Mosquito Lagoon (ML) along the eastern Florida coast since 1943. While this species creates reefs by successive generations of oysters recruiting to conspecific shells, C. virginica can also attach to non-reef substrates including mangrove roots and armoring (e.g., seawalls), which may help counteract reef habitat loss. In recent decades, warmer winters have enabled red (Rhizophora mangle) and black (Avicennia germinans) mangrove expansion in subtropical salt marshes and temperate estuaries where oyster reefs occur. Additionally, 11.8% of ML's shorelines have been armored as of …

Optical Seed Development For Yb-Fiber Laser, James G. Brutus

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Master Oscillator Power Amplifiers (MOPA) are laser systems that utilize a seed and pump amplification system to boost the output power of high-quality lower power seeding signals. MOPAs can generate high gain while avoiding many of the nonlinearities that negatively affect resonance-based lasers that are known to feature higher internal intensities. Additionally, MOPAs provide an easy alternative to the construction of novel laser technologies for higher output power as they can be easily combined with existing laser sources to amplify their output power.

This thesis outlines the design of an ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL), featuring a MOPA architecture. The YDFL …

A Paradoxical Tale: Sodium Taurocholate Counteracts Bactericidal Potency Of Silver-Modified Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle (Agcnp), A Sporicidal Disinfectant Against C. Difficile On Abiotic Surfaces, Deepa Shah

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The nosocomial pathogen Clostridioides difficile colonizes the gut leading to antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and severe inflammation. C. difficile spores—the main agent of transmission—survive for months on contaminated surfaces. Common disinfecting agents such as bleach and peroxides are used to prevent this; however, these chemicals are highly corrosive, toxic and pose serious health concerns. Seeking to address the challenges posed by conventional disinfectants, our research tested the feasibility of redox-active, silver-modified cerium oxide nanoparticles (AgCNP) formulations as a safer alternative. We tested the efficacy of AgCNP in rich culture media on C. difficile NAP1, a known hypervirulent strain associated with hospital endemics, …

From Crisis To Classroom: Evaluating Academic Success In Vulnerable Populations During The Covid-19 Emergency Education Era, Jake Novak

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This study investigated school closures' impact on students from vulnerable populations in elementary classrooms. The research places an emphasis on the importance of an equitable and effective educational system in every community. It highlights the role of formal education in providing opportunities for social advancement and promoting the development of individuals and nations. The impact of the COVID-19 Emergency on access to quality education and the challenges and inequities faced by vulnerable populations are emphasized. This research also discusses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations in 2015 to ensure inclusive and equitable education for all children …

Towards Sparse Imu Sensor-Based Estimation Of Walking Kinematics, Joint Moments, And Ground Reaction Forces In Multiple Locomotion Modes Via Deep Learning, Md Sanzid Bin Hossain

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Acquiring joint kinematics, joint moments, and ground reaction forces (GRFs) during walking is essential for assessing disease progression and health monitoring during rehabilitation. However, spatial and temporal constraints, expert processing, and high costs limit the current gold standard methods, such as optical motion capture systems and floor-embedded force plates. Experts have suggested wearables with machine learning methods to address this issue, but their large sensor count renders them impractical for daily use, and the use of generic algorithms limits their accuracy. As a result, learning kinematics and kinetics in everyday life outside of laboratory settings is challenging. Thus, there is …

Exploring The Benefits Of The Integration Of Xr And Bim For Retrofitting Projects, John Sermarini

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Rapidly changing population dynamics and increased energy needs have reduced demand for building renovation in favor of more wasteful complete demolition and reconstruction. This dissertation aims to enhance the accessibility and ease of use of challenging retrofitting methodologies to mitigate adverse effects of urbanization, increasing resource use, and aging building stock within the United States. Retrofitting is a process focused on upgrading a component or feature of a structure that was not initially constructed or manufactured, and it is often done to modernize, restore, or repurpose a structure. These renovations are difficult and costly to plan and implement, frequently contributing …

Examining Factors Associated With Secondary Trauma Through Lived Experiences Of K-12 School Leaders And Their Impact On School Leadership Practices., Shakelia M. Henderson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

This dissertation delves into the intricate examination of factors associated with secondary trauma as experienced by K-12 urban school leaders and the subsequent influence on their leadership practices. A primary objective of this research is to comprehend the contributing factors leading to post-traumatic growth among school leaders while also investigating their perceptions of the school district's role in fostering this growth. Set within an urban school district, this study focuses explicitly on Title 1 schools, where the impact is expected to be pronounced. Existing literature highlights a dearth of knowledge regarding the nuanced effects of secondary trauma on school leaders, …

Efficient And Effective Deep Learning Methods For Computer Vision In Centralized And Distributed Applications, Matias Mendieta

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

In the rapidly advancing field of computer vision, deep learning has driven significant technological transformations. However, the widespread deployment of these technologies often encounters efficiency challenges, such as high memory usage, demanding computational resources, and extensive communication overhead. Efficiency has become crucial for both centralized and distributed applications of deep learning, ensuring scalability, real-world applicability, and broad accessibility. In distributed settings, federated learning (FL) enables collaborative model training across multiple clients while maintaining data privacy. Despite its promise, FL faces challenges due to clients' constraints in memory, computational power, and bandwidth. Centralized training systems also require high efficiency, where optimizing …

A Multiscale Meshless Method For Simulating Cardiovascular Flows, Kyle Beggs

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

The rapid increase in computational power over the last decade has unlocked the possibility of providing patient-specific healthcare via simulation and data assimilation. In the past 2 decades, computational approaches to simulating cardiovascular flows have advanced significantly due to intense research and adoption of methods in medical device companies. A significant source of friction in porting these tools to the hospital and getting in the hands of surgeons is due to the expertise required to handle the geometry pre-processing and meshing of models. Meshless meth- ods reduce the amount of corner cases which makes it easier to develop robust tools …

The Role Of Medical Cannabis Use In Pain, Sleep, And Mental Health Outcomes Among Older Adults, Madison H. Maynard

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Older adults represent the fastest growing demographic of cannabis users, and they endorse cannabis use for a variety of reasons including modulation of chronic pain, mental health symptoms, and sleep concerns. Despite escalating patterns of use, current evidence leaves questions of efficacy unanswered among these groups of users. Goals of the present study were to examine the role of medicinal cannabis within subjects at the daily level on the interrelated symptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep, and pain. A final sample of 106 medical cannabis users were recruited nationwide, ranging from 55 to 74 years of age (66.67% female, 82.86% white). …

Neurogaze In Virtual Reality: Assessing An Eeg And Eye Tracking Interface Against Traditional Virtual Reality Input Devices, Wanyea Barbel

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

NeuroGaze is a novel Virtual Reality (VR) interface that integrates electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking technologies to enhance user interaction within virtual environments (VEs). Diverging from traditional VR input devices, NeuroGaze allows users to select objects in a VE through gaze direction and cognitive intent captured via EEG signals. The research assesses the performance of the NeuroGaze system against conventional input devices such as VR controllers and eye gaze combined with hand gestures. The experiment, conducted with 20 participants, evaluates task completion time, accuracy, cognitive load through the NASA-TLX surveys, and user preference through a post-evaluation survey. Results indicate that …

Visual Experience Enhancement In Augmented Reality Displays, Qian Yang

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

In the dynamic arena of display technology, augmented reality (AR) displays represent a pivotal advancement, seamlessly bridging the digital and physical worlds. This dissertation delves into the realm of AR display technologies, spotlighting the challenges and limitations of current systems, including transparent and near-eye displays, and proposes innovative solutions to enhance user experience and display performance. With a focus on overcoming issues such as diffraction-induced image blur, the trade-off between resolution and field of view (FoV) in near-eye displays, and FoV constraints in waveguide-based displays, this research introduces new evaluation methods, optimization techniques, and system designs. First, the dissertation presents …

Opto-Electronic Oscillator Driven Electro-Optic Modulator Based Optical Frequency Comb, Lawrence Trask

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Optical frequency combs (OFC) are now a well-known tool for utilizing broad optical bandwidths with electronic resolution. Several applications including spectroscopy, metrology, ultra-wideband signal processing, and communications are being propelled forward by optical frequency combs. The advent of high repetition rate optical frequency combs for use in astrophotonics has elucidated the need for newer architectures. This dissertation discloses a self-oscillating, self-stabilizing, and self-referenced opto-electronic oscillator (OEO) driven electro-optic modulated (EOM) based optical frequency comb. We demonstrate a new path towards high repetition rate OFCs with two major developments. The use of a photonically filtered OEO simultaneously stabilizes the optical carrier …

Students' Perceptions Of Hospitality And Tourism Internships On Career Pathways: Transformational Versus Transactional Internships, Jessica L. Wickey

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Internships provide a platform for students to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical setting and to gain hands-on experience (Simons et al., 2012). Moreover, internships can help students build networks and connections within their chosen industry, which can later prove valuable in their career development. This qualitative exploratory study investigated students' perceptions of their hospitality and tourism internships on how they perceive their career pathways after completing an internship in a four-year degree program. For this study, a group of Junior and Senior hospitality and tourism university students from a major university were interviewed. The researcher utilized a phenomenological approach …

Addressing Challenges In Utilizing Gpus For Accelerating Privacy-Preserving Computation, Ardhi Wiratama Baskara Yudha

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

Cloud computing increasingly handles confidential data, like private inference and query databases. Two strategies are used for secure computation: (1) employing CPU Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) like AMD SEV, Intel SGX, or ARM TrustZone, and (2) utilizing emerging cryptographic methods like Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) with libraries such as HElib, Microsoft SEAL, and PALISADE. To enhance computation, GPUs are often employed. However, using GPUs to accelerate secure computation introduces challenges addressed in three works.

In the first work, we tackle GPU acceleration for secure computation with CPU TEEs. While TEEs perform computations on confidential data, extending their capabilities to GPUs …