Digital Commons Network^™

Evaluating Health And Immune Proxies Within And Across Sea Turtle Life Stages, Tiffany M. Dawson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Understanding variations in health and immune function across life stages or physiological states is important for population monitoring and for understanding species’ responses to anthropogenic disturbances. Sea turtles are a model species for evaluating these changes within and across life stages due to their long lifespans with ontogenetic habitat and diet shifts. In this dissertation, I tested whether health and immune hematological proxies (Packed Cell Volume [PCV], white blood cell counts, total protein [TP], biochemistry) differed: (1) across the reproductive season, (2) between species and (3) foraging groups, and (4) with reproductive output for adult female turtles (Chapter 2). In …

An Integrated Approach To Waste Management And Development Of Data Driven Decision Support Tools, Mert Gokgoz

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Municipal solid waste management requires balancing environmental performance, operational efficiency, and community participation. Proper recycling contamination in single-family units is a persistent barrier to material recovery, reducing the effectiveness of local programs by increasing recycling contamination. This dissertation develops an integrated, data-driven framework that combines behavioral modeling of communities via statistical analysis and machine learning (ML), and life cycle assessment (LCA) to support decision-making in residential waste management. The first component examines household recycling behavior using data from Orange County, Florida’s Recycling Quality Improvement Program (RQIP). Cart-tagging results were integrated with socio-demographic data from the U.S. Census to predict contamination …

Qualities Of Instructors Adult Second Language Learners Identify As Being Most Effective In Supporting Their Language Skills In Intensive English Programs, Nick Myrca Gauthier

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This qualitative research discusses the importance of the pedagogical and social qualities of instructors in the academic achievement of adult second language (L2) learners enrolled in intensive English programs (IEP). Its primary goal is to comprehend the role of social traits such as empathy, patience, approachability, supportiveness, and respectfulness and of pedagogical traits such as building trust, motivation, and minimizing language learning anxiety when instructing adult L2 learners. Within the framework of this study, a semistructured interview format was used to gather the lived experiences of seven participants who were either enrolled or had been enrolled in a university’s intensive …

Advancements In Slow-Wave Thin Film Lithium Niobate For Opto-Electronic Communications, Joseph W. Haefner

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The views expressed in this dissertation are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

The explosive growth of human connectedness over the previous decades has, and will continue to strain the communication infrastructure under-girding modern economies, and society. The continuous expansion of data-centers, advanced artificial intelligence models, and remote data storage will require novel high bandwidth solutions for both long haul and local inter-connects. Current solutions seek to expand link bandwidth through the use of complex high baud rate constellations, in …

Firefighter Syndrome: Improving The Identification And Classification Of Firefighters In Need, Michael A. Schlenk

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Firefighters (FFs) exhibit a multitude of behavioral and physical health concerns as well as fluctuating social support due to their occupation. Despite the fire service enacting preventative approaches to health and wellness, FFs still report increased prevalences of health concerns at the end of their career. Firefighter syndrome was created to identify FFs in need of medical care (e.g., behavioral and physical health services, Frueh et al., 2022b). The purpose of this study is to validate the construct of FF Syndrome by using statistical classification techniques to investigate whether there is a latent group of firefighters that have the symptoms …

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 …

Design Tool For Ammonia Cracker Hardware, Andrew Menendez

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Ammonia is a promising carbon-free fuel for commercial aviation and represents a viable pathway toward net-zero emissions. However, direct ammonia combustion is inefficient, creating the need for onboard cracking to generate hydrogen for improved combustion characteristics. One pathway for onboard cracking is to have the hardware live around the combustor liner where heat generated from the combustion process can be used to sustain the reaction. This study aims to develop a design tool for the ammonia cracking reactor hardware. A simplified, single-step surface reaction mechanism was implemented using ANSYS FLUENT and CHEMKIN PRO R1, demonstrating strong agreement with experimental data …

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 …

Advancing Drug Discovery With Structural And Representation Learning Of Biological Systems, Mehdi Yazdani-Jahromi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The rapid emergence of global health crises, exemplified by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, underscores the profound limitations of conventional drug discovery methods, which are inherently protracted and resource-intensive. A robust, accelerated response framework demands the sophisticated deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) across the entire therapeutic pipeline. We propose a unified approach centered on \textbf{Structural and Representation Learning} to capture the intricate topological and chemical nuances of biological systems, thereby transforming complex molecular and genomic data into effective vector embeddings suitable for deep learning, enhancing predictive power, and crucially, interpretability. This dissertation details advancements across …

The Flutter-Mill And The Fall Of Innocence: Jody's Journey To Disillusionment, Desirae Walton

The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Journal of Florida Literature

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Theory And Praxis. Defending Subjective Agency Against Althusser's Structuralism - Daniel Guerrero, Daniel Guerrero

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Louis Althusser labels Marx’s early works as humanist, pseudo-materialist, and self-contained within the ideology of German idealism. Therefore, all attempts to develop a Marxist theory based on these works are futile and ideological. Instead, Althusser proposes a ‘scientific’ reading of Marx developing a structuralist theory based on dialectical materialism. I argue that his interpretations deny individual agency and reduce social relations to mechanistic processes, which directly conflicts with fundamental Marxist ideas like alienation, production, and species-being. By discussing authors within the Marxist Humanist tradition, I argue that a theoretical framework based on Marx’s early works is not only possible, but …

Understanding Women's Access To And Utilization Of Syringe Service Programs, Annelisa E. Swiersz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As of 2020, 138 million Americans ages 12 and over reported illicit drug use in their lifetime, with over 3 million of those people injecting drugs. There are risks for all people who use drugs, but people who inject drugs (PWID) pose specific risks such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with women who inject drugs (WWID) facing even more risks. WWID involved in sex work have a higher risk of HIV transmission and lack access to sterile injection devices and sexual and reproductive health services. To address these risks, syringe service programs (SSPs) were developed …

What Factors Improve Police Legitimacy?, Nyomi Powers

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Legitimacy in law enforcement can be defined as the perception of the police as an appropriate and respected source of power and authority. United States law enforcement is facing a legitimacy crisis stemming from a growing distrust in the police and decreased police community relationships. In order to address this problem, solutions are being sought in both police agencies and by researchers in the field. This systematic review aims to compile all relevant experiments and analyze the findings to create a comprehensive list of policy implications that most effectively improve police legitimacy. For experiments to be included in this review, …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Working Memory, Lake Miller

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Extensive research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as sexual abuse, poverty, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect, can negatively impact an individual’s development. The presence of ACEs has also been linked to an increase in one’s engagement in risky behavior, dropping out of school, unemployment before the age of 21, and a variety of health issues. Currently, there is a gap in literature regarding the performance of different working memory (WM) tasks and the presence of ACEs. This study focuses on filling this gap in literature by measuring participants’ Philadelphia ACE score, which is a 16-item questionnaire, …

Anthropology In The Real World, Chastity B. Nix, Cheyenne Taylor

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2025

Anthropology is a field that likely isn’t the first to come to mind for many. Despite this, it has proven to be a great major for learning skills that are applicable to many different career paths. ANT 4861, Beyond the Anthropology Major, has not only taught us this but also made us realize just how much the general public as well as employers are missing by not being educated on Anthropological skills. Our project here is meant to highlight how little the average person is aware of what anthropology is and how employers, even those looking for anthropological knowledge, are …

Addressing Society’S Needs Through Research, Kazi S. Salsabil

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2025

The Focused Volunteer Community Service course, part of the U-LEAD program at the University of Central Florida (UCF), is a service-learning course. This course emphasizes the significance of community service, engagement, and leadership, all of which I applied in my volunteer role as a research assistant at the Adult Development and Decision-Making Lab. In this role, I participated in research projects exploring the impact of misinformation, specifically examining whether individuals can accurately distinguish between real and fake information based on personal characteristics and neural mechanisms. The goal is to utilize the findings to inform future interventions designed to reduce the …

Empowering Communities In Crisis: The Reach Hub As An Emergency Management Lifeline In Orlando, Mohammad Newaz Sharif

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2025

This service-learning engagement with the REACH (Resilience, Education, and Advocacy Center for Hazard Preparedness) Hub project was conducted as part of PAD6397: Managing Emergencies and Crises course at the University of Central Florida. It explores the intersection of academic knowledge, community resilience, and equitable emergency management through the REACH Hub which a solar-powered, mobile infrastructure developed in collaboration with UCF researchers, the City of Orlando and other local partners. Designed to serve vulnerable communities during and beyond disasters, the REACH Hub provides critical resources such as power, internet access, refrigeration, and educational outreach. The project aligned closely with course objectives, …

My Service-Learning Experience, Conserving And Restoring Canaveral National Seashore, Thomas Cole

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2025

Thomas Cole

[email protected]

3177992

My service-learning experience, conserving and restoring Canaveral National Seashore

During my time spent completing service learning course service-learning marine conservation and restoration.. I had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of projects that benefit marine conservation and restoration. These included mangrove gardening, Beach trash removal, constructing oyster habitat structures and a wading bird camera footage experiment. Each of these experiences relate to the conservation and restoration of Canaveral National Seashore. This National park is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, with 47 of those species being federally listed as special concern, …

How Different Questioning Methods Allow For More Productive Discussions In And Out Of The Classroom, Sabrina A. Califano

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2025

This presentation explores the impact of different questioning methods in promoting more productive discussions both inside and outside the classroom. As an undergraduate learning assistant in CHM2046, I reflect on how open-ended and close-ended questions can shape student interactions. Open-ended questions encourage diverse responses and allow for deeper discussions, while close-ended questions direct conversations towards specific answers.

This approach of varying question types based on the student’s needs helped students feel more confident and engaged. This encouraged one-on-one interactions, improving students' understanding and participation. This experience also helped build my own communication skills, influencing my approach in various situations beyond …

Increasing Access Through Graduate Teaching Assistant Training: A Udl-Informed, Video-Based Professional Development Approach For Inclusive Chemistry Instruction, Kathleen Lugo Charriez

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

STEM courses pose concealed barriers to learning for students with disabilities, a demographic that constitutes a significant portion of postsecondary science and engineering undergraduate student populations. While extensive research has examined access and inclusiveness in K–12 education and, to a more limited extent, in higher education, there remains a critical gap in understanding how to proactively design undergraduate chemistry curricula that are both accessible and inclusive for a diverse range of learners. In particular, limited attention has been given to supporting Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) in adopting inclusive instructional practices in higher education chemistry courses.

In large academic institutions, GTAs …

Catalytic Interfaces Of Earth-Abundant Metals Copper And Nickel Chalcogenides For Hydrogen Evolution Catalyst, Manuel Alejandro Ramirez Ubillus

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation establishes design principles for earth-abundant catalysts used in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), showing that electroactivity is primarily controlled by structural features such as surface facet exposure, dopant content, and dynamic phase transformations. These factors influence conductivity, active site density, and stability, as demonstrated through three model systems: Cu₂O, NiSe₂, and Cu₂S. Cu₂O particles with controlled shapes were synthesized to explore the relationship between facet exposure and catalytic activity. Octahedra dominated by the facet 111 performed better than cubes rich in the facet 100. Combining Cu₂O with reduced graphene oxide further improved conductivity, dispersion, and stability, leading to …

The Global Thermophysical Properties Of (433) Eros, Mary L. Hinkle

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

We present results from a shape-based, rotationally-resolved thermophysical model of near- Earth asteroid (433) Eros, using reflected and near-IR spectra collected at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) over 18 nights (25 disk-integrated spectra in total) from 2009-2019. The data sample a variety of viewing geometries, illumination angles, and rotational phases and therefore allow us to characterize Eros's surface physical properties in detail, particularly at wavelengths in the thermal near- IR regime (λ > 3.5 microns) that were not measured by the NEAR Shoemaker mission. Eros's shape, spin state, density, albedo, and other physical properties measured by NEAR were incorporated into …

Investigations And Simulations: A Data-Driven Approach To Exoplanet Characterization, Kathleen J. Mcintyre

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

High-precision infrared photometry is fundamental to the field of exoplanet science, enabling direct measurements of planetary thermal emission, atmospheric composition, and energy redistribution. The stability and sensitivity achieved by instruments aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope provides a catalog of hundreds of transiting exoplanets with measurements of flux variations to the level of tens of parts per million. This legacy contextualizes and complements recent and upcoming high-resolution spectroscopic observations. In this work I apply multiple analysis techniques to all available Spitzer observations of three hot Jupiters to determine how much we can still learn from archival data and what best practices …

Numerical Solutions For Deterministic And Stochastic Partial Differential Equations And Effective Integral Evaluation, Guanqian Wang

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis explores advancements in numerical methods, focusing on their applications to some classes of PDEs, Stochastic PDEs (SPDEs), and integral evaluations. The first part of this proposal provides algorithms for computing the mean curvature flow, including cases with topological changes. We propose energy-penalized and multilevel minimization algorithms. Benchmark problems with random initial conditions reveal that small changes in interaction length led to different solution patterns under topological changes. Our methods demonstrate robustness and efficiency, even with poor initial guesses, making them suitable for a wide range of scenarios.

The second part of this proposal introduces a new approach for …

Older Adult Centered Robot Assessment: Usability, Social Presence, And Acceptance. Building Towards A Better Robot., Jordan Sasser

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation investigated factors influencing older adults' perceptions of Misty, a voice-enabled social robot designed for caregiving interactions. Three sequential studies explored how voice characteristics (pitch and speech rate), robot persona (personable vs. robotic), and task guidance (Misty guiding through timed up and go and four stage balance task) influenced usability, social presence, acceptance, and perceptions of medical assistant competence. Study 1 employed thematic and quantitative usability analyses, identifying that lower-pitched, moderately paced voices optimized user satisfaction, while repetitive activation phrases ("Hey Misty") significantly reduced usability. Study 2 examined how persona framing (personable vs. robotic) influenced perceptions of social presence …

Confirming The Factor Structure Of The Police Officer Stigma Scale, Daniel R. Horning

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

First responders routinely face exposure to critical incidents within the line of duty, resulting in higher prevalence of psychopathological conditions compared to the general population. However, a growing body of research identified a severe underutilization of mental health-related services among this population, with stigma towards mental illness being the most cited barrier to seeking care. Stigma as a construct is being actively measured, but the factor structure of stigma towards mental health remains contested in literature. Optimal model fit for Stuart’s Police Officer Stigma Scale is an example of these empirical debates, as both single-factor and two-factor models are offered …

The Role Of Substance Use And Objectification On Bisexual Women’S Sexual Violence Experiences, Rachel Cooper

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Bisexual women experience the highest rates of sexual violence victimization, across all tactics, compared to all other gender and sexual orientation groups. Bisexual women’s higher rates of substance use puts them at greater risk for substance-facilitated sexual violence, however this does not account for higher rates of sexual violence that happen through other tactics. Objectification theory states that people learn to view women as sexual objects, whose value derives from their bodies’ sexual utility and this view increases the likelihood of sexual violence. Bisexual women experience an additional form of objectification in the form of bisexual stigma which is characterized …

Flame Boundary Effects Of Hydrogen-Air Premixing, Alecson L. De Lima Junior

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The objective of this research was to investigate the reaction of hydrogen and heated air premixing when injected into a combusting ethylene-air crossflow, and to study the flame stabilization location with varying premixing levels. The main parameter of this investigation was the flame stabilization diagnosed through chemiluminescence, based on recorded equivalence ratio, temperature, and flame boundaries, and maintaining a constant air temperature, hydrogen and air mass flow, and momentum flux ratios. Testing was conducted at different ratios of hydrogen and air premixing achieved through alternating the distance between the point where hydrogen and air are mixed and the combusting crossflow. …

The Effect Of Social Hierarchy And Captivity On Behavior In Cercopithecus Petaurista, Haley Bombard

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

The social hierarchy within three Cercopithecus petaurista individuals was studied to determine how the influence of captivity affects behavior. The three individuals were monitored from August-November, and the data retained was focused on aggression and allogrooming behaviors. The group consisted of one dominant male and two females in the Central Florida Zoo, and behavioral observations were recorded at 10-minute intervals. Results showed that the dominant male infrequently engaged in allogrooming behavior but more often received it from the less dominant females. The hierarchy and social status of the females was shown and influenced by the allogrooming given and received between …

Disparities In Maternal Healthcare: Examining The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Provider Care Quality, Rishita Anumukonda

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Poor maternal health outcomes among racially and socioeconomically marginalized populations are a major public health concern in the United States. Effective clinician discussions during prenatal and postpartum care play an essential role in promoting maternal and infant well-being. However, the content of provider-patient discussions in maternal care and how it varies for patients exposed to different social determinants of health has not yet been well explored. This study aims to examine whether healthcare provider discussions about key maternal health topics, including preventative health tips, risk factors, and available resources, differ based on social factors such as income level and race. …