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Color And Color Placement Effects On Purchase Intent Of Loot Boxes In Video Games, Mackenzie Bland Jan 2020

Color And Color Placement Effects On Purchase Intent Of Loot Boxes In Video Games, Mackenzie Bland

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Research on the effects of color associations in gambling situations has especially come to the forefront in recent times with the rise of casinos and other sales techniques in which consumers do not know the outcome of their purchases. Loot boxes are a unique form of micro-transactions in video games where players are uncertain about the objects they will receive with their monetary purchase. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of color and color placement in ads on loot box purchase intent. It will contribute to research about color perception in marketing and will, more specifically, …

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"It’S Just A Bad Period" And Other Ways Of Dismissing Women's Pain: An Ethnographic Look Into The Experience Of Endometriosis, Selina Hays Jan 2020

"It’S Just A Bad Period" And Other Ways Of Dismissing Women's Pain: An Ethnographic Look Into The Experience Of Endometriosis, Selina Hays

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis uses online ethnographic methods to analyze the impact of patriarchal values on the illness experiences of women with endometriosis. Current literature suggests that negative impact on patients with endometriosis with regard to cultural discourse surrounding menstruation and chronic illness. Utilizing a combination of critical discourse analysis and constructivist grounded theory, the results of this research demonstrate that patients engage in a form of performance that is reactive to normalization and dismissal of pain by doctors and wider social support due in part to cultural stigmas of menstruation and chronic pain, as well as the inherent power imbalance in …

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Growing Up Puerto Rican: College Students' Reality Of Staying In Puerto Rico Post-Maria, Bianca M. Pizarro Vázquez Jan 2020

Growing Up Puerto Rican: College Students' Reality Of Staying In Puerto Rico Post-Maria, Bianca M. Pizarro Vázquez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Puerto Rico has been under influence and colonial rule by the United States since the Spanish-American War of 1898. This has led the island to have partial and limited control over the affairs inside it. The passing of Hurricane Maria on September 20th of 2017 exposed problems even further. Puerto Rico remains under the control of a Financial Oversight and Management Board since the passing of the PROMESA act (The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act) signed by President Barack Obama in 2016. This had forced Puerto Rico to make drastic cuts to its public services. One …

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Thermal-Hydraulic Optimization Of The Heat Exchange Between A Molten Salt Small Modular Reactor And A Super-Critical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycle, James Sherwood Jan 2020

Thermal-Hydraulic Optimization Of The Heat Exchange Between A Molten Salt Small Modular Reactor And A Super-Critical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycle, James Sherwood

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The next generation of nuclear power sources, Gen. IV, will include an emphasis on small, modular reactor (SMR) designs, which will allow for standardized, factory-based manufacturing and flexibility in the design of power plants by utilizing one or several modular reactor units in parallel. One of the reactor concepts being investigated is the Molten Salt Reactor concept (MSR), which utilizes a molten salt flow loop to cool the reactor and transfer heat to the power conversion cycle (PCS).Here, the use of a supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle is assumed for that PCS. The purpose of this thesis is to …

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Understanding Medical Error In Surgical Stapler Use: A Philosophical And Scientific Analysis, Jacob E. Howard Jan 2020

Understanding Medical Error In Surgical Stapler Use: A Philosophical And Scientific Analysis, Jacob E. Howard

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Classified for decades as a “least risk medical device,” surgical staplers have been recently associated with at least 41,000 injuries and 360 deaths in the last ten years (FDA Letter to Healthcare Providers, 2019). This shocking development has generated calls for a broad investigation into the errors involved in surgical stapler use and reform of the regulatory protocol for medical devices. Current regulatory infrastructure and framework operate with understandings that combine risk inherent to the device and that which is born by the operator (FDA Classification Call, 2019). This thesis explores the aforementioned classification error and its adverse outcomes from …

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Models Of Perception: Lay Theories And Stigma Towards Alcohol Use Disorder, Tori L. Jansen Jan 2020

Models Of Perception: Lay Theories And Stigma Towards Alcohol Use Disorder, Tori L. Jansen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has multiple health and social consequences which negatively affect individuals’ lives. However, the decision to utilize treatment is influenced by a variety of social factors. The stigma associated with AUD may impact individuals’ willingness to seek treatment after drinking is viewed as an issue. A highly stigmatized disorder, perceptions of AUD may be influenced by medical/moral lay theories, responsibility attributions and implicit theories. Once treatment is sought, support from others during the recovery process has been associated with treatment retention rates and success. Lay recovery beliefs, such as change perceptions, influence the amount of support offered …

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Risk Preference Stability In The Aftermath Of Natural And Human-Influenced Catastrophes: A Meta-Analysis, James R. Bailey Jan 2020

Risk Preference Stability In The Aftermath Of Natural And Human-Influenced Catastrophes: A Meta-Analysis, James R. Bailey

Honors Undergraduate Theses

We estimate the impact of natural and human-influenced catastrophes on individual risk preferences. Using the meta-analysis process with random-effects models, we examine the significance of the effect of different catastrophes on individual risk preferences. As natural and human-influenced catastrophes have become more frequent a number of studies have evaluated their effects on risk attitudes. In this thesis a meta-analysis is performed from the results in these recent studies, allowing for comparisons across catastrophes and against results from laboratory experiments. In evaluating the change in risk-taking behavior amongst affected populations it may better inform relief efforts and policy decisions. Overall, subjects …

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Social Change And Games Of Chance At The Site Of Gallon Jug, Nicholas C. Kopp Jan 2020

Social Change And Games Of Chance At The Site Of Gallon Jug, Nicholas C. Kopp

Honors Undergraduate Theses

During the 2019 field season of the Chan Chich Archaeological Project (CCAP)/Belize Estates Archaeological Survey Team's (BEAST) work in northwestern Belize, excavations commenced at an elite household at the site of Gallon Jug, named Courtyard B-1. Excavations revealed intriguing details about the lives of the inhabitants through the presence of burials, ceramics, architecture, and – as is central to this research – Patolli boards. Patolli, a prehistoric game of chance played throughout Mesoamerican, is a relatively under researched topic within the field of archaeology. In this thesis I argue that the patolli boards at Gallon Jug portray evidence of elite …

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Necessary And Convenient: The Effect Of Commerce And Necessary And Proper Clause Jurisprudence, Janis Olkowicz Jan 2020

Necessary And Convenient: The Effect Of Commerce And Necessary And Proper Clause Jurisprudence, Janis Olkowicz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

While reading a news article about the upcoming presidential election one day, I noticed a trend. The vast majority of political articles discuss what the federal government should do, but almost never cover what it could do. In elementary school, American children are taught that the Constitution, a 4,543-word document, is the place from which all federal power is derived; but the Constitution says nothing about the regulation of travel, narcotics, or the vast majority of other areas that affect the way we live our daily lives, so where does that power come from? After some preliminary research, I discovered …

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History Of Involvement With Combat Sports And Severity Of Subtypes Of Psychopathy, Allen Hagen Jan 2020

History Of Involvement With Combat Sports And Severity Of Subtypes Of Psychopathy, Allen Hagen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Combat sports can be defined as sports that involve the physical domination of opponents in order to win. Previous research on combat sports as they relate to psychopathy and anti-social behavior has produced limited information regarding subtypes of trait psychopathy. While there is evidence suggesting participation in certain combat sports can lead to an increase in anti-social behavior (Endresen & Olweus, 2005), there has never been a direct investigation into primary psychopathy, which has other distinct features such as fearless dominance and lack of remorse. These traits may be useful in the further examination of psychopathologies within a sports context. …

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Developmental Effects Of Terpenes On Vanessa Cardui At Varying Temperatures, Mari Irving Jan 2020

Developmental Effects Of Terpenes On Vanessa Cardui At Varying Temperatures, Mari Irving

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Secondary metabolites are organic compounds produced by plants that are not essential in growth, development, or reproduction. While they are not strictly necessary to complete the plant life cycle, secondary metabolites play key roles in functions like defense against herbivory and the moderation of symbiotic relationships. Terpenes are a major class of secondary metabolites present in all plants, and this class is hypothesized to have diversified in response to specific plant-herbivore interactions. These complex interactions are further complicated by changes in abiotic conditions experienced seasonally. Herbivory is a major biotic interaction that plays out across broad temporal and spatial scales …

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An Exploration Of The Pedsacademy Internship's Influence On Aspiring Educators' Preparation To Teach Children With Chronic Illnesses, Karla A. Sanabria Matos Jan 2020

An Exploration Of The Pedsacademy Internship's Influence On Aspiring Educators' Preparation To Teach Children With Chronic Illnesses, Karla A. Sanabria Matos

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The increased emergence of childhood chronic illnesses in the United States of America has created a need for educational support in this unique student population. Research trends have showcased how the child's emotional health and vacancies in legislation are some of the affecting factors when discussing the level of academic aid these children receive from the state. Some other factors that come into play when ensuring children with chronic illnesses are not excluded from receiving quality education are their learning environment, school reintegration process, and evaluating pre-existing hospital-school programs which are all themes covered in this narrative. Teacher preparation programs …

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Phantoms Of Fantasy: Materiality, Enjoyment, And The Minstrel Legacy Of Sentimentalism, Zafirios Daglaris Jan 2020

Phantoms Of Fantasy: Materiality, Enjoyment, And The Minstrel Legacy Of Sentimentalism, Zafirios Daglaris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This research utilized material culture concepts, Lacanian psychoanalytic theory, and literary analysis methodologies to investigate the rhetorical and experiential legacies of the antebellum 'complex of sentimental principles' within the twentieth century North American culture industry. Drawing on Eric Lott's concepts 'love and theft' and the 'black mirror,' the author analyzed culture industry products like songs and novels, and argued that the terms of sentimental identification among North American whites came to depend on associative processes precedented by blackface minstrelsy. Whereas minstrels had once constituted the stage-form by appealing to sentimentalism, eventually, in the years after American Civil War and the …

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2030: Utilizing Animation In Political Messaging, Angela Hernandez-Carlson Jan 2020

2030: Utilizing Animation In Political Messaging, Angela Hernandez-Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this paper and film is to explore the animated medium's ability to convey controversial political topics. The goal of this film is to reach my audience on an emotional level, which will hopefully motivate them to act on the information presented. By using animated themes and metaphors, the audience can digest the political messaging by disassociating themselves from the characters in the story. This will allow them to be open to other perspectives. This paper will explore how one can use the aesthetic quality of animation imagery to convey an important political message about our environment. The …

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Some Southern Waters, Julian Baner Jan 2020

Some Southern Waters, Julian Baner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Some Southern Waters is a microbudget feature-length film written, directed, and produced by Julian Baner as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema from the University of Central Florida. The film is a black and white, semi-abstract narrative mainly in the mystery genre, with elements of thriller, horror, and black comedy throughout. This thesis is a description of the creative impetus behind the project, as well as the technical process from pre-production through production, and post-production.

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The Effect Of Acuity-Based Nurse Staffing On Nursing Medication Errors, Egidius Maria Eugene Waterval Jan 2020

The Effect Of Acuity-Based Nurse Staffing On Nursing Medication Errors, Egidius Maria Eugene Waterval

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Nurses spend on average one third of their time on direct patient care, and most on indirect care in hospital settings. However, nursing workload is challenging to measure in a systemized, accurate, and timely way. Patient classification systems are designed to capture information about nursing workload based on the illness severity of the patient (acuity) to determine staffing resources and balance nursing workload. These systems are instruments that group nursing care activities in different categories to determine patient acuity. Electronic health records provide opportunities to use available data sets to accurately, and in real-time, document many direct and indirect patient …

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Design And Visual Servo Control Of A Mechanical Gripper For Autonomous Strawberry Harvesting, Jonah Mapes Jan 2020

Design And Visual Servo Control Of A Mechanical Gripper For Autonomous Strawberry Harvesting, Jonah Mapes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

With rising labor costs and high consumer demand, economic conditions are becoming increasingly favorable for mechanization in the strawberry industry. However, virtually all strawberry crops are still picked by hand because the harvesting process is very challenging to automate, and strawberries are susceptible to bruising. For these reasons, the development of a harvester which can avoid damaging the fruit is of interest. Conventional designs for robotic grippers are less than ideal, as precise positioning or force feedback capabilities are required to reduce the risk of bruising. As an alternative, a novel "camera-in-hand" gripper design is presented which effectively avoids bruising …

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Mechanical Properties Of Boron Carbide (B4c), Ruslan Kuliiev Jan 2020

Mechanical Properties Of Boron Carbide (B4c), Ruslan Kuliiev

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Boron carbide (B4C) is one of the most important opaque boride ceramics that has high hardness and Young's modulus that along with low density lead to a significant resistance to ballistic impact and, thus, B4C is broadly used as a protective material. B4C has also high neutron capturing cross section; therefore, it is used as control rods and neutron absorption shielding in nuclear reactors. In this work thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of dense B4C ceramics (99%) sintered using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) were investigated. The Young's modulus of B4C measured by three different techniques – IE, RUS, and nanoindentation …

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Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study On Thermal Conduction Of Cnt-Cu/Al Composites With New Meam Potentials Between C And Cu/Al, Luyang Ren Jan 2020

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study On Thermal Conduction Of Cnt-Cu/Al Composites With New Meam Potentials Between C And Cu/Al, Luyang Ren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been a promising material for thermal management applications including micro/nano-electromechanical system (MEMS/NEMS) due to their extremely high thermal conductivity values. CNTs-reinforced Cu/Al (CNT-Cu/Al) composites are attractive to meet all-around requirements on high thermal performance materials to be applied in many areas, such as aerospace, automotive and electronic packaging. However, the experimental results on resultant thermal conductivity of these composites are far from expectation due to the law of mixture. In this research, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to study the thermal conduction of CNT-Cu/Al composites. Before the simulation is conducted, new inter-atomic potentials for the …

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Production And Elastomer Compatibility Of Renewable Fuels, Alan Felix Jan 2020

Production And Elastomer Compatibility Of Renewable Fuels, Alan Felix

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Hydrocarbon fuel plays an essential role in modern day society and significant research effort is put forth for fuel characterization, performance optimization, and new procedures for synthesis. Despite the eventual and inevitable shift away from hydrocarbon fossil fuels to more renewable energies, investigations into liquid hydrocarbons remain useful while governments slowly adopt and integrate alternative energies. Many hydrocarbon fuel alternatives can potentially bridge the gap between today's heavy reliance on fossil fuels and future complete adaptation of clean energy. One such alternative is biofuel, which is still hydrocarbon based but is made from bio-materials, most notably plants. Widespread use of …

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Exploring Delphi Method Generated Synthetic Natural Environment (Sne) Visual Aesthetic Quality (Vaq) Factor Forecasts And Preferences Through Conjoint Analysis Of End User Assessments, Thomas Kehr Jan 2020

Exploring Delphi Method Generated Synthetic Natural Environment (Sne) Visual Aesthetic Quality (Vaq) Factor Forecasts And Preferences Through Conjoint Analysis Of End User Assessments, Thomas Kehr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Traditional techniques used for verification, validation, and accreditation (VV&A) of Synthetic Natural Environments for military applications are time consuming, subjective, and often costly. Due to varying levels of common visual factors, Synthetic Natural Environments (SNE) vary widely in appearance and use case. Early identification of these factors in the SNE life cycle may improve its Visual Aesthetic Quality (VAQ) while reducing VV&A issues downstream and informing future development. This research explores supplementing existing VV&A techniques with the Delphi Method during the conceptualization phase of an interoperable SNE development in order to identify the level of importance of SNE VAQ factors …

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Modeling Of Incident Type And Incident Duration Using Data From Multiple Years, Sudipta Dey Tirtha Jan 2020

Modeling Of Incident Type And Incident Duration Using Data From Multiple Years, Sudipta Dey Tirtha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

We develop a model system that recognizes the distinct traffic incident duration profiles based on incident type. Specifically, a copula-based joint framework with a scaled multinomial logit model (SMNL) system for incident type and a grouped generalized ordered logit (GGOL) model system for incident duration to accommodate for the impact of observed and unobserved effects on incident type and incident duration. The model system is estimated using traffic incident data from 2012 through 2017 for the Greater Orlando region, employing a comprehensive set of exogenous variables – incident characteristics, roadway characteristics, traffic condition, weather condition, built environment and socio-demographic characteristics. …

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Separating Content Selection From Surface Realization In Neural Text Summarization, Logan Lebanoff Jan 2020

Separating Content Selection From Surface Realization In Neural Text Summarization, Logan Lebanoff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Text summarization is a rapidly growing field with many new innovations. End-to-end models using the sequence-to-sequence architecture achieve high scores according to automatic metrics on standard datasets. However, they frequently generate summaries that are factually inconsistent with the original article -- a vital problem to be solved before the summaries can be used in real-world applications. In addition, they are not generalizable to new domains, especially those with few training examples. In this dissertation, we propose to explicitly separate the two steps of content selection and surface realization in summarization. Content selection is the process of choosing important words/phrases/sentences from …

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Wave-Optics Simulation Of Correlated Speckle Fields, Derek Burrell Jan 2020

Wave-Optics Simulation Of Correlated Speckle Fields, Derek Burrell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Laser speckle poses an ongoing challenge to optical systems that utilize coherent light for active illumination, including applications in holography, free-space communications, remote sensing and target tracking. Speckle averaging offers one potential path forward by reducing the contrast, thereby boosting signal-to-noise ratios. This approach becomes limited, however, by the degree of correlation between successive frames. Wave-optics simulations help to characterize performance gains through speckle averaging, and so it is important that existing models properly account for decorrelation rates of dynamic speckle. With that goal in mind, this research seeks to build a suite of computational wave-optics experiments that verify speckle …

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Enhancement Of Absorptance By Ultrafast Laser Pulse Shaping For Efficient Laser Processing Of Thin Polymers, Arifur Rahaman Jan 2020

Enhancement Of Absorptance By Ultrafast Laser Pulse Shaping For Efficient Laser Processing Of Thin Polymers, Arifur Rahaman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Ultrashort-pulsed lasers have been used for high precision processing of a wide range of materials including dielectrics, semiconductors, metals, and polymers/polymer composites, enabling numerous applications ranging from micromachining, photonics to life sciences. However, there are challenges when applying this technology in the industry, which requires scale and throughput different from lab use. The goal of this research is to understand how ultrafast laser pulses interact with thin polymers/polymer composite materials and develop a method that is efficient for ultrafast laser processing of these materials. It is a common practice in industrial applications to run the laser at a high repetition …

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Active Assailant Crisis Prevention And Response: An Analysis Of Teacher Perceptions, John Courson Jan 2020

Active Assailant Crisis Prevention And Response: An Analysis Of Teacher Perceptions, John Courson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

A limited amount of research was found regarding teacher perceptions of their ability to respond to an active shooter incident. This study was intended to provide relevant information for school leaders to use in their efforts to improve school safety measures. Data was collected in a mixed-methods, explanatory model research study using a survey, the Active Assailant Prevention and Response Survey (AAPRS), and semi-structured interviews. Teachers enrolled in graduate-level education courses at a large university in the southeastern United States made up the study's population. A majority of the sample population agreed that they were confident in the planning protocol …

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An Exploration Of Interactions Between Institutional Agents And College Students Who Are Undocumented In The U.S., Doris Alcivar Jan 2020

An Exploration Of Interactions Between Institutional Agents And College Students Who Are Undocumented In The U.S., Doris Alcivar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the awareness, knowledge, and skills of institutional agents who interact with college students who are undocumented, to inform professional development and practice. Through a survey and interviews, participants revealed familiarity with students who are undocumented and discussed the support provided to them. All interview participants understood the experience of assisting students who are undocumented, as evidenced by six major themes: (a) an understanding of student financial needs, (b) recognizing students' anxiety, (c) providing consistent guidance, (d) establishing supportive collaborations, (e) gaining foundational knowledge, and (f) sharing professional development with others. Participants …

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Access And Utilization Of Prenatal Care In Florida And Its Effects On Preterm Birth, Corinne Audette Jan 2020

Access And Utilization Of Prenatal Care In Florida And Its Effects On Preterm Birth, Corinne Audette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Preterm birth in the United States is the leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other nation in the world, and still perinatal outcomes are disappointing when compared to other industrialized nations. Research and current clinical practice guidelines support the use of early and consistent prenatal care to lower risks for preterm birth, by acting as a key mechanism to monitor pregnancy and provide timely and appropriate interventions. Significant research has been completed to identify causative factors that lead to preterm birth. Overall, this literature has not had a …

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Discovery Of New Topological Quantum Materials By Photoemission, Md Mofazzel Hosen Jan 2020

Discovery Of New Topological Quantum Materials By Photoemission, Md Mofazzel Hosen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

A topological insulator (TI) is a novel electronic state of quantum matter characterize by a bulk insulating bandgap and spin-polarized metallic surface states. Recently, the idea of topology protected surface states extended to semimetallic/metallic systems such as Dirac and Weyl semimetals. Unlike topological insulators where only surface states are interesting and topologically protected, Dirac and Weyl semimetals feature unusual bands in both on the surface and bulk. Dirac semimetals show photon-like linear band dispersion and exhibit a variety of exotic properties that include surface Fermi arc, large magnetoresistance, and high carrier mobility, etc. Recently, a new type of topological phase …

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Development Of High-Power Single-Mode Yb-Doped Fiber Amplifiers And Beam Analysis, Steffen Wittek Jan 2020

Development Of High-Power Single-Mode Yb-Doped Fiber Amplifiers And Beam Analysis, Steffen Wittek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

High-power fiber laser systems enjoy a widespread use in manufacturing, medical, and defense applications as well as scientific research, due to their remarkable power scalability, high electrical to optical efficiency, compactness and ruggedness. However, single-mode fiber power scaling has stagnated in the past years, primarily due to the onset of nonlinear effects such as stimulated Brillouin/Raman scattering and transverse modal instabilities. This thesis addresses the analysis and mitigation of transverse modal instabilities in high-power fiber amplifiers. I describe the high-power fiber amplifier testbed that I set up to test fibers fabricated in house. I will show our results of a …

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