Digital Commons Network^™

Myth To Mindset: Comparing Perceptions Of Feminine Leadership In Hinduism And Christianity, Maya Arangath

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This research project investigates the intersection of religion and feminine leadership by comparing barriers in Hinduism and Christianity found in their sacred texts. The purpose of the study is to identify if the customs followed in each tradition affects women in positions of authority in modern day. To uncover that, this project will use a two-part mixed methods approach. First, a primary source comparative analysis will be completed, followed by an in-depth interview focusing on the living theology. A key takeaway from the study so far is the nuanced ways each religion shows feminism. The study suggests that feminism is …

The Lifeboat Project Team 30: Introduction To Advertisement, Holland H. Roedema, Kenna Carlson, Jasmyne Iemnak

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Our project highlights the research we have completed about the Lifeboat Project and strategic recommendations that would benefit them as an organization in terms of audience engagement and reach. In this presentation, we cover Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to the organization's social media content. We also include potential utilization of ad placement and budgeting the organization could use for Newspaper advertisement. And finally, we curated mock social media posts for the Lifeboat Project after our team conducted a public survey.The survey's results revealed common social media habits and preferences of individuals in our target audience. Our Service Learning Project …

The Skills That Win Championships: An Nba Team Winrate Prediction Analysis (2023-2024) ​, Royce A. Reeves, Thirumukelan Senthilkumar, Alsion Tafa

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This study examines the relationship between team performance metrics and win percentage in the 2023–24 NBA season. Using team level data sourced from NBA.com and Kaggle, we analyzed variables including shooting efficiency, rebounds, turnovers, and plus/minus. Exploratory data analysis was conducted to assess relationships and address potential collinearity. Multiple linear regression was used to model win percentage, followed by model selection to identify the most impactful predictors. The final model explains approximately 90% of the variation in team success and identifies plus/minus, three-point percentage, turnovers, and rebounds as significant factors. Results indicate that overall team performance three-point shooting, and limiting …

Constrained Freedom: Economic Strain, Time Control, And Perceived Autonomy In Life, Lorena E. Black

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Autonomy is often framed as an individual capacity rooted in personal choice, discipline, and self-determination, with dominant cultural narratives positioning freedom as something earned through effort and responsibility. This study challenges that assumption by examining autonomy as a socially structured and unequally distributed condition shaped by material and temporal constraints. Drawing on classical and contemporary sociological frameworks—including Marx’s analysis of labor and material dependence, Weber’s account of disciplined rationality, and Antonio Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony—this research positions perceived autonomy as an outcome produced through economic and institutional arrangements rather than solely through individual will. While existing literature has extensively …

Helping The Whole Heart, Aashna A. Shah

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

My service-learning project, “Helping the Whole Heart,” focuses on my second semester volunteering with Shepherd’s Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides free healthcare to uninsured and underinsured adults in Central Florida. The purpose of my project was to support the clinic while learning more about healthcare access, service, and community responsibility. During my shifts, I helped greet patients, check them in, prepare charts, organize paperwork, and assist the clinic team wherever I was needed. Through this experience, I learned that healthcare is about more than just medical treatment. It is also about patience, communication, compassion, and making patients feel respected. …

Eve's Apple, Deiadra Elliott

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

For our final project, we were asked to create or rewrite a fairy tale with a contemporary teenage audience in mind. We had to include gender studies, feminist theory or an approved theory of our own in our work. I chose to rewrite the fairy tale Snow White expanding on the religious themes included in the original work, for a darker, more gruesome tale that teenagers might enjoy. In my research so far, I more about the brothers Grimm and the background surrounding the Grimm's fairy tales. I learned about 19th century Germany, as well as the balance the country …

The Strength Of The Association Between Obesity And Mortality From Diabetes Among Adults In Florida, Diego A. Garcia, Jacob Bleasdale Phd,Ms,Ches, Cristobal Cintron Msc, Drph

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of preventable death across the United States, with obesity being directly tied to this condition as one of its most significant and modifiable risk factors. Although national-level evidence strongly supports this association, Florida-specific population data is still limited.

Methods: County-level adult obesity prevalence and age-adjusted diabetes mortality data were obtained directly from the Florida Health CHARTS website (FL DOH,2024) for all Florida counties. The Pearson correlation (r) was used to evaluate the strength of association between the variables

Results: A statistically significant, moderate-positive correlation was found between adult obesity rates …

Tracing Evolution Through Teeth: Dental Morphology Of The Lagoa Santa Fossil Population, Kelsey Aaron

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This study examines dental morphological variation among early South American populations, focusing on individuals from the Lagoa Santa region and coastal shellmound (sambaqui) populations in Brazil. Dental nonmetric traits were recorded using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS), a standardized method for assessing crown and root morphology across populations (Qaqa et al., 2026). These traits are highly heritable and largely unaffected by environmental pressures, making them valuable for reconstructing population history, gene flow, and ancestry (Tinoco et al., 2016). Comparative analysis incorporates global dental variation and reference patterns associated with archaic hominins, including Neanderthals. Traits such as increased …

Analyzing The Impact Of Ai Tool Type And Work Environment On Employee Productivity: A Multiple Linear Regression Analysis​, Katrina Gumerov, Alex Weninski, Victor Aviles

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

An assessment has been conducted to see how much AI tools and workplace conditions affect productivity using a multiple linear regression approach. This project looked at how different kinds of AI tools affect performance, as well as other things like commute time to work, employee well-being, and hours worked. The dataset was cleaned and restructured, and then the various AI tools were grouped into meaningful categories. After grouping the tools, an exploratory data analysis was conducted to look for trends. Finally, models were developed using multiple linear regression. For model selection, forward, backward, and stepwise model selection methods were used …

Drained Defenses: How Altered Hydrology Influences Invasive Plant Species Richness In Cypress Domes, Jamie M. Snider, Cori Mcwilliams, Natalia Knapp-Seale, Deborah Faerman

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Cypress domes are unique wetland ecosystems distinct in species biodiversity and hydrologic patterns which have become increasingly degraded from alteration of hydrology. These changes are made with little understanding about how this may affect plant communities and weaken a wetland’s resistance to invasive species, shifting its plant regimes. This study investigates how altered hydrology affects the presence of invasive species and may cause plant communities to shift by studying two cypress domes on UCF campus. Three 30 meter transects were established per wetland in random cardinal directions, with 70 cm quadrats placed every 6 meters for a total of 18 …

Analysis Of Azithromycin-Prevention In Labor Use Study, Emily Martinez, Roldine Questel, Willow Baldwin, Emma Coffman

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This group project was developed for the Health Sciences Seminar course. The purpose of this project was to analyze a clinical trial which evaluated the effectiveness of azithromycin in preventing pregnancy-related maternal sepsis or death. Azithromycin is a commonly prescribed, broad-spectrum oral antibiotic that is inexpensive and widely accessible; It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and may help prevent infection when used prophylactically. The study’s primary measurable outcomes were instances of maternal and neonatal death or sepsis within 6 weeks (42 days) postpartum. Based on the results, azithromycin was effective in preventing instances of sepsis maternally, but not within neonates. …

Coalition For The Homeless Of Central Florida Culture Audit, Daniel S. Torres, Ayushi Goswami, Emannuele Louis Jean, Logan Thompson, James Magdeburg

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

The project we did was a culture audit that evaluated the strength of the organization that is the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. We were able to learn about the way they lead and connect it to the leadership course we were taking. This whether it be through service or speaking to staff and the public, we were able to understand the way an organization could function. The coalition functions as an organization that prioritizes servitude to the public and relational ideals in between the staff. They also match what they say in both their mission and vission.

Women In Industrial Engineering Leadership And Barriers To Advancement, Fiorella Barney

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This research investigates how organizational and cultural barriers influence the advancement of women into leadership positions within industrial engineering. Despite being one of the more gender-balanced engineering disciplines at the entry level, industrial engineering remains largely male-dominated in leadership, and this project set out to understand why that gap persists and what sustains it.

To explore this question, I conducted a review of seven peer-reviewed sources organized around five themes: the scope of underrepresentation, organizational barriers, gendered workplace culture, early career pipeline effects, and attrition. I then conducted a qualitative, semi-structured interview with a woman who began her career as …

Analysis Of Workplace Attributes On Annual Income In The Technology Sector, Kyle J. Miller, Naddya Jannessa Favela, Kyle A. Carter

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Kratom Mixture On Cell Death In Cos-7 Cells Using Immunofluorescence, Hoa A. Nguyen

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

The purpose of this project was to visualize the cellular impact of Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa), a supplement commonly utilized for pain management and opioid withdrawal. The project investigated the effects of a 5% Kratom mixture on COS-7 monkey kidney cells. By using immunofluorescence, the cytoskeleton could be observed, and we can determine if Kratom could result in cellular failure.

In the immunofluorescence protocol, the cells were fixed in a methanol based solution to preserve position, while also permeabilizing the membranes with Triton X-100, and applying specific fluorophores. We used indirect staining for Tubulin (Red, Goat anti-mouse 568), direct staining for …

How Do The Interrogation Strategies Of Women Detectives Differ In Style And Efficacy From Their Male Counterparts?, Sarah M. Quinones

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This research proposal seeks to examine recorded interrogation footage and in-depth interviews of professional interrogators to analyze how their interrogation styles and efficacies differ between men and women. There is an imminent need for a reformed, standardized, and research-backed interrogation system to improve the efficacy and discriminatory habits of the justice system. The proposed hypotheses include:

• Transformational interrogation styles yield more cooperative and informative responses than transactional interrogation styles. 

• Because women’s interrogation styles more often align with transformational leadership patterns, their interrogations exhibit higher efficacies.

These hypotheses were drawn following an extensive literature review of the current academic contributions, both …

Examining Patient Safety Culture Trends In U.S. Healthcare Through A Multi-Year Analysis, Hassan Alabdullah

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Patient Safety Culture (PSC) is recognized as a cornerstone of healthcare quality and a key determinant of patient outcomes. Despite the Institute of Medicine’s early calls to establish safety-oriented systems, evidence on the long-term stability of PSC in U.S. hospitals has remained limited. This dissertation addresses this gap through a multi-year evaluation of PSC using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC v1.0) and advanced statistical methods. Drawing on one of the largest national datasets—comprising over 993,000 healthcare providers from 1,601 U.S. hospitals across three survey cycles (2013–2020)—the study employed a longitudinal repeated cross-sectional design. Analyses combined descriptive statistics, …

Variability In Parainfluenza Virus Derived From Persistently Infected Lung Epithelial Cells, Cassidy R. Conte

Honors Undergraduate Theses

An acute infection (AI) with RNA virus can progress to a persistent infection (PI) where infected cells continue to grow and replicate while producing progeny virions. PIs with respiratory viruses are clinically important, as they can lead to prolonged shedding of viruses and generation of mutant viruses that are altered in pathogenesis and/or immune responses. Parainfluenza type 5 (PIV5) is a prototypic RNA virus shown to cause PIs in cell culture. Plaques in tissue culture from an acute infection with parental PIV5 were homogeneous in size and shape. By contrast, plaques from PIV5 persistently infected cells were heterogeneous, having a …

Factors Related To Deviant Behavior, Chiara S. Popp

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Understanding the factors that contribute to deviant behavior across the life span remains an important goal in psychology and criminology. Guided by life course theory, the present study examined whether childhood trauma, social connectedness, perceived childhood socioeconomic status, and key life transitions are associated with deviant behavior in adulthood. The purpose of this research was to better understand how early life experiences and social relationships may shape behavioral outcomes later in life. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with adult participants in the United States, aged 18 to 55. Participants completed measures assessing adverse childhood experiences, perceived childhood socioeconomic status, …

Honor Of Culture, Gender Socialization And Behavioral Outcomes In College Students, Ana Maria Moreno Henriquez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Honor of culture is a culturally based concept that involves holding a strong defense for  the dignity and reputation on one’s family and self. This thesis focuses on the relationship between this honor of culture and gender socialization in the behavioral outcomes of college students, who are in a highly important learning phase of discovering their identity and independence from familial values. Participants were University of Central Florida (UCF) students who completed an online Qualtrics survey, which included an Honor of Culture Scale (Rodriguez Mosquera et al., 2016), Gender Role Beliefs Scale (Kerr & Holden, 1996), the Short Dark Triad …

Differing Circulating Microrna Profiles Of Long-Lived Polish Populations, Fabrizzio Lijeron-Herrera

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Exceptional longevity, defined as a lower biological age relative to chronological age and maintenance of functional capacity or a slowing of functional decline, is a phenotype most readily observed in centenarians and nonagenarians. These individuals exhibit a phenomenon known as compressed morbidity, spending substantially less time in poor health compared to younger elderly populations, thus representing a unique human model of delayed aging. Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs), potent post-transcriptional regulators of molecular pathways, have emerged as important modulators of aging-related pathways; however, no study has comprehensively profiled miRNAs from serum in long-lived individuals from Central Europe. In particular, Polish populations present …

The Role Of The Amygdala In Huntington Disease-Associated Aggression, Luis Torres

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Huntington disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by a trinucleotide CAG expansion in the huntingtin gene (HTT). HD is characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms that significantly impact patient and caregiver quality of life. Psychiatric symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and irritability, are common manifestations of HD and can emerge years before the onset is clinically diagnosed. Aggression is a common and challenging psychiatric symptom in HD, often misunderstood and associated with caregiver stress, early institutionalization, and reduced quality of life. Despite its clinical impact, aggression in HD lacks effective, targeted treatment options. Similar to HD …

Symbolic Racism And Punitive Policy Preferences In The First Quarter Of The Twenty-First Century, Anthony T. Fulinello

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Despite the decay in the acceptability of explicit racism brought about by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, implicit racism may continue to inform individual decision making even into the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Utilizing data from 25 years of the General Social Survey, this study examines how indicators of symbolic racism, a form of implicit racism, impact punitive policy preferences among the general United States population using separate logistic regression models isolating each indicator, plus a full model, for each outcome. Punitive policy preferences were operationalized as support for increased spending on crime prevention …

Computational Regolith Mechanics And Instrumentation Development For Lunar Exploration And Resource Utilization, Jared M. Long-Fox

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Sustained exploration of the Moon requires quantitative understanding of lunar regolith properties to support scientific investigation, in situ resource utilization, excavation, and infrastructure development. This dissertation examines the mechanical interaction between robotic excavation systems and lunar regolith, emphasizing how regolith behavior both enables and constrains exploration-focused and exploration-enabled science. Computational excavation models were compared to laboratory data to evaluate prediction of excavation forces and to develop metrics of excavation efficiency. Laboratory experiments using high-fidelity lunar regolith simulants were conducted to characterize pressure-sinkage behavior, shear strength, and angle of repose across a range of material states. Common analytical excavation and terramechanics …

The Investor Perspective Of Materiality, Sam Lessinger

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Often auditors are asked to adopt the reasonable investor perspective in their materiality evaluations however, there is no consensus regarding what investors deem to be material. This can lead to confusion in the markets. In fact, past studies have shown how taking an investor perspective can backfire and may result in more leniency and fewer misstatements being deemed material by auditors. This leniency can, potentially, result in financial statements that mislead investors. The aim of this paper is to address the reasonable investor perspective to achieve a more complete understanding of an investor’s viewpoint. This study also incorporates the effect …

The Adjustment Of Autistic First-Generation Students To Higher Education, Paris J. Cumba

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of the current study is to investigate how first-generation students on the autism spectrum adjust to higher education compared to their continuing generation and neurotypical peers through the lens of intersectionality. Previous research has studied how first-generation students and autistic students transition into college environments, but little research has explored how these identities intersect and affect college adjustment.

For this study, 189 undergraduate students completed a survey that measured different dimensions of college adjustment, such as academic motivation, self-efficacy, and current life satisfaction. ANOVA tests showed that there was no significant interaction between first-generation status and autism status …

The Role Of Alcohol Expectancies In The Relationship Between Social Anxiety And Protective Behavioral Strategies Among College Students, Jordan Ortman

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

College students with elevated social anxiety are at heightened risk for alcohol-related consequences despite not consistently reporting greater alcohol use. One potential explanation for this pattern is lower engagement in protective behavioral strategies (PBS). Social alcohol expectancies are relevant to PBS use because students with elevated social anxiety often expect alcohol to reduce social discomfort or facilitate social interaction, and these beliefs may correspond with lower use of strategies that constrain the pace or amount of drinking. The present study examined whether positive and negative social alcohol expectancies were intermediate variables in associations between social anxiety and three PBS domains: …

Critical Analysis Of Legal Education: Faculty Perspectives Of Law School's Role In Producing Practice-Ready Graduates, Sophia M. Akel

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Legal education has long been the subject of harsh, widespread criticism due to concerns about its ability to adequately prepare students for legal practice. Newer attorneys have reported feeling incapable of performing even the most basic functions of their job after graduation from law school (Merritt & Cornett, 2020). Despite this troubling reality, law schools largely continue to function as they always have (Cramton, 1981). To gain insight directly from important figures in legal academia, this study examined law faculty perceptions on legal education’s role in producing practice-ready graduates. A mixed-methods survey design incorporating both quantitative descriptive and qualitative elements …

The Role Of Personality Traits In The Relationship Between Executive Functioning And Identity Dimensions, Faith Alexander

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study examined the mediating role of personality traits on the relationship between executive functioning (EF) domains and dimensions of identity development. A cross-sectional, correlational design was utilized. 364 participants (MAge = 20.03, SD = 4.11) completed self-report measures of EF, personality, and identity. It was hypothesized that the Big 5 personality traits would mediate associations between EF components (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) and adaptive or maladaptive identity dimensions. Results indicated that conscientiousness partially mediated the relationship between working memory and identification with commitment, while fully mediating the relationship between working memory and commitment making, suggesting …

Passenger Pigeons, Dodos, Neanderthals, Jordan Alexander

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Passenger Pigeons, Dodos, Neanderthals is a short story collection rooted in Afrofuturism and Southern literature. Passenger Pigeons centers the experiences of queer Black American women in various settings, from Mars to rural Florida. The title story of the collection follows Teri, a human on Mars, attempting to integrate into a society of Martians who exoticize and tokenize her. In this story, I use science fiction as a vehicle to confront the microaggressions and overt racism people of color often experience in professional environments. “Rather Be the Devil,” is a fabulist story detailing the character Man’s journey to find his missing …