Digital Commons Network^™

Spatializing The Tax Code: Using Property Records To Locate The Fiscal Face Of Rentiership, Michael J. Mccanless

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation analyzes how the tax code shapes housing financialization in mid-sized US cities. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates critical computational analysis with qualitative fieldwork in Memphis, I examine the role of public rent-seeking in shaping housing financialization in U.S. cities. The first article analyzes the property tax appeal strategies of corporate landlords and their implications for public revenues and municipal budgets. The second article explores how the IRS 1031 exchange provision—which allows for capital gains deferrals when the proceeds of a property sale are reinvested in a ‘like-kind’ property—facilitates the movement of capital from high-cost coastal markets into …

Making Slums Legible, Visible And Calculable: Geospatial Technologies And The Governance Of Urban Land In Mumbai, Sanjana Krishnan

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation examines how geospatial technologies are used to make slums in Mumbai legible, calculable, and hypervisible, and how these practices reshape urban land governance. It situates mapping, remote sensing, and algorithmic systems within their political-economic contexts, showing how technologies intending to see the city often function as instruments of dispossession. The research has three interconnected empirical chapters. The first empirical chapter traces the history of slum mapping in Mumbai, from their absences in early development plans to their selective hypervisibility under the contemporary governance regimes. Using critical cartographic methods, it highlights how novel technologies such as remote sensing, biometric …

Yaoi Lesbians: Media, Identity, And Desire, Olivia Marquardt

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Media consumption reflects aspects of identity while also assisting in identity formation (Koller, 2008; Zemmels, 2012; Wu, 2006). This thesis examines the phenomenon of lesbians who engage with men-loving-men (MLM) media. The practice seems odd due to the contrast of lesbians desiring women for their social, platonic, romantic, and sexual relationships, but this thesis finds that repeated consumption of media that display men and their desires can index lesbianism. This practice helps lesbians construct their identities through three processes of indexicality: indexical disjuncture, indexical bleaching, and indexical denial (Barrett & Hall, 2024). Through a discourse analysis of five semi-constructed interviews …

Trashing Gender Scripts: Indexical Misrecognition In The Zine "Galatea's Naked", Jules Blank

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Zines, short for ‘fanzines’ or ‘magazines,’ refer to physical, printed, self-published creations that can consist of a single sheet of paper or many, fastened together. These artifacts are rich with meaning—and, thus, can be read as tangible manifestations of the ideologies and identities of the creator(s).

This thesis focuses on the way zines are used as tools of resistance. Additionally, it shows that the creation and circulation of zines are highly pragmatic acts that solidify social bonds and enable individuals to perform and reinforce their emergent identities within a collective—explicitly making a claim about who they are and what they …

Paratum Fuit: Double Perfect Marking In Classical Latin Passives, James F. Epperson Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Despite thousands of years of study, certain constructions in Latin remain insufficiently described in modern Latin linguistics. One such construction is the double perfectum, an analytic verbal construction comprising the perfect passive participle and a perfectum forms of the auxiliary esse. These forms are rare, largely absent from educational Latin materials, and receive limited attention in scientific descriptions of Latin, often focusing on their evolution into the modern Romance verbal systems. Pinkster (2015) identifies them within a broader class of resultative constructions, but acknowledges their inconsistent usage. Earlier scholars, such as Riemann (1927), interpreted them as stative, while others, like …

Shaping A City: Municipal Housekeeping, Civic Activism, And Urban Environmentalism In Progressive Era Louisville Through The Women’S City Club, Amy J. Malventano

Theses and Dissertations--History

At the turn of the twentieth century, rapid industrialization and urban expansion transformed American cities, creating urgent challenges in governance, public health, and environmental management. In response, women across the United States extended their domestic expertise into the public sphere, spearheading initiatives to improve sanitation, waste disposal, and urban infrastructure. This dissertation examines the Louisville Women’s City Club (LWCC) as a case study of municipal housekeeping, demonstrating how middle-class women used their traditional roles to influence systemic reform in Louisville, Kentucky. By bridging gender history, urban environmentalism, and Progressive Era activism, this study reveals how the LWCC shaped public policy …

“A True And Broad Sympathy:” Thomas Hughes, Medievalism, And Social Justice In The Nineteenth Century, Sarah E. Stapleton

Theses and Dissertations--History

Thomas Hughes, author of Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857), used medievalism to help solve social problems of the Nineteenth Century. This contravenes the traditional view of medievalism, especially Anglo-Saxonism, since others have used it to justify the subjugation of people of lower social status, namely the poor in England, enslaved African Americans in the United States, and Indians under British rule.

While the use of medievalism is veiled in Hughes’ work, the subtext of Tom Brown’s Schooldays demonstrated Hughes’ Anglo-Saxonism. Tom Brown and the intertextual material surrounding his narrative exhibit the characteristics of Anglo-Saxonism through cultural primitivism, the concept of allodial, …

Applied Essays In Industrial Organization: Pricing In Short-Term Rental Markets And Policy Implications In Tobacco Consumption, Richard J. Applin

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

Economics 101 teaches that the interaction between supply and demand determines the prices and quantities consumers face. In econometric research, it is critical to remain aware of this canonical fact, as failure to do so can introduce bias in the estimation of economic parameters. This dissertation empirically demonstrates the importance of factoring in economic structure in three applied essays.

In the first essay, I estimate the impact of rating visibility on Airbnb pricing using a two-way fixed effects model. To do so, I primarily rely on an instrumental variables approach that I argue should identify a supply-side relationship. I provide …

Understanding The Impact Of The Medicaid Expansion On Hospital Length Of Stay And Emergency Department Use In Kentucky, Cameron Bushling

Theses and Dissertations--Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Three related analyses were performed to try to understand the immediate effects of Medicaid expansion on hospital systems in Kentucky. Medicaid expansion led to a large, sudden increase in the number of individuals eligible for various health care needs. This sudden increase in demand for health services lead to initial hypotheses regarding hospitals’ ability to handle this demand. The first analysis examined hospital average length of stay (LOS) using a linear mixed-effects model. Length of stay was modeled longitudinally between 2013 and 2015 to determine if significant changes in the slope of LOS could be detected after expansion (2014). Separate …

Ideals And Idealization: Responding To Rawls And His Critics, Clayton J. Houdeshell

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

In A Theory of Justice, John Rawls argues that any participant taking on the role as impartial spectator in his original position thought experiment would select “justice as fairness” as the most reasonable theory of justice to reorganize a basic structure’s system of institutions and public rules. In this dissertation it is my aim to outline seven criticisms of the Rawlsian account related to his method of ideal theory, the rationality and values of the impartial spectator, the instilment of a particular conception of the good and an aversion to non-liberal theories, and argue that each of them fail to …

Hannah Arendt As Hermeneutic Phenomenologist: Natality And The Miracle Of Philosophy, Andrew H. Marquis

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

I argue that Hannah Arendt practiced hermeneutic phenomenology in the canonical mode of her mentor, Martin Heidegger. Hermeneutic phenomenology is not a philosophical school defined by methods, results, or topics. It is a practice of transformative thinking by which we work through the burdens of who and how we have been towards the possibilities of who and how we could be. Heidegger, burdened by the scientism of his philosophical milieu, articulated this practice not by rejecting scientistic philosophies outright but by interpretively recovering their most promising tendencies.

Though seldom recognized as a hermeneutic phenomenologist, Arendt’s philosophical response to Nazism reveals …

Internalism, Externalism, And The Phenomenology Of Epistemic Justification, Steven Winterfeldt

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

This dissertation applies a phenomenological method of analysis to the dispute between analytic internalists and externalists regarding epistemic justification. Traditionally, the justification condition on knowledge has been interpreted as an internal condition, but the growing popularity of the externalist antithesis has placed internalism on the defensive. Ultimately, however, the dispute appears to have fallen into an impasse. I identify a set of four arguments or cases that, when taken together, prompt us to adopt a set of contradictory conclusions about the necessary and sufficient conditions for justified belief. Moreover, none of the analytic views of justification surveyed seem to be …

Towards A Sociological Theory Of Consent And Coercion In Sexual Violence Against Women, Lisa Kistler

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Recent data estimate that 26.8% of adult women in the U.S. have experienced rape in their lifetime. In this context, the phrase “consent to sex” is a prominent narrative countering sexual violence. Yet, there is no consensus on the meaning of consent, nor how the practice of consent is affected by coercion, resulting in a puzzle of consent. In response, the present project brings together existing research and theory to conceptualize consent and coercion in new ways. It asks, broadly, how do different forms of coercion complicate sexual consent and contribute to sexual violence against women today and answers this …

An Autonomous Robotic Inspection System For Underground Mines Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs), Kiazoa M. Joao

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Underground mining environments pose unique safety challenges for workers due to poor visibility, unstable ground conditions, and the absence of GPS signals. To adhere to safety and health standards, underground mines are required to perform safety inspections regularly. Conventional safety inspections require personnel to enter the hazardous environment, highlighting the need for a safer, remote alternative. The use of UAVs for safety inspection in underground mines is a somewhat novel idea but has shown great promise. While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) cannot eliminate all hazards associated with mining, they provide critical support by accessing hazardous or restricted zones that are …

Analysis Of Dynamic And Final Surface Subsidence Movements Over Subcritical Panels In The Eastern Us, Mauricio Parra Valencia Sr

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Subsidence prediction is a critical field in mining engineering, focusing on anticipating ground movements caused by underground coal extraction. Accurately forecasting these movements is essential for protecting surface structures and infrastructure from damage. However, despite extensive research by mining professionals worldwide, reliable prediction remains challenging, especially in complex environments like subcritical mining areas and locations characterized by highly variable topography. These conditions introduce non-linear rock mechanics that often complicate the application of traditional predictive models. This thesis utilizes measured subsidence data related to the extraction of two adjacent longwall panels in a deep coal mine in the eastern US to …

Analysis Of Ptfe Radial Lip Seals For Wheel Bearing Applications, Madison Vogt

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

A numerical analysis was conducted to investigate the viscoelastic effects of nonlinear materials on the sealing zone and contact pressure distribution of radial lip seals in a conventional geometric topology. The use of nonlinear materials in radial lip seal applications is desirable to improve operation and reliability of rotating machinery due to their high operating temperatures, chemical compatibility, and low friction coefficients. Examples include, but are not limited to, seals within industrial air compressors, turbine engines, aircraft landing systems, chemical processing equipment, and Freon pumps. This work focuses on analyzing the nonlinear viscoelastic response of pure Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and PTFE …

Simplified Molecular Diagnostics Methods For Environmental Testing Of Pathogens And Other Applications, Mohammad Dehghan Banadaki

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Environmental Surveillance (ES) has emerged as a powerful tool to monitor the emergence and persistence of a pathogen within a facility or community using wastewater/water analysis. Over the past four years, implementation of ES has experienced an explosive acceleration, driven by efforts to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2, which has made ES a routinely used public health tool in many locations. We can now use ES to measure the emergence/presence/abundance of different viruses (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, influenza, mpox), bacteria (e.g., E. coli, V. cholerae, antibiotic-resistant strains), fungi (e.g., C. auris), and other biological markers indicative of infectious diseases. However, its broad …

In Situ Bourbon Barrel Measurements Of Alcohol By Volume And Liquid Depth Using Borosilicate Glass Probes And Near Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy, Trent T. Reed

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

In pursuit of measuring different variables present in bourbon barrels, absorption spectroscopy was utilized to ensure that different ethanol and water concentrations can be differentiated using a broadband light source and near infrared spectrometer in a simple cuvette-based testing setup. The intensity and absorption plots gathered of different ethanol and water mixtures were then analyzed using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) to break down the data into modes which represent specific variables of interest, specifically ethanol concentration or alcohol by volume (ABV). The modes were then utilized to find mode constants to represent the data taken from cuvette samples which were …

In-Situ Informed Modeling And Characterization Of Friction And Built-Up Edge In Machining Of Aerospace Alloys, Avery Hartley

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Machining is by no means a new manufacturing process. However, it is separated from other traditional deformation processes by its extreme temperatures and strain rates. The function and life of a multitude of products and mechanical components are dependent on the material properties induced by changing the surface through machining. Furthermore, the tools used within machining are often expensive and material reserves are sparse. The understanding the mechanics of the machining process, especially related to the friction of the tool and workpiece, helps to further the life of tools and parts to minimize economic and environmental impact.

Current friction modeling …

Engineering A Novel Solvent Regenerator That Leverages Electrochemically Induced Ph Swings For Direct Air Capture And Hydrogen Generation, Emmanuel Aluhunmile Ohiomoba

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Direct Air Capture (DAC) is considered to be a key component for achieving global net-negative emissions. However, to capture CO₂ at the low concentrations in the atmosphere requires materials with high affinity for CO₂. This makes the solvent-based chemical approach for DAC more applicable compared to physical approaches. Nonetheless, regenerating the capture solvent presents a significant challenge due to high heat requirements for thermal decomposition of carbonates. Leveraging electrochemical principles provides an opportunity to simplify the regeneration process, thus, this work focuses on engineering an electrochemical solvent regenerator for recovering alkaline solvents for DAC, with co-production of …

Machining-Induced Residual Stress Modeling Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks, Md Mehedi Hasan

Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Process-induced residual stress (RS) plays a critical role in determining the structural integrity, fatigue life, corrosion resistance, and dimensional stability of manufactured components. Tensile residual stress can be harmful to the machined workpiece by lowering fatigue strength, while compressive residual stress helps to prevent such issues. Therefore, accurate prediction and control of machining-induced residual stresses are essential for optimizing manufacturing processes and enhancing component performance. However, existing modeling approaches—empirical, analytical, and numerical—often have limited predictive accuracy, demand extensive calibration, or involve high computational costs. Traditional finite element analysis (FEA) provides modeling insights but is constrained by its high computational cost …

Cultivating Hegemony: Cultural Engineering And The Art Of Power Maintenance In Military Movies, Samuel Lockridge

Theses and Dissertations--Arts Administration

This research explores how the United States military’s assistance to film productions can be better classified and understood as a form of cultural policy. There is a significant gap in the existing cultural policy research concerning interventions into the arts and culture by the military aimed at influencing the thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes of the population. The degree to which the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) long partnership with the film industry should even be considered “cultural policy” remains an open, and largely unexamined question. This dissertation presents an exploratory multiple case study of two films which received DoD production …

The Dying Swan: How To Predict And Evaluate The Survival Rate And Longevity Of Small Dance Companies In The United States, Evemarie N. Bessenbach

Theses and Dissertations--Arts Administration

Smaller dance organizations are an integral component of the arts and culture sector in the United States, making valuable artistic, economic, and social contributions despite limited resources. They provide employment for professional artists, contribute to a region’s economic vitality, and increase accessibility to quality arts-related programming. However, there are numerous professional dance companies that have permanently closed these past ten years alone, such as Dance Theatre of Tennessee, Ballet Theatre of Indiana, and Missouri Ballet Theatre, to just name a few—all of which can be considered smaller dance organizations.

The purpose of this interdisciplinary, exploratory study is to address the …

Holding Space For Two Truths: Thematic Analysis Of Speech Language Pathologists’ And Teachers’ Philosophies And Practices In Reading Comprehension, Ryan Foote

Theses and Dissertations--Communication Sciences and Disorders

Introduction: Reading is a doorway to life participation. Only about one-third of fourth graders have read at grade level for the last three decades. Multiple views on what constitutes skilled reading emphasize decoding and greater variability among comprehension-related skills. Scarborough’s Reading Rope is the most specific in defining discrete skills necessary for adequate reading comprehension. This study aims to understand how elementary-level general education teachers and speech-language pathologists define “reading comprehension” and describe their practices in assessing and developing these skills. Methodology: Elementary school speech-language pathologists and teachers were interviewed about their conceptualizations and applications of the discrete skills in …

Zebrafish Models To Uncover Targetable Mechanisms Of Self-Renewal In T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Majd Al-Hamaly

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Relapsed T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) patients have dismal prognosis, with 5-year overall survival rates of 10% for adults and 36% for children. Relapse is attributed to the inability of chemotherapy agents to eliminate Leukemia Stem Cells (LSCs) that can repopulate the leukemia. Those cells exist with a unique genetic, transcriptomic, and metabolic profile compared to the rest of the leukemia and thus, finding targeted therapies toward this population of cells can result in disease eradication and elimination of relapse. However, investigating LSCs is challenging-particularly in T-ALL- for two reasons: 1) the lack of robust surface markers that define LSCs …

Cell-Type Specific Apoe4 To Apoe2 ‘Switching’ In Astrocytes And Microglia Alters Alzheimer’S Disease Neuropathology, Lesley R. Golden

Theses and Dissertations--Physiology

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD). APOE exists in three common protein isoforms throughout the population: ApoE2 (E2), ApoE3 (E3), and ApoE4 (E4). While APOE allele frequencies and the degree of AD-associated risk vary across different ethnic groups, when compared to the ‘neutral’ and most common E3 allele, the E4 allele confers up to a 33-fold increase in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) risk. Conversely, the neuroprotective E2 allele decreases AD risk by up to 67%. Here, we aimed to determine the therapeutic potential of cell-type specific APOE allele ‘switching’ and explore …

Development And Clinical Validation Of Automated Same-Day Stereotactic Treatment Procedures For Multiple Brain Metastases And Recurrent Head And Neck Cancers, Shane Mccarthy

Theses and Dissertations--Radiation Medicine

As technology advances, more and more cancer patients are benefiting from the use of stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy (SRS/SRT) to treat their disease. One such technology, Varian’s HyperArc high-definition radiosurgery module, a tool to help facilitate the treatment of brain metastases on a medical linear accelerator (LINAC), has been demonstrated to achieve comparable low dose spillage and target conformity compared to the current gold standard for intracranial malignancies, the Elekta Gamma Knife. Furthermore, due to HyperArc’s single-isocenter multiple lesion approach, the treatment can be delivered in a significantly shorter amount of time. Unfortunately, the manual process of creating these stereotactic …

Exportin 1 Is The Central Hub In Antiviral Defensive Mobilization Of Nuclear Factors And The Target Of Counter-Defence By Tombusviruses, Biao Sun Dr.

Theses and Dissertations--Plant Pathology

Positive-strand RNA viruses, such as coronaviruses and flaviviruses, are obligate parasites whose genomic RNAs function as mRNAs. These viruses infect a wide range of hosts-including plants, animals, and humans-resulting in significant economic losses and posing serious threats to public health. Due to the relatively simple structure of the genome of positive-strand RNA viruses, many host factors and physiological processes are co-opted to support virus infection and replication. In our previous studies, we identified numerous host factors and associated physiological processes involved in the replication of tombusviruses, a cytosolic-replicating model that includes tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) and carnation Italian ringspot …

Gene Expression In Relation To Bone Fractures In Throughbred Racehorses, Anna M. Rauber-Ramos

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

Evidence that fractures in Thoroughbred racehorses are outcomes of chronic bone microdamage has led to extensive research into identifying horses at increased risk of fracture. This includes the use of biomarkers and messenger RNA (mRNA) as a measure of bone turnover. Previous research has found expression differences in horses with fractures compared to controls. Utilizing pre-race whole blood samples collected over an 18-month period from Thoroughbred racehorses in Southern California, RNA-sequencing was conducted on horses with bone fractures and race-matched controls to identify differences in gene expression. Focusing on third metacarpal (MC3) and proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fractures, differentially expressed …

Engineering Novel Biomimetic Models Of Equine Host-Microbe Interactions, Lynn M. Leedhanachoke

Theses and Dissertations--Veterinary Science

One major limitation to the study of equine disease is the lack of in vitro models that accurately reflect the dynamic physiology of the horse. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop in vitro systems that recapitulate diverse equine tissue and organ microenvironments. To overcome this deficiency, we developed multiple biomimetic equine organoid systems that can be employed for a variety of investigations aimed at resolving outstanding questions in infectious disease pathogenesis, therapeutic development and drug metabolism, host defense mechanisms, immune-modulated disease, and equine developmental biology. Our innovative platform incorporates novel equine intestinal enteroid and airway organoid models derived …