Digital Commons Network^™

Mental Health In Transnational Contexts: Reconsidering Conceptualizations, Coping Strategies, And Racism Through The Narratives Of Refugees Resettled In The United States, Ryeora Choe, Ryeora Choe

Sociology ETDs

This dissertation examines refugees’ mental health conceptualizations in their resettled contexts, their views on Western mental health services, and their perspectives on how changing experiences related to discrimination affect their mental health. Despite refugees’ social and cultural contexts changing multiple times, little is known about their views on and interactions with the dominant biomedical model of mental health in their country of resettlement and how their hybrid identities and experiences embedded in multiple locations affect their understanding of mental health and healing practices. A transnational framework emphasizing continuity between various locations and “in-between the designations of identity” across borders, and …

A Medieval Pirate's Life: The Role Of Piracy In Medieval Life Versus Its Role In Modern Historiography, Leah Lam

History ETDs

Medieval piracy is a mysterious phenomenon that is interwoven within the politics, culture, economic histories of the Middle Ages. Its presence throughout the Middle Ages is not questioned, yet it is rarely researched thoroughly. The subject of medieval piracy falls prey to the biases and assumptions that modern historians carry towards piracy as a whole, making the subject be under researched and improperly utilized. In this thesis, I will be highlighting the role that piracy played in medieval life and the way that modern historiography has neglected it. To do so thoroughly, I have pulled examples from different times, regions, …

"Azat, Ankakh, Artsakh": Music, Memory, And The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Sasha Linn Arteaga

Music ETDs

In this thesis, I examine a selection of music videos, from those created in 2015 at the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, to those created in response to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, considered by Armenians to be a continuation of the Armenian Genocide. To the Armenian people, Nagorno-Karabakh is part of their ethnic homeland and has maintained a majority-Armenian population and separatist government backed by the Republic of Armenia since the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. I apply a music-as-text approach in this thesis, examining these music videos through examination of the visual, musical, and lyrical elements. I then analyze these videos …

Of A Different Mind: The Early Schelling And Problems In The Philosophy Of Mind, Marcel Lebow

Philosophy ETDs

This dissertation concerns the intersection between the early thinking of the 19^th century German idealist F.W.J. Schelling and some of the problems within the contemporary philosophy of mind. I aim to show that a study of Schelling’s work illuminates research paths still left open to us today when confronting the problems surrounding the mind’s place in the world. I provide an overview of the trajectory of Schelling’s early thought. I argue that while Schelling’s philosophy changes during the course of his career, each of his positions is concerned with establishing a foundationalist monism. I criticize versions of his view …

Ecological Impacts Of Invasive Crayfish In A Naïve Riparian System, Gregor L. Hamilton

Biology ETDs

Aquatic and riparian food webs are inextricably linked. In deserts, they provide critical energy subsidies to surrounding terrestrial food webs, but these vital subsidies are not guaranteed; streams in arid lands are especially sensitive to perturbations. In this dissertation, I investigated the role of an oft-cited threat to stream communities in the lower Colorado River basin: non-native crayfish. I contributed to methodologies in passive integrated transponder use and length-weight relationships in crayfish to aid future research. I leveraged stable isotope analysis of δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, and δ²H to understand crayfish role in the food webs. …

Transcriptional Silencing Of Cdk18 And Its Role In Lung Carcinogenesis Of Brg1-Mutant Lung Cancers, Loryn M. Phillips

Biology ETDs

BRG1 is mutated in 10% of lung cancers, making this mutation clinically relevant. The downstream effects of BRG1 included significantly affecting the cell cycle control and chromosomal replication pathway. CDK18, a cyclin-dependent kinase, was determined to be the gene with significantly decreased expression (p < 0.0001) in the cell cycle control and chromosomal replication pathway. CDK18 is active during the S-phase of the cell cycle and required for genomic stability. Studies were conducted to determine the epigenetic mechanisms that contributed to the repression of CDK18. Histone methylation contributes to the repression of CDK18, and histone deacetylation globally regulates expression of CDK18, while cytosine methylation was found to not contribute to CDK18 expression. Studies were performed to elucidate CDK18 functional role lung carcinogenesis and the genome-wide impact of CDK18 repression. Repression of CDK18 affects cell migration, proliferation, cell-cell signaling, and anchorage-independent growth that contribute to cancer initiation and progression.

Femtotesla Magnetometry And Nanoscale Imaging With Color Centers In Diamond, Yaser Silani

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Intriguing photophysical properties of color centers in diamond make them ideal candidates for many applications from imaging and sensing to quantum networking. In the first part of this work, we have studied the silicon vacancy (SiV) centers in diamond for nanoscale imaging applications. We showed that these centers are promising fluorophores for Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy, owing to their photostable, near-infrared emission and favorable photophysical properties. In the second part, we built a femtotesla Radio-Frequency (RF) magnetometer based on the diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers and magnetic flux concentrators. We used this sensor to remotely detect Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance …

Disrupted Ambitions And Unmasked Identities: An Analysis Of Doubleness In Sylvia Plath’S The Bell Jar And Ralph Ellison’S Invisible Man In Cold War America, Laura Anderson

English Language and Literature ETDs

This thesis conducts a literary analysis on Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man (1952) and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963) with a primary investigation on the protagonists and their convergence of identity in Cold War America. One of the critical discourses evaluated throughout the project’s literary analysis includes the protagonists’ complications of doubleness. This essay argues that since these two texts sit between W.E.B DuBois’s “Double Consciousness” and Kimberlé Crenshaw’s 1988 theory on intersectionality, these protagonists are forced to contend with an identity crossroads. Secondary to the context of this analysis is the use of “post-war” and “Cold War,”; neither are …

Impacts Of Urban Renewal On Community Identity And Sense Of Place In Las Cruces, New Mexico, Savannah Lorraine Quintana-Eddins

Geography ETDs

Las Cruces is the second largest city in New Mexico which has experienced exponential growth in the last three decades. The city has been cultivated by a rich history of Native populations, Spanish colonialism, and American democratic government. The culmination of these influences on Las Cruces had much influence on the Mesquite Historic District, the original townsite of Las Cruces. This area is home to many generational families and is adjacent to the downtown Main Street corridor. Downtown was built from the destruction of the Mesquite Historic District caused by waves of urban renewal projects. Through organizing, legislative action and …

Coaching Student Clinicians And Parents To Use Naturalistic Communication Techniques For Children With Signs Of Autism, Erin M. Gallegos

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

In this study, researchers implemented a short-term cascading coaching program focusing on naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) with three participant triads consisting of a graduate student clinician, a minimally verbal child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or signs of ASD, and the child’s parent. The efficacy of several short-term instruction sessions, in-session coaching, and student clinician parent coaching was evaluated using a multiple baseline across interventionists design. The primary dependent variables were clinician and parent use of elicitation techniques, including creating communication temptations and prompting, and response techniques, including reinforcing child communication and using vocal models. Following targeting coaching, all …

To Seek Or Not To Seek? An Inquiry Into Feedback-Seeking Behavior Among Non-Clinical Healthcare Workers, Abigail R. Ortiz

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

Understanding what motivates non-clinical healthcare workers to seek feedback in the workplace is critical in supporting such behavior within organizations. This study aims to answer the following research question “Why do non-clinical healthcare workers seek feedback in the workplace?” To conduct this study, I analyzed 13 semi-structured interviews with non-clinical healthcare workers. Findings confirmed the presence of four self-motives (self-assessment, self-improvement, self-enhancement, and self-verification). Additionally, study findings highlighted the presence of other-oriented motives, when individuals seek feedback due to their concern or care for others (i.e., patients, teams, and supervisors). The research also illustrated the interplay of self- and other-oriented …

3d Speaker Geometry Inference From Digital Video Using 2d Projective Geometry, Sebastian Alonso Janampa Rojas

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The thesis discusses the need for a 3D world model reconstruction from raw video frames using 2D projective geometry. We propose a computer-aided approach to reconstructing a 3D speaker geometry from classroom videos of students learning Python.

The proposed method uses a transformer model to detect line candidates. Once the users identify lines corresponding to three orthogonal directions, the method computes the three vanishing points and the camera matrix. The method identifies the student’s mouths based on face landmark detection. After the estimates of the projections of the students’ mouths on the table are verified by the users, the proposed …

Trait Sadism In Bdsm Practitioners And Non-Practitioners, Marley Russell

Psychology ETDs

Sadism is an elusive construct within psychology. Multiple types are studied without clear psychometric or theoretical distinctions, and operationalizations of these respective sub-constructs lack validity. This study explores the empirical distinction between two sadism types: consensual sexual sadism (i.e. in the context of BDSM) and trait sadism. Trait sadism is widely synonymized with “everyday sadism”, but here conceptualized as a higher-order construct encompassing both everyday and a novel “prosocial sadism”. I develop and pilot the BDSM Identities and Behaviors (BIB) checklist in a sample of BDSM practitioners. I then compare those practitioners to non-practitioners on trait sadism and dark triad …

Zur Ästhetik Des Widerstands Im Afrodeutschen Theater: Am Beispiel Von Olumide Popoolas Also By Mail, Bertrand Collins Ngong M.A.

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

This research is titled On the Aesthetics of Resistance in Afro-German Theater: A Case Study of Olumide Popoola's Also by mail. The main purpose of this research is to show how Afro-German theater resists through creative processes on a symbolic and aesthetic level to address crucial challenges faced by the black minority in Germany. The play Also by mail by Nigerian-German playwright Olumide Popoola is an interesting example of this, as it is situated at the intersection of gender, race, and identity. Popoola’s engagement with the aesthetics of resistance provides a way to understand how Afro-German activism today uses …

Understanding The Behavior Of Upper Subcritical Limit Calculations, Bobbi Riedel

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

This research consists of two comparison studies: the first study employed standard practices to characterize Upper Subcritical Limit (USL) estimation methods. A series of 33 neutronic systems that used standardized nuclear data and benchmark libraries were studied to compare the Whisper, TSURFER, and USLSTATS methods relative to a stochastic USL. USLs were also estimated for these 20 systems using the Whisper 1.1 code. Sensitivity data files were produced using MCNP6.2 and then used with the ORNL TSURFER and USLSTATS methods to estimate USLs for a cross-method USL comparison. The results show that USLs for each of the loosely coupled system …

The Moveup Trial: Evaluating The Efficacy Of A Mobile Health App On Covid 19 Vaccine Uptake In Children, Dane G. Winter, Sarah Sanders, Eve Gronert, Sandra Beauman, Nicole Salazar, Elizabeth Kuan, Jessie Maxwell, Hengameh Raissy, Walter Dehority

2023 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Background: COVID-19 vaccines demonstrate excellent effectiveness against infection and symptomatic disease due to SARS-CoV-2. Vaccination in children is vital to lessen public health burden. While effectiveness of COVID vaccination is known, many families are hesitant to vaccinate their children. This can be attributed to multiple factors, one of which is trust in presented information. Vaccine hesitancy is seen more commonly in rural communities than in their urban counterparts. The Idea States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) established a mobile health app with information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to …

The Breathe Study: Bronchiolitis Recovery And The Use Of High-Efficiency Particulate Air (Hepa) Filters, Dane G. Winter, Sarah Sanders, Sandra Beauman, Elizabeth Kuan, Nicole Salazar, Hengameh Raissy, Kristin Raschke

2023 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Background: Acute viral bronchiolitis is the most common reason for hospitalization of infants less than 2 years of age in the United States with ~130,000 admissions per year. Numerous treatments have been evaluated to prevent symptoms and long-term respiratory effects in infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis, but no effective strategies have been identified to date. Air pollution is associated with respiratory symptoms and disease, most notably in sensitive populations, and is a key intervention target. Portable air cleaners utilizing HEPA filters are proven to reduce fine particulate matter and other air pollutants and have been associated with improvement in respiratory outcomes …

Investigating The Impact Of Skin To Skin Care On Preterm Infant Heart Rate Variability, Erin Swieter, Jessica M. Gross, Julia Stephen, Kristi Watterberg, Jessie Maxwell

2023 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Background: Kangaroo mother care (KMC), the act of placing a diaper-clad infant on his/her mother’s chest for continuous skin-to-skin contact, has been shown to be effective for thermal control, breastfeeding, and bonding in newborns. Skin-to-skin care, while similar to KMC, typically lasts for short periods of time and enhances breastfeeding, attachment and parental self-esteem; it has also been shown to be safe for both non-intubated and intubated preterm infants. Heart rate variability (HRV), a measurement of maturation of parasympathetic versus sympathetic activity, increases with gestational age and may be useful in capturing clinically relevant dynamic changes in autonomic regulation in …

Perspectives Of Sponsors And Home-Based Child Care Providers In New Mexico On Burdens And Benefits Of The Child And Adult Care Food Program, Monica Asencio Pimentel, Hailey Heinz, Darlene Castillo, Yoselin Cordova, Rebecca Fowler, Dana Bell, Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez

2023 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Background: Few studies have investigated factors influencing CACFP enrollment and participation from the perspectives of sponsors and home-based child care providers, and especially those serving rural, Spanish-speaking, and border communities. The aim of this study was to describe New Mexico (NM) CACFP sponsor and home-based child care provider perspectives on burdens and benefits of the CACFP program.

Methods: Eleven interviews with sponsor staff and 11 focus groups and 33 interviews with 75 predominantly Spanish-speaking home-based child care providers (enrolled/not enrolled in CACFP) in NM from August 2020-April 2022. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Home-based child care providers not …

Effect Of Recorded Maternal Voice On Quantitative Eeg In The Preterm Newborn, Meghan Groghan, Kate Cavanagh, Dawn Novak, Aaron Cardon

2023 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Background: Despite continued advances in quality medical care for premature infants, neurodevelopmental delay remains one of the most common complications of prematurity. It is also known that early diagnosis and intervention for developmental delays leads to improved outcomes. More recently, quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) has shown potential as a prognostic tool for identifying delays in preterm infants but remains an underutilized assessment. Maternal voice exposure has positive effects on autonomic stability and feeding vigor/tolerance in preterm infants. This novel study aims to investigate the effects of recorded maternal voice on qEEG patterns in preterm neonates.

Methods: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial …

Non-Abstinent Recovery In Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention: Exploring Mechanisms Of Change And Social Moderators, David I.K Moniz-Lewis

Psychology ETDs

Recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) is heterogeneous by nature. Yet, over the last 50 years, substance use treatment providers and researchers have often defined success as sustained abstinence from substances. An often overlooked but equally valid pathway to recovery for persons with SUD is non-abstinent recovery. However, the majority of the literature on non-abstinent recovery exists for individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) with little empirical inquiry into non-abstinent recovery for other types of SUD. Additionally, there is also no known literature, to date, that explores the mechanisms that lead to non-abstinent recovery for individuals who have engaged in …

Evaluation Of The Dynamic Vision Sensor’S Photoreceptor Circuit For Infrared Event-Based Sensing, Zinah M. Alsaad

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

For space surveillance applications, neuromorphic imaging is being studied as it may perform sensing and tracking tasks with less power and downstream datalink demand. The read-out of the event-based camera is made to only be sensitive to changes in the signals it receives from the photodetector, which results in a datastream of events indicating where and when changes in illumination occur. This is in contrast to the conventional framing camera, which produces images by essentially counting the electrons produced by light incident on each pixel’s photodetector. These cameras are commercially available with siliconbased detectors for applications involving visible wavelengths. However, …

Chance Constrained Stochastic Optimal Control Of Discrete Time Linear Stochastic Systems With Applications In Multi-Satellite Operations, Shawn Priore

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Stochastic disturbances arise in a variety of engineering applications. For tractability, Gaussian disturbances are often assumed. However, this may not always be valid, such as when a disturbance exhibits heavy-tailed or skewed phenomena. As autonomous systems become more ubiquitous, non-Gaussian disturbances will become more common due to the compounding effects of sensing, actuation, and external forces. Despite this, little has been done to develop formal methods that are both computationally efficient and allow for analytical assurances with non-Gaussian disturbances. Addressing convex polytopic set acquisition and non-convex collision avoidance chance constraints with quantile and moment-based reformulations, this dissertation proposes novel stochastic …

Long-Term Human Participation Detection Using A Dynamic Scene Analysis Model, Wenjing Shi

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

The dissertation develops new methods for assessing student participation in long (>1 hour) classroom videos. First, the dissertation introduces the use of multiple image representations based on raw RGB images and AM-FM components to detect specific student groups. Second, a dynamic scene analysis model is developed for tracking under occlusion and variable camera angles. Third, a motion vector projection system identifies instances of students talking.

The proposed methods are validated using digital videos from the Advancing Out-of-school Learning in Mathematics and Engineering (AOLME) project. The proposed methods are shown to provide better group detection, and better talking detection at …

Data-Driven Stochastic Optimal Control Using Hilbert Space Embeddings Of Distributions, Adam J. Thorpe

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Autonomous systems are increasingly being deployed in complex environments subject to real-world uncertainty. For such systems, it may be exceptionally difficult or even impossible to compute a simple mathematical model of the system--for instance due to the presence of human elements, complex mechanics or system dynamics, or learning-enabled components. Data-driven control has recently gained significant attention in this area, where observations taken from the system evolution are used to compute an implicit representation of the system that is amenable to analysis and control. However, data-driven algorithms for control present new challenges, and require new insights to enable their use. The …

Menetekel: Ishmael's Black Whale And The Semiotics Of Doom, Todd Tyner Cronkhite

English Language and Literature ETDs

This study employs the narrator of Moby Dick, Ishmael, as a focal critic to interpret several potential examples of ominous writing on the wall, or menetekel. It concludes that the message of such writing, owing primarily to its irrevocably deictic relationship with the surface it is written on, is fundamentally apocalyptic in nature, regardless of its explicit content. The physical walls of the “kingdom” are incorporated into the grammar of the menetekel as object, so that its elemental message, “I was here,” becomes not only an admission of criminal trespass, but also a direct threat to the current order and …

Sample Questions Formulated By Medical Students For Block Assignment, Jonathan Eldredge, Melissa A. Schiff, Jens O. Langsjoen

Publications

Medical students in the Quantitative Medicine Block completed an Evidence Based Practice (EBP) assignment worth 10% of the final Block grade. The question formulation segment was worth 50% of the assignment score. Students received instructions with an designated subject and some parameters for developing their own EBP questions using the rubric. This supplementary material offers some noteworthy formulated student questions.

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of New Mexico Charter Leaders Through The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nadine T. Torres

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus has impacted the educational landscape in unbelievable ways. The changes to the learning environment in schools required leaders to obtain and exercise different competencies. New Mexico charter leaders are leading in the new normal of public education. With the additional roles, requirements, and expectations brought on by the pandemic, leaders cannot return to their prior leadership practices. The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand and give voice to the lived experiences of NM charter leaders working through the COVID-19 pandemic. The narrative of the participants highlighted four major themes: …

Seeking And Obtaining Services: The Perspectives Of Caregivers Of Children With Asd In Rural New Mexico, Brandon Rennie, Emily Andrews, Elisheva Levin, Monica Asencio-Pimentel, Ann Branscum

2023 Pediatric Research Forum Session

Many large-scale investigations have identified racial, ethnic, and geographic disparities in access to intervention and services for ASD. However, the mechanisms sustaining these disparities have received much less attention. Moreover, little attention has been given to methods to reduce disparities, increase health equity, and improve long-term outcomes. The overall objective of this study was to describe the perspectives of caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) living in rural New Mexico on their experiences obtaining services following a diagnosis. To do so, we conducted a qualitative study using a grounded theory approach to interview 9 caregivers of children with …

B-Cell Monoclonal Antibodies For Management Of Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Cost Effectiveness Analysis, Sarah Glover

Pharmaceutical Sciences ETDs

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease in which the central nervous system’s myelin sheath is degraded by auto-immune cells. Relapse remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) is the most common MS phenotype, accounting for ~85% of new diagnoses. Disease modifying therapies (DMTs) are used in RRMS to reduce the frequency of relapses and prevent disability progression. The present study performed a cost effectiveness analysis of three B-cell depleting monoclonal antibody DMTs: ocrelizumab, ofatumumab and rituximab, in comparison to commonly utilized interferon beta-1a (IFN-B1a). A Markov model was created to determine the impact of selected DMTs on the number of …