Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing Sensitivity And Correlation Coefficients From Mcnp And Whisper To Guide Microreactor Experiment Design, Alexis Maldonado

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

When designing experiments for full-scale reactor systems, MCNP and Whisper can be used to create neutronic models and compare the similarity of two nuclear systems via correlation coefficients for 𝑘𝑒𝑓𝑓, effective multiplication factor. This thesis applies this framework to a conceptual heat-pipe, yttrium-hydride moderated microreactor system and experiments. The framework is intended as a supplement to other neutronics/thermal/multiphysics analyses and provides a concrete method to measure the neutronic similarity of two systems. By analyzing the shared nuclear data uncertainty, as well as sensitivity to nuclear data over all neutron energies, highly informative experiments can be designed to aid in the …

Whose Body Is Deserving: Discourse, Power, And Ideologies Concerning Non-Normative Bodies On Instagram, Misty Thomas

English Language and Literature ETDs

This dissertation uses FCDA to investigate the construction and control of the boundaries of normativity as they relate to the body. Data in the form of comments was collected from three different Instagram accounts run by individuals with non-normative bodies. From the data, I argue that not only are non-normative bodies controlled through the coded language of health, but through racialized dehumanization. Even alleged demonstrations of support are problematized through what is being supported. The Instagram comments left on the accounts of non-normative bodies demonstrates that these bodies are suppressed as a way to maintain normative ideologies.

Making Space For Central American Diasporic Decolonial Imaginaries: An Autoethnography Of A 1st Generation Central-American-American, Melisa N. Garcia

English Language and Literature ETDs

This autoethnography argues that alternative discourses are necessary to give voice to non-dominant narratives and to engage with underrepresented identities and experiences. I use the frameworks of constellating identities and decolonial imaginaries to explore the narratives of my Central American immigrant parents and my own first generation Central American-American experiences. Specifically, I examine a graphic narrative and multimodal installation that I created in order to discover enacted constellating identities that are not fixed but disbursed and change over time. I also describe the decolonial imaginaries, the “third spaces” that are created from the lived experiences of underrepresented individuals, made visible …

The Role Of Affect And The Autonomic Nervous System (Ans) In Visuospatial Learning And Set-Shifting: Modulating Cardiac Vagal Tone Through Heart Rate Variability (Hrv) Biofeedback To Improve Cognitive Performance, Breannan C. Howell

Psychology ETDs

The fields of psychology and neuroscience have found an interconnection between the autonomic nervous system (ANS), affect, and cognitive performance. Heart rate variability (HRV) may be a useful index of this relationship, representing the regulatory processes that facilitate adapting to emotions and environments to modulate mood and executive function. The current project consists of a series of experiments to investigate the relationship between trait affect, HRV, learning, and set-shifting performance. In the first experiment associations are found between negative affectivity, HRV, and set-shifting performance during an attentional set-shifting variant of the Virtual Morris Water Task (VMWT). Participants that exhibited both …

Living Between The Lines: How Japanese Crafts Taught Frank Lloyd Wright, Adolf Loos, And Eileen Gray To See Modern Domestic Space, Regina Nabil Emmer

Art & Art History ETDs

Histories of European and U.S. modernism conventionally accept that Enlightenment rational thought set modern architecture’s terms and criteria in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Rationalism privileges visual and material properties; distinguishes between art, architecture, and craft; and identifies space with the structure that frames it. It normalized the view that buildings stand fixed, independent of our interaction with them, and perpetuates assumptions about what physically defines domestic space. Consequently, Japan’s significance for modern domestic space in Europe and the U.S. has been interpreted as structurally evident. Simultaneously, the architecture of European and U.S. modernists who did not think like rationalists …

Reliability Of Quantum Simulation On Nisq-Era Devices, Karthik R. Chinni

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

We study the reliability of quantum simulation on Noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ)-era devices in the presence of errors and imperfections, with a focus on exploring the relationship between the properties of the system being simulated and the errors in the output of the simulator. We first consider simulation of the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick (LMG) model, which becomes chaotic in the presence of a background time-dependent perturbation. Here we show that the quantities that depend on the global structure of the phase space are robust, while other quantities that depend on the local trajectories are fragile and cannot be reliably extracted from the …

Improving Photosynthetic Efficiency In Microalgae Through The Genetic Engineering Of Energy Sensors And Photoreceptors, Taylor L. Britton

Biology ETDs

Through photosynthesis microalgae can convert sunlight, water, and CO₂ into chemical energy that can be used to generate carbon neutral biofuels and biomass. With an ever-increasing demand and need for petroleum substitutes it is imperative that we improve the output of industrial-relevant crops such as microalgae. One important way of improving output in algae is by understanding the roles that stress and energy conversion is regulated in these organisms. Photosynthetic organisms fundamentally depend on light- and sugar-driven metabolic and signaling networks, which integrate environmental cues to govern and sustain growth and survival. SnRKs (SNF1-related protein kinases) and the photoreceptor …

Comparing An Evidence-Based Screening Tool To Standard Substance Abuse Screening Questions In Identifying Pregnant Women At Risk For Substance Abuse, Nicole Y. Romero

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

The purpose of the study project was to compare a nonspecific substance screening questionnaire with a well validated, evidence-based substance screening tool designed specifically for the pregnant population Evidence has shown use of an evidence-based screening tool improves maternal and fetal outcomes and reduces the risk of missed cases, stereotyping, and stigma. This study project utilized the social learning theory model, which defines human behavior as a reciprocal, continuous interaction among cognitive, behavioral, and environmental determinants. A pilot observational study project was conducted within a focal organization in a specified women’s health clinic over a 12-week period comparing their currently …

Zero-Power Ac Current Sensor, Omar Aragonez

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

In this study, a magnetic piezoelectric cantilever powered AC current and frequency sensor is proposed. This paper covers the configuration of the experimental setup, finite element modeling of the magnetic coupling, and the optimal spatial location of the magnetic proof mass in relation to the wire for smart grid applications. Solid and stranded copper wires of various gauges were used and carried current up to 30A. The magnets act as a proof mass to lower the frequency while also coupling to the magnetic field generated by the current carrying wire. The frequency of the AC current produces a sinusoidal force …

Fumarate-Based Polymers: Oligo(Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Fumarate) And Poly(Butylene Fumarate) For Tissue Engineering Heart Valve And Bone Tissue, Christian T. Denny

Biomedical Engineering ETDs

Tissue engineering is an emerging field that came from the fields of medicine, materials science, and engineering. The foundation of tissue engineering uses a paradigm that incorporates cells, biomaterials, and exogenous factors to create living tissues for medical, pharmaceutical, and research purposes. Within the last 100 years, biomaterials have been developed to solve many medical and research problems. As biomaterials have developed throughout the years new materials have been developed to have specific properties appropriate for medical applications. Fumarate is a naturally derived molecule in the body and has been found useful for developing polyesters that can be crosslinked into …

Issue In Equity For Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students With Complex Support Needs: A Comparative Analysis Of District-Level Student Data, Rosalia Pacheco

Special Education ETDs

Research has shown that English learners with disabilities should have access to both special education and Title III services as required by law (de Valenzuela et al., 2006, 2018, 2016, 2022; de Valenzuela & Copeland, 2018; Kangas, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021). This quantitative study uncovers issues of educational inequities related to: (a) the identification of these students as English learners; (b) their access to Title III services; and (c) the instructional settings in which they are educated for culturally and linguistically diverse students with Autism (ASD), Developmental Delay (DD), Intellectual Disability (ID), Multiple Disabilities (MD), or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). …

A Diverse Flea (Shiponaptera) Assemblage From The Small Mammals Of Central New Mexico, Dianne Esther Peterson

Biology ETDs

The geographical ranges of many mammals and their associated parasites are dynamic. Comprehensive documentation of these communities over time provides a foundation for interpreting how changing environmental conditions, driven by accelerating climate change, other anthropogenic disturbances, and natural events may influence host-parasite interactions. Fleas (Order Siphonaptera) are obligate, hematophagous parasites of birds and mammals with medical interest due to their role in transmitting pathogens. From 2016 to 2019, we sampled the small mammal and associated flea communities in El Malpais National Conservation Area (El Malpais) in Cibola County, New Mexico. Among 898 mammalian specimens, 925 fleas representing 29 species were …

Method Of Embedded Imperfections For The Direct Simulation Of Deformation Instabilities In Film-Substrate Structures, Siavash Nikravesh Kazeroni

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

In this dissertation, a novel finite-element methodology called “embedded imperfections” is proposed and employed for computationally simulating various types of deformation instabilities observed in film-substrate structures subjected to mechanical loading. The approach involves the incorporation of elements having distinctive material properties within the film-substrate interface. One can interpret this practice as a deliberate distribution of material defects within the numerical model. It has been shown that embedded imperfections not only can trigger the onset of instability, but also can lead to “direct” simulation of deformation instability problems in that primary and subsequent instability modes can all be captured in a …

Voices From The Jicarilla Apache: A Critical Analysis On The Impact Of Colonization, Assimilation, On Language Loss Across Generations, Haeyalyn R. Muniz

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to provide a critical analysis of the impact of colonization and assimilation on the Jicarilla Apache Language through narratives across generations. From a narrative inquiry perspective, I aimed to provide personal stories from among the Jicarilla Apache about language learning environments, experiences, and perspectives. Participants shared those used in the context of everyday interaction which provided language learning and transmission, impact of assimilation policies and practices from residential schools, historical intergenerational trauma, loss of language resulting in loss of culture and ceremonies, transmission of language, and an understanding of collective ideas for additional efforts …

Attribute Based Double Bounded Rough Neutrosophic Sets In Facial Expression Detection, Praba B, Pooja S S, Nethraa Sivakumar

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Neutrosophic Sets And Systems, Vol. 49, 2022, Florentin Smarandache, Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Said Broumi

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

I Wish You Were Here: An Autoethnographic Study On A Story Of Grief And The Role Of Psychological Capital, Christina Albright

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

We have all experienced grief. The death of a person or pet, the death of a relationship or end of a job, and even disappointments carry with them experiences of grief. Whenever someone or something dies, we try to make meaning of the situation to find some closure and move toward a new normal. Meaning making occurs as we tell our stories, share our experiences, and sort through memories. Qualitative research is much the same. In qualitative research one might hear, see, or experience a story, then sort through the details, looking for ways to explain and bring meaning and …

Eigenfunction Restriction Estimates For Curves With Nonvanishing Geodesic Curvatures In Compact Riemannian Surfaces With Nonpositive Sectional Curvatures, Chamsol Park

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

For 2 ≤ p < 4, we study the Lp norms of restrictions of eigenfunctions of the Laplace-Beltrami operator on smooth compact 2-dimensional Riemannian manifolds. Burq, G\´erard, and Tzvetkov [12], and Hu [21] found eigenfunction restriction estimates for a curve with nonvanishing geodesic curvatures. We will explain how the proof of the known estimates helps us to consider the case where the given smooth compact Riemannian manifold has nonpositive sectional curvatures. For p = 4, we will also obtain a logarithmic analogous estimate, by using arguments in Xi and Zhang [37], Sogge [33], and Bourgain [10]. At the end of this dissertation, we will talk about a future work, which is a follow up study for higher dimensional analogues of the above curve cases.

"Coming Out The Kitchen With Our Aprons On": Intersectionality Of African American Athletic Administrators At Division I Hbcus, Margaret Wilkins

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

The lack of women in leadership positions within the domain of athletic administration is a phenomenon that is widely understood (Galloway, 2012). To address the dearth of research in this area, the current study explored the experiences of African American women athletic administrators at Division I HBCUs. The research questions that guided this study were: 1) What are the experiences of African-American women athletic administrators at Division I HBCUs?; 2) What are the factors that impact the experiences of Division I HBCU African- American women athletic administrators? This study was informed by intersectionality and utilized a qualitative narrative approach to …

Poetics As Rhetoric In The Works Of Horace, Lauren W. Brown

Foreign Languages & Literatures ETDs

This project demonstrates how Horace uses rhetoric in his poetics in order to advocate for moderation. The first chapter focuses on the rhetorical strategies of the Satires, in which Horace uses a poetic persona with an ambiguous social status and that acts as a bad exemplum of the morals he advocates for. The chapter also explores Horace’s use of a motif where something that appears quantifiably larger is, in fact, either of equal or lesser worth, which also appeals to issues of class. The second chapter turns to Horace’s use of rhetoric in the Odes. In the Odes, Horace focuses …

Incorporating In-Situ Monitoring To Detect Anomalies In Additively Manufactured Kovar Steel On A Layer-To-Layer Basis, Matthew Aragon

Mechanical Engineering ETDs

Combining traditional methods of material analysis with in-situ monitoring of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) printed part, on a layer-to-layer basis, provides the data necessary to adjust printing parameters to achieve specific material properties. Additively manufactured technology has advanced in the ability to accommodate new materials and provide new use cases. Uncertainties in material properties have arisen alongside the advancements in additive manufacturing. The layer-wise print analysis will allow for detection and correlation of print anomalies to the material properties such as density, material strength, and surface roughness. The data processed from each layer will be used to further …

More Than The Defiant Few: Lost Womanhood And Necro Women Dismantling Nineteenth-Century Gender Ideologies, Vicki Vanbrocklin

English Language and Literature ETDs

Too many scholars still rely on adjectives such as deviant, unruly, dangerous, and wild to describe women who interrogate rigid forms of womanhood, especially women of color. My project intervenes in nineteenth-century womanhood discussions, which have traditionally solidified three main categories: Republican, True, and New Womanhood. Between True Womanhood in the mid-nineteenth century and the late nineteenth-century concept of New Womanhood lies an overlooked category aptly understood as Lost Womanhood. I focus on newspaper archives, archival research, and imaginative literature to find “lost” women who critiqued a patriarchal system that thrives on women living in a status akin to being …

Ngss-Based Constructivist Pedagogies: One Secondary Education Teacher’S Approach To Developing Student’S Science Identities, Massa Mafi

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This practitioner action research study explored features of NGSS-based pedagogies to improve secondary education student engagement, critical thinking, and collaborative problem-solving. It examined ways that constructivist pedagogies might encourage students to understand science by putting their skills and knowledge into practice as young engineers. The study involved 51 secondary education students from a large district in the southwest and focused on how NGSS inquiry-based learning can improve scientific understanding and skills within group work, the role that teacher support and modeling can play in learning, and how peer interactions can influence their scientific identities. Qualitative findings from teacher observations, classwork …

Buying Goodwill: Local And Regional Consumer Relationships In Nineteenth Century New Mexico, Erin Nicole Hegberg

Anthropology ETDs

This dissertation uses comparative analysis of four nineteenth century Hispanic sites to examine the daily practices by Hispanic residents of acquiring and consuming material goods (1821–1912). Through the practice of consumption, Hispanics created and reinforced social relationships with the groups who bartered or sold them goods. In frontier New Mexico consumer relationships reflected important networks that may have played a role in the creation and maintenance of modern Hispanic identity after U.S. annexation. The nineteenth century was a key moment in the developing racialization of Hispanic identity in New Mexico, which makes it a vital period of study for archaeologists …

Towards A More Formal Understanding Of Anyāpoha, David P. Kasza

Philosophy ETDs

The aim of this thesis is to investigate if Digṇāga’s commitment that non-observation (adarśanam) of the reason (adarśanam)and property to be proven (sādya) in the dissimilar example (vyatireka dṛṣṭānta) is alone sufficient to ground the exclusion of other referents (anyāpoha), as a valid inference for oneself (svārthānumāna) and proof for others (parārthānumāna). To answer this question, four formal accounts of Digṇāga’s view of the three characteristics (Trairūpya) of inference by Hayes, Katsura, Tillemans, and Oetke were consulted. I argue a formal logical account of …

Investigation Of Iron Homeostasis In Colon Tumorigenesis, Hyeoncheol Kim Ph.D.

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Iron is essential part of the human metabolism. It is a catalytic co-factor for many proteins, but it generates harmful reactive oxygen species in human body. Also, many irons metabolic genes are changes in human cancer cells compared to normal cells, leading to iron accumulation in cancer cells especially in colorectal cancer.

Due to iron’s significant role in colorectal cancer promotion, much research is focused on its role in colorectal cancer genesis. But some important metabolic aspects are not fully addressed and researched. One key aspect of iron on colorectal cancer cell progression is hemin iron. Much research warned hemin …

Intra-Hour Solar Forecasting Using Cloud Dynamics Features Extracted From Ground-Based Infrared Sky Images, Guillermo Terrén-Serrano

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Due to the increasing use of photovoltaic systems, power grids are vulnerable to the projection of shadows from moving clouds. An intra-hour solar forecast provides power grids with the capability of automatically controlling the dispatch of energy, reducing the additional cost for a guaranteed, reliable supply of energy (i.e., energy storage). This dissertation introduces a novel sky imager consisting of a long-wave radiometric infrared camera and a visible light camera with a fisheye lens. The imager is mounted on a solar tracker to maintain the Sun in the center of the images throughout the day, reducing the scattering effect produced …

The Relationship Of Biliteracy With Math Achievement For Students In Dual Language Elementary School Programs, Hope A. Gill

Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

This study intends to explore an approach that aims to assess biliteracy in English and Spanish among dual language elementary school students enrolled in a dual language immersion program at school. Biliteracy in this study is measured using an absolute difference score that takes the difference in degree of ability in vocabulary and comprehension in both Spanish and English to create two separate biliterate continuums. These two biliterate continuums will be utilized in the analysis to describe biliteracy and explore the relationship between biliteracy and math achievement in dual language students. A sample of 388 elementary students enrolled in a …

The 5th Humor, Stella Maria Perry

Theatre & Dance ETDs

I will be using a self-interview as a method of investigating both the origins of myself, the artist, and the work produced I have produced in and out of the MFA Dramatic Writing program with a special focus on my dissertation play, The Blood Vessel.

The intention is to investigate how my plays have come into existence and how they inform each other. This is done through a series of questions I ask myself under the pseudonym Penelope Hawkins. Penelope guides me through the investigation as a character, thus becoming part of the work of the self-interview and still …

A Framework For Promoting Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Genetics And Genomics Research, Timothy R. Rebbeck, John F P Bridges, Jennifer W. Mack, Stacy W. Gray, Jeffrey M. Trent, Suzanne George, Norah L. Crossnohere, Electra D. Paskett, Corrie A. Painter, Nikhil Wagle, Miria Kano, Patricia Nez Henderson, Jeffrey A. Henderson, Shiraz I. Mishra, Cheryl L. Willman, Andrew L. Sussman

Pediatrics Research and Scholarship

IMPORTANCE: Research into the genetic and genomic ("genomics") foundations of disease is central to our understanding of disease prevention, early detection, diagnostic accuracy, and therapeutic intervention. Inequitable participation in genomics research by historically excluded populations limits the ability to translate genomic knowledge to achieve health equity and ensure that findings are generalizable to diverse populations.

OBSERVATIONS: We propose a novel framework for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in genomics research. Building on principles of community-based participatory research and collective impact frameworks, the framework can guide our understanding of the social, cultural, health system, policy, community, and individual contexts in which …