Digital Commons Network^™

Metal Ions Impact On Shewanella Oneidensis Mr-1 Adhesion To Ito Electrode And The Enhancement Of Current Output, Aisha Awad Alshahrani

Dissertations

The goal of this study is to enhance the efficiency of bacterial extracellular electron transfer (EET) in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 by enhancing adhesion to the electrode's surface. Our results clearly show a major difference in the attachment and behavior of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 for Ca2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and Mg2+, compared to the control. the final microbial coverage, as measured by confocal microscopy and cathodic peak charge in cyclic voltammetry (Qpc), increases with increasing metal ion concentrations. We found the cells attached to the electrode increased more with the addition of metal ion concentrations in the following order of metals: Ca2+ …

"Oh Gosh! Am I Going To Be Like This For The Rest Of My Life?": Promoting Critical Literacy Among Latinx Students Through Youth Participatory Action Research, Thomas Angiello

Dissertations

The researcher implemented a Youth Participatory Action Research project within the context of a summer reading assignment for rising high school seniors. Meeting once a week over the summer leading into their senior year, the Latinx student researchers used their critical lenses and summer reading texts as a springboard for their YPAR investigations into sociopolitical issues relevant to their communities. in facilitating this project, the researcher set out to study the ways in Latinx high school students interact with critical literacy and YPAR and the ways in which these students incorporate the tenets of critical literacy into their literature discussions …

Exploring The Educational Journeys Of African American Honors Alumni(Nae), Sammie Marie Burton

Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore and examine the experiences of African American students to and through collegiate honors programs. I aimed to provide another frame for understanding intellectuals by exploring the educational journeys of eight (8) African American, high-achieving alumni(nae). Through qualitative inquiry, this study gives an in-depth understanding to the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that helped students navigate challenging academic settings and evaluate the importance of honors education for students within the Black community. Guided by critical race theory (CRT), findings from this study will provide the research community with entry points to social justice practice …

Teacher Perceptions And Experiences With Self-Regulation Strategies In General Education Classrooms, Sofia Flores-Perez

Dissertations

General education teachers are now serving students with both special education needs and regular education students within a general education environment. Inclusionary practices are increasingly becoming common practice. However, teacher prep-programs concentrate on lesson planning and not enough training is emphasized on classroom management or behavior/academic intervention strategies. There is a dearth of qualitative studies gaining teachers perspectives on this phenomenon. This qualitative study will seek to gain insight about teachers' experiences, perspectives, and practices regarding implementation of self-regulation strategies within a general education setting. the research questions will gain insight on what strategies could look like in a general …

Elucidating The Targets And Function Of The Mlr Compass-Like Complex During Development, David Joseph Ford

Dissertations

MLR COMPASS-like complexes are highly-conserved epigenetic regulators required for enhancer establishment and subsequent reprogramming during differentiation and development. Mutation of MLR complex subunits in humans is associated with cancer and developmental disorder, yet much remains to be determined concerning both the healthy and disease-altered functions of these complexes. Using the developmental model Drosophila melanogaster, I further elucidate the functions of the MLR complex during in vivo organ development as well as stress response. I characterize the miRNa bantam as a regulatory target of the complex, required for proper tissue patterning during wing and compound eye formation. in the same systems …

Identifying Transfer Of Care Gaps: Electronic Health Record Capture Of Perioperative Handoff Communications, Sharon Giarrizzo-Wilson

Dissertations

Transitions in patient care are held together by interdisciplinary handoff communications intended to coordinate the patient's ongoing care requirements. Patients with complexity in care encumber the transfer of care process requiring a higher level of care coordination between the interdisciplinary team (Coleman, 2003; Naylor et al., 2004). While the literature is abundant on the characteristics and quality of handoff communications, it is limited on the requirements of what data is necessary for ongoing care following transfer communications (Galatzan & Carrington, 2018). This dissertation explores the verbal information transferred during Operating Room (OR) to Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) nursing handoff …

Optimization Of Microbial Fuel Cells, Norberto M. Gonzalez

Dissertations

Optimization of microbial fuel cells is investigated by utilizing Shewanella oneidensis as a model microorganism. the microbe's ability to grow and use glucose as a carbon source is explored under varying oxygen environments through an offline PMP derivatization method and HPLC analysis. Shewanella growth and glucose utilization is enhanced under aerobic environments; however, under microaerobic environments the addition of ferric iron results in a faster exponential growth initialization. a flavin mononucleotide modified indium tin oxide electrode is prepared and characterized for its usefulness in microbial fuel cells by controlled potential electrolysis, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies. the electrode …

Teacher Leadership: A Case Study In The Preparation Of Future Teacher Leaders, Abigail Hasebroock

Dissertations

Over the past century, Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade (PK-12) schools evolved into hierarchical learning organizations that centralized power, decision-making, and leadership at the top in the hands of a few predominantly male administrators. the teaching force, by contrast, became majority female. While teacher education programs formalized, the accountability movement that swept across the U.S. schooling system during the 1980s led to narrowed teacher educator programs and licensure requirements. Consequently, traditional teacher education programs in four-year universities focused more on theory and pedagogy but less on praxis and leadership in the name of producing highly-qualified teachers. Today, new pathways for teacher …

Black Women College Students, Impostor Phenomenon, Stereotypes, And Mental Health: A Mixed-Methods Approach, Lincoln Hill

Dissertations

The present research project expands on impostor phenomenon (IP) literature by incorporating an intentional intersectional framework using two studies to determine if IP mediates (explains) the relationship between group stereotype threat susceptibility and mental health outcomes for Black women college students attending predominantly White institutions. by including a diary study to ascertain the frequency, intensity, and triggers for impostor beliefs, this project provides support for context dependent impostorism. It provides clarification around what types of situations precede the endorsement of heightened impostor beliefs for Black women college students. This project answers the following research questions amongst a sample of Black …

You Can't Go Home Again: Art As Therapy, Photovoice, And Housing Instability, Willie Walter Jackson

Dissertations

Aims: the primary aim of this dissertation was to use the Photovoice methodology to discuss the impact of art and cultural exposure and engagement programing on program participants experiencing housing instability or homleessness. the secondary aim was to contribute to the sparse body of literature on the impact of art and cultural exposure programing on program participants experience housing instability or homelessness. Research Questions: the three research questions were: What is the impact of art and cultural exposure and engagement on program participants experiencing housing instability? What are program participants experiences with disseminating their art, and what meaning did they …

Distinct Roles For Carbohydrate And Protein Receptors In Coronavirus Infection, Enya Qing

Dissertations

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are common human and animal pathogens. in humans, four endemic CoV species together account for one third of mild respiratory infections worldwide. More severe and frequently fatal respiratory pathologies are caused by recent CoV outbreaks that resulted from occasional zoonotic spillover from animal CoV reservoirs, namely, SARS-CoV in 2002, MERS-CoV in 2012, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019. Because CoVs threaten global health, any chance of relieving CoV's threat on human populations would rely heavily on our understanding of the mechanistic requirements for CoV tropism, whose major determinant is at the level of viral entry. CoVs have evolved to use …

Investigating Exclusionary Discipline: Teachers, Deficit Thinking, And Root Cause Analysis, Kelsie N. Reed

Dissertations

This study sought to examine school-related predictors of exclusionary discipline practices and racial disproportionality in exclusionary discipline via a mixed-methodology approach involving a quantitative analysis of contextual factors, and a qualitative/quantitative examination of the role of teacher perception in contributing to exclusionary discipline patterns. Relying on publicly available school discipline data, Phase I involved a multiple regression analysis of 200 school districts that were purposefully selected within a state in the midst of school discipline reform to examine the impact of district size, student demographics, teacher demographics, and school funding in predicting the most extreme patterns of exclusionary discipline usage. …

O'Shaughnessy Program Review, Natalya Sagalov

Dissertations

Loyola Academy, a Jesuit High School, seeks to create college-bound students through a rigorous curriculum that focuses on academics, faith, and physical fitness. Students who require additional academic support participate in the O'Shaughnessy program, a structured class that focuses on literacy and student skills. in 2015, the O'Shaughnessy program was changed from a four-year program to a two-year program to better prepare students for the independence of college. the purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of this change while focusing on best practices in secondary reading instruction and study skills in a college readiness framework. as Loyola …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of A Case Management Model, Abigail Salat

Dissertations

EXPLORING the EFFECTIVENESS of a CASE MANAGEMENT MODEL IDEa requires special education students receive a free and appropriate education with specialized instruction in K-12 schools. While guidance related to what students are legally entitle to is readily available, little to no guidance related to how systems within schools can best support teachers is available. Special Education teachers are noted to have more difficult, demanding, and stressful roles within schools, which can lead to higher levels of burnout (Bettini et al., 2017). the Case Management model is one manner of service delivery, which allows for special education teachers to specialize in …

The Patient Speaks: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Patient's Experience Of Psychoanalysis, Katherine Williams

Dissertations

The goal of this study was to conduct a qualitatively based clinical outcome study of the patient's experience of a psychoanalytic treatment and to explore how the analysis impacted the patient's life post treatment. Much of what is known about analytic treatments comes from analysts in the form of case reports or journal articles. the goal of this study was to directly obtain patient's views of their analysis. in order to do this a heuristic phenomenological research design was used. the phenomenological approach puts a focus on the experience of the participant of a particular phenomenon in the case of …

Bridging The In Between: A Portrait Of Asian American Student Affairs Professionals In Asian American Cultural Centers, Joliana Yee

Dissertations

Although the first Asian American Cultural Center (AACC) on a U.S. college campus came about as a result of student activism in the late 1960s and 33 other AACCs have since been established at higher education institutions across the country, very little has been documented in higher education scholarship about the Asian American Student Affairs Professionals (SAPros) who work within these unique institutional resources. While concerted efforts have been made to diversify the student body demographic at predominantly white institutions (PWIs), the negative impact of campus racial dynamics on students of color have nevertheless persisted and extant literature on the …

Making Moral Judgment More Responsive Via Constraints On Moral Beliefs, Principles, And Convictions, David Bukenhofer

Dissertations

A moral judgment is the conclusion of a psychological process, and a moral belief is thecognitive content resulting from it. Some experiences constrain the moral beliefs, principles, and convictions from which moral judgments are causally formed. If these experiences are associated with an underlying belief, principle, or conviction, they add context to it. Acquiring new contextual information through experience prompts reflection, which leads to the development of new morally relevant reasons. I hold that moral beliefs, principles, and convictions typically are involved in the formation of moral judgments, and that moral judgments typically are formed on the basis of moral …

Victims Of Child Sex Trafficking: Are U.S. Pediatricians Ready To Identify, Assess, Treat And Protect Them?, Bidisha Sinha

Dissertations

The trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation is a gross violation of human rights and a global, public health issue that is rapidly growing and prevalent. Due to the clandestine nature of this crime and the general lack of public knowledge about it, identifying and protecting victims of child sex trafficking (CST) is fraught with challenges. Therefore, it is imperative that healthcare professionals - often the only professionals with whom CST victims come in contact while in captivity - are properly educated and trained on this topic. A literature review reveals there is little knowledge about pediatricians' education and …

Modernism's Legacies: Forms, Feelings, And Figures, Shelby Sleevi

Dissertations

My dissertation, entitled "Modernism's Legacies: Forms, Feelings, and Figures," explores American modernism's legacies within contemporary fiction, not only as a set of aesthetic trends but also as a looming and influential mythos. Whether the practices and concerns of early twentieth-century literary modernism are evoked through obvious allusion, explicit reference, or strong resonance on the level of narrative, the contemporary texts in my discussion together attest to modernism's continued influence on and relevance for our current era. Tracing the legacies of William Faulkner, Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, and Vladimir Nabokov in the contemporary fictions of Edward P. Jones, Julie Otsuka, George …

The Flexible Impact Of Affective States On Group Decision-Making And Ideational Creativity, Young-Jae Yoon

Dissertations

Positive and negative affect are often thought to influence the cognitive performance of individuals and groups via their effects on two different dimensions of cognitive processing style: heuristic vs. systematic processing, and global vs. local attentional focus. Recently, research has suggested that the effects of affective states on the analytic and creative performance of individuals depend on the relative dominance of heuristic vs. systematic processing (for analytic performance) and of a global vs. local attentional focus (for creative performance) just prior to the affect's arousal (Huntsinger, Isbell, & Clore, 2014; Huntsinger & Ray, 2016). Extending this individual-level evidence to small …

Enhanced Label Free Normal And Cancer Cells Classification Using Combined Parametric Modeling And Optical Techniques, Ayshathul Fouzia Abdul Gani

Dissertations

The development of label-free methods for cell classifications has been driven by the importance of early detection and identification of cancer disease. The future point-of-care (POC) treatment methods require rapid and real-time cancer screening techniques. As the labelled methods of cell classification are time-consuming processes and require a large amount of sample preparation along with skilled persons, they do not appear to be suitable for POC treatment methods. This necessitates the importance of such development. The label-free methods incorporate the biophysical properties of cells instead of biomarkers. The optical properties of cells have been frequently utilized for cell classification. This …

Brain Disease Detection From Eegs: Comparing Spiking And Recurrent Neural Networks For Non-Stationary Time Series Classification, Hristo Stoev

Dissertations

Modeling non-stationary time series data is a difficult problem area in AI, due to the fact that the statistical properties of the data change as the time series progresses. This complicates the classification of non-stationary time series, which is a method used in the detection of brain diseases from EEGs. Various techniques have been developed in the field of deep learning for tackling this problem, with recurrent neural networks (RNN) approaches utilising Long short-term memory (LSTM) architectures achieving a high degree of success. This study implements a new, spiking neural network-based approach to time series classification for the purpose of …

Content-Based Filtering Recommendation Approach To Label Irish Legal Judgements, Sandesh Gangadhar

Dissertations

Machine learning approaches are applied across several domains to either simplify or automate tasks which directly result in saved time or cost. Text document labelling is one such task that requires immense human knowledge about the domain and efforts to review, understand and label the documents. The company Stare Decisis summarises legal judgements and labels them as they are made available on Irish public legal source www.courts.ie. This research presents a recommendation-based approach to reduce the time for solicitors at Stare Decisis by reducing many numbers of available labels to pick from to a concentrated few that potentially contains the …

A Discrimination Aware Model To Predict Childhood Literacy Levels, Kate Byrne

Dissertations

It is illegal in Ireland to discriminate in the provision of education on the basis of multiple characteristics including gender, race and religion. While the increased use of machine learning models can open multiple avenues to identify early intervention strategies in education, caution must be exercised to ensure that any intervention does not discriminate with respect to a protected class. Poor literacy in childhood can have long term effects as the child ages, including on employment and mental health outcomes. Early intervention is key in mitigating this. In this dissertation, a model was created that predicted the outcome of a …

Optimization Of Home Mortgage Mover Predictive Model Applying Geo-Spatial Analysis And Machine Learning Techniques, Natalia Riscovaia

Dissertations

In the last decade digital innovations and online banking services have significantly changed customers banking preferences and behaviour. Banking industry is going through the changes and developments in the provision of banking services that are affecting the structure and the organization of the bank network. However, private home loan, referred as Home Mortgage hereinafter, continue to remain among the products, that customers prefer to have personal interaction about with professional advisors prior making the decision to apply for the loan with financial institution.

Improving Transfer Learning For Use In Multi-Spectral Data, Yuvraj Sharma

Dissertations

Recently Nasa as well as the European Space Agency have made observational satellites images public. The main reason behind opening it to public is to foster research among university students and corporations alike. Sentinel is a program by the European Space Agency which has plans to release a series of seven satellites in lower earth orbit for observing land and sea patterns. Recently huge datasets have been made public by the Sentinel program. Many advancements have been made in the field of computer vision in the last decade. Krizhevsky, Sutskever & Hinton, 2012, revolutionized the field of image analysis by …

A Poetics Of Violence: Representations Of Violence As Storytelling And World-Building Tools Of The Theater, Richard Gilbert

Dissertations

This dissertation explores how representations of violence do dramaturgical work in theatrical production. Playwrights write scenes of violence, and directors and designers stage them, with specific dramaturgical goals in mind. The project of this work is to develop a theoretical framework for understanding how productions use representations of violence. Ideally, that framework will be of use both to critics seeking to analyze productions with violence and to practitioners who want to more consciously shape their own use of violence.

Representations of violence create a sudden change in the audience's affective experience of the fictional world. I call that sudden change …

Characterization Of Supercell Thunderstorms Exhibiting Anomalous Charge Structures In The Southeastern United States, Sarah M. Stough

Dissertations

This research is concerned with two supercell thunderstorms observed in the Southeastern United States that exhibited anomalous charge structures (ACSs). ACSs are characterized by an apparent reversal of dominant charge region polarity from normal charge structures (NCSs). Historically, ACSs have been rarely indicated within the Southeast and are not documented within the literature. Conceptual models of ACSs more typically observed in the Great Plains hypothesize that ACSs arise as a result of high liquid water content (LWC) in the mixed-phase region of an updraft, facilitated by conditions that increase the efficacy of the updraft in supplying LWC and reduce the …

Quantitative Metrics For Mutation Testing, Amani M. Ayad

Dissertations

Program mutation is the process of generating versions of a base program by applying elementary syntactic modifications; this technique has been used in program testing in a variety of applications, most notably to assess the quality of a test data set. A good test set will discover the difference between the original program and mutant except if the mutant is semantically equivalent to the original program, despite being syntactically distinct.

Equivalent mutants are a major nuisance in the practice of mutation testing, because they introduce a significant amount of bias and uncertainty in the analysis of test results; indeed, mutants …

Dimension Reduction Techniques For High Dimensional And Ultra-High Dimensional Data, Subha Datta

Dissertations

This dissertation introduces two statistical techniques to tackle high-dimensional data, which is very commonplace nowadays. It consists of two topics which are inter-related by a common link, dimension reduction.

The first topic is a recently introduced classification technique, the weighted principal support vector machine (WPSVM), which is incorporated into a spatial point process framework. The WPSVM possesses an additional parameter, a weight parameter, besides the regularization parameter. Most statistical techniques, including WPSVM, have an inherent assumption of independence, which means the data points are not connected with each other in any manner. But spatial data violates this assumption. Correlation between …