Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Fluctuation Of Topics And Public Sentiment Through Social Media Data, Haoyue Liu

Dissertations

Over the past decade years, Internet users were expending rapidly in the world. They form various online social networks through such Internet platforms as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These platforms provide a fast way that helps their users receive and disseminate information and express personal opinions in virtual space. When dealing with massive and chaotic social media data, how to accurately determine what events or concepts users are discussing is an interesting and important problem.

This dissertation work mainly consists of two parts. First, this research pays attention to mining the hidden topics and user interest trend by analyzing real-world …

Stochastic Modeling Of Flows In Membrane Pore Networks, Binan Gu

Dissertations

Membrane filters provide immediate solutions to many urgent problems such as water purification, and effective remedies to pressing environmental concerns such as waste and air treatment. The ubiquity of applications gives rise to a significant amount of research in membrane material selection and structural design to optimize filter efficiency. As physical experiments tend to be costly, numerical simulation and analysis of fluid flow, foulant transport and geometric evolution due to foulant deposition in complex geometries become particularly relevant. In this dissertation, several mathematical modeling and analytical aspects of the industrial membrane filtration process are investigated. A first-principles mathematical model for …

Digital Image Forensics Via Meta-Learning And Few-Shot Learning, Yuxi Shi

Dissertations

Digital images are a substantial portion of the information conveyed by social media, the Internet, and television in our daily life. In recent years, digital images have become not only one of the public information carriers, but also a crucial piece of evidence. The widespread availability of low-cost, user-friendly, and potent image editing software and mobile phone applications facilitates altering images without professional expertise. Consequently, safeguarding the originality and integrity of digital images has become a difficulty. Forgers commonly use digital image manipulation to transmit misleading information. Digital image forensics investigates the irregular patterns that might result from image alteration. …

Modeling Of Two-Dimensional And Biological Materials Towards Diverse Nano-Systems Applications, Jatin Kashyap

Dissertations

This dissertation studies the demonstration of materials ranging from two-dimensional (2D) materials to small bio-molecules using various atomistic/molecular and sub-atomic particles (electron, hole, excitons) modeling techniques for multi-domain applications. Three categories of materials/systems are investigated as follows: 2D materials, biological materials, and complexes of 2D and biological materials.

The first problem demonstrates wrinkles' ubiquitous presence in two-dimensional materials significantly alters their properties. It is observed that water molecules, sourced from ambient humidity or transfer method, can get diffused in between Graphene and the substrate during the Graphene growth. The water diffusion causes/assists wrinkle formation in Graphene, which influences its properties. …

The Relationship Among Menopausal Knowledge, Stress, And Symptom Management In Southern Rural African American Women: A Developmental Perspective, Susan L. Prather

Dissertations

More than 12.9 million African American women are between the ages of 45 and 54, which is the perimenopausal period. Regardless of the millions of African American women transitioning to menopause yearly, very little information is available about their experiences, and even less is known about how they manage their symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between menopausal knowledge, stress, and symptom management among rural southern African American women. Researchers have examined menopausal experiences over the last two decades; the majority of health information about menopause is based on studies of middle-toupper-class Caucasian women. Hence, …

Effect Of Fluid Penetration On The Damage Processes And Microseismicity Due To The Hydraulic Fracturing Of Rocks, Catarina Baptista-Pereira

Dissertations

The hydraulic fracturing is used when fluids are injected inside the matrices of rocks to allow the creation of new cracks while, the propagation of the existent cracks can also occur. This process has been widely used for the past decades in the deep earth energy sector which comprises four main subsectors: 1) recovery of geothermal resources, 2) CO₂ and hydrogen sequestration; 3) wastewater and nuclear waste disposal, and 4) recovery of (non)conventional fluids. By creating new flow paths or enhancing the existing ones, the pores are allowed to connect and, thus, it increases the permeability of rocks. For …

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) Distribution In Contaminated Soils And Impact On Rhizosphere And Plant Microbiota, Boran Wang

Dissertations

This dissertation is a comprehensive study of the mechanisms controlling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) transformations and their transport in the environment, PFAS effects on plant growth and microbial community changes are critical in preventing or attenuating PFAS mobility and in predicting potential human exposure routes. The overarching goal of this project is to evaluate the distribution of PFAS in plants exposed to mixed contaminants, and their effects on the rhizosphere and in planta microbial community This main goal is achieved through the following research objectives: (1) Field investigation of PFAS contamination in New Jersey, (2) PFAS partition in soil …

A Structured Orientation Development System For Nursing Faculty, Dana R. Mangum

Dissertations

A national nursing shortage is nearing its crest. The Baby Boomer generation is begining to retire in record numbers. Healthcare technology is continually evolving and the topography of nursing education is changing. In order to aquire, develop, and retain excellent nursing faculty to meet the ever changing demands, nursing faculty need to be streamlined into the world of academia. A Structured Orientation Development System (SODS) was developed to aid nursing faculty into the transition from expert bedside nurse to expert nursing faculty. A literature review found no evidence of a structured type nursing faculty orientation system. The purpose of this …

An Examination Of The Effects Of Workgroup Characteristics On Criminal Case Processing & Case Outcomes, Luis Torres

Dissertations

The court communities and inhabited institutions perspectives posit that courts should be examined through a lens that considers the complex and collaborative process that court actors (e.g., judges, prosecutors, and defense counsels), collectively referred to as the courtroom workgroup, engage in during case processing. However, empirical research infrequently examines such intricacies and devotes little attention to how the characteristics of workgroup members influence courtroom interactions, the efficiency they process cases, and ultimately case decisions. This omission is notable because theory asserts that the dynamics of the workgroup are at least in part driven by the characteristics of its members.

This …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Lived Experience Of Military Spouses Of Veterans With Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Teresa W. Yambo

Dissertations

A phenomenological study was conducted to explore the essence of the experience of military spouses living with veterans with combat-related Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Husserlian phenomenology was chosen as the theoretical framework because it allowed a deeper understanding of the unfolding o f the spouses' day-to-day experience. A purposive sample of 14 spouses living with veterans with symptoms of PTSD participated in unstructured interviews. Data were analyzed using a modification of Colaizzi's method. Four major themes were identified from data analysis: Recognizing Life is No Longer the Same, Living with Unpredictability, Bearing the Burden, and Creating a New Life. Spouses …

Virtual Reality Simulation's Influence On Nursing Students' Anxiety And Communication Skills With Anxious Patients, Tanae A. Traister

Dissertations

The incidence of medical-surgical patients with a secondary anxiety diagnosis is increasing, and nurses' feelings of inadequacy in communicating with anxious patients have hindered the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, negatively impacting patient outcomes. Simulation methods such as high fidelity simulation and standardized patients have decreased nursing students' anxiety levels in caring for anxious patients. However, they face maintenance costs, availability, and consistency barriers. Full immersion virtual reality simulation has demonstrated
success in nonhealthcare and medical education but is limited in nursing education. Nursing students from an associate and bachelor's degree nursing program participated in a full immersion virtual reality simulation anxious …

Student Nurses' Senior Practicum Experience And Its Role In Transition To Practice, Trilla A. Mays

Dissertations

Newly graduated nurses (NGNs) are not prepared to transition to practice, often leaving practice within the first year. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study, guided by Meleis' transition theory, was to explore the NGN's perceptions of their senior practicum experience and how the experience prepared them for transition to practice. The Covid-19 pandemic limited recruitment of participants. After extended recruitment efforts, three NGNs were recruited, interviewed using a semistructured interview guide, and recorded using Zoom, which was verified while listening to the recording. The Ravitch and Carl three-pronged coding approach and NVivo was used to assist with the manual …

Family Rejection Predicting Suicidal Thoughts And Behaviors Among Sexual Minority Males: Indirect Effects Through Internalized Homophobia And The Interpersonal Theory Of Suicide Constructs, Brian Bulla

Dissertations

Past research has identified sexual minority males as presenting with more suicidal thoughts and behaviors in comparison to the general population, possibly due to additional stressors (e.g., family rejection, internalized homophobia) encountered throughout their lives that are specific to minority identities (Meyer, 2003). Extant literature has also examined constructs from the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (ITS; Joiner, 2005; Van Orden et al., 2008) with mixed support for each (e.g., perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, capability) predicting suicidal thoughts and behaviors among sexual minority males. The current study, therefore, sought to further existing literature by examining indirect effects of family rejection on …

How System Efficacy Affects Risk Perception: Comparison Of The United States, Iran, And China Throughout The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nazanin Bani Amerian

Dissertations

The current study fills a gap in the risk and health communication literature that deals with perception of risk. The extended parallel process model (EPPM) and associated Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale lack consideration for attenuated perceptions of risk when people believe that some agent (e.g., government agencies or first responders) will protect them from a hazard. This project’s intention is to establish the validity of a new concept, system efficacy, as an addition to the EPPM model. System efficacy supplements current use of self and response efficacy. In addition, this study tries to investigate how culture affect risk perception by …

Effects Of Excessive Student Technology Usage On Student Cognitive Engagement, Kristina Leah Loveland

Dissertations

Technology in the classroom has educators asking the question of whether technology engages students on a deep cognitive level or whether technology is holding students back. Educational technology has the potential to increase student engagement (Norris & Coutas, 2014). Wexler (2019) found technology is holding students back because they prefer the virtual setting to a real-world setting. The purpose of this mixed-methods research study was to determine if there is a connection between student cognitive engagement and excessive technology use. Developed by Antonetti and Stice (2018), the four components of Powerful Task Design were identified as the conceptual framework that …

Brenno Blauth’S Compositional Style Elements: A Study On The Sonata For Flute And Piano, T.5., Thiago Bohm Bottega

Dissertations

The Sonata para Flauta e Piano, T.5, by Brenno Blauth (1931-1993), is a standard of the Brazilian flute repertoire. This document studies its folk and Brazilian popular music elements in order to better understand Blauth’s compositional rationale.

In 1959 Blauth was responsible for the creation of the group Movimento Musical Renovador. Based in Rio de Janeiro, MMR gathered renowned composers and performers with the goal of promoting Brazilian classical music. Chapter III is dedicated to the group’s initiatives, taking its political and cultural contextualization into account.

Chapter IV is dedicated to the study of Blauth’s compositional style shifts …

For Colored Girls Who Considered Natural When The Perm Was Enuf: A Cultural Examination Of The Political Significance Of Natural Hair Youtube Influencers, Randrika C. Henderson

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the discourse between natural hair YouTube vloggers and audiences’ interactions with two popular YouTube channels, Jasmine Brown and The Chic Natural. This study uses hooks’ (2003) oppositional gaze as a theoretical framework that centers on media representation of Black women and the inability to produce images that mirrors Black women’s spectatorship (hooks, 2003). This study investigates how hegemonic and averisve racist ideologies (often represented in Western beauty standards) are encoded and decoded in Black women’s mediated spaces. This cultural and critical semiotic analysis explores two research questions: how hegemonic structures exist during the interactions between influencers and …

Peridynamic Modeling Of Crack Propagation In Brittle Materials With Electromechanical Coupling, Semsi Coskun

Dissertations

The bond-based peridynamics (BB-PD) is a widely used peridynamic model in the literature. Despite Poisson's ratio restriction, it still serves as a powerful tool to solve challenging engineering problems with a relatively cheap computational cost. Consider the Poisson ratio of the material does not deviate from the ones that BB-PD can model. In that case, it becomes advantageous to use the BB-PD compared to other PD models in terms of computational cost and simplicity. However, the BB-PD suffers from the so-called surface or skin effect where the material response at boundaries becomes softer than the bulk material points. As a …

A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Third Grade Academic Achievement Data: Pre- And Post-Google Chromebook Usage In A Midwest Elementary School, Brittany Powell

Dissertations

Technology in the educational setting has evolved drastically over the last few decades and continues to currently evolve. As technology advances, best practices for teaching and learning, standardized testing, and curriculum also must evolve. The purpose of this study aimed to fill the gap of the lack of research regarding the possible differences in academic achievement data, pre- and post-Google Chromebooks usage. The researcher investigated educators’ and administrators’ perceptions of technology by conducting inperson interviews at the conclusion of the two-year study. The analysis of qualitative data, gathered from all interviews and researcher journal entries, fell into various thematic categories, …

The Cultivation Of Transformational Leadership In Secondary School Principals, Christian S. Overstreet

Dissertations

Due to the challenges schools and school administrators face in the 21st century, transformational leadership is considered the most effective approach to school leadership (Bonsu & Twum-Danso, 2018; Longwell-McKean, 2012; Valentine & Prater, 2011). The purpose of this explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods study was to investigate the importance of cultivating transformational leadership qualities and traits within secondary school principals through professional development opportunities, networking experiences, and mentorships. There has been a lack of research on the need to train in transformational leadership and whether or not it positively influences follower outcomes (Peters, 2014; Tafvelin, 2013; Udin, 2020). Phase one data were …

Relative Effects Of Self-Paced And Machine-Paced Learning Under Computer-Based Training, Eunju Choi

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a self-paced instruction versus machine-paced instruction using a computerized format. Instructional applications such as Programmed Instruction and Computer-Based Instruction have long touted the benefits of self-pacing (e.g., teaching machines, Personalized System of Instruction), but direct comparisons of different pacing types are lacking. Some preliminary research suggests that self-pacing may be prone to distraction by competing reinforcers and overall poor self-management of time. As such, it may be possible that machine-paced lessons (based on optimal timings) may foster better learning while retaining other beneficial features of CBI (interactivity, flexibility of …

Emotional Labor And New Independent School Heads, Seth William Yocum

Dissertations

The most important relationship to the life of an independent school has been the relationship between the head of school and the board of trustees. Still, most independent school heads have found that attending to their relationship with their board of trustees was one of the more challenging aspects of their work. Conventional wisdom and scholarship alike have suggested that this relationship could be especially trying for new independent school heads. The goal of this analytic autoethnographic study was to explore the performed emotional labor of new independent school heads in their relationship with their board of trustees during their …

Lived Experience Of Reintegration Among Involuntarily Separated Operation Enduring Freedom (Oef) And Operation Iraqi Freedom (Oif) Era Veterans, Austin Deshon Hamilton

Dissertations

The present study is the first known attempt to explore what reintegration is like for those who separated from the military against their will. The primary purposes of this study were to (a) assist counseling psychologists, other mental health care providers and administrators who work with involuntarily separated veterans in better understanding the unique difficulties and psychological stressors associated with leaving the military community against one’s will; and (b) highlight potential barriers to accessing mental healthcare among involuntarily separated veterans. Finally, the secondary objective was to identify whether interpersonal theory of suicide (Joiner 2005)-related constructs were present among this sample …

Determining The Effectiveness Of Virtually-Delivered Written Exposure Therapy For Treatment Of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, Stephanie M. Haft

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted individuals with mental health issues (Swendsen, 2020). Although the peak destruction of the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, the psychological fallout remains. Social isolation, home confinement, and travel restrictions have exacerbated mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to negative psychological distress (Smith et al., 2020). Survivors of trauma have higher vulnerability to prolonged psychological distress than the general population and others with non-trauma-related mental health conditions, which has been exacerbated during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. For these reasons, survivors of trauma may particularly benefit from virtual-delivery of trauma-focused treatments. Mental health providers …

Flourishing For Sport Consumers: The Case Of Fantasy Baseball And Social Media Engagement, Bomin Paek

Dissertations

Digital technology transformation within the sports industry has led to increasing attention being given to how digital services can influence fans’ positive psychological perspectives. In particular, through this study I aimed to understand the effects of fantasy sports and social media engagement on positive psychological benefits, such as perceived value and flourishing. In the current study, regulatory engagement theory was applied to understand whether the digital engagement of sports consumers is positively associated with perceived value and flourishing as a form of well-being. In the implementation of the pre-, mid-, or post-consumption model, three groups were created based on the …

Time-Dependent Photoionization Modeling Of Warm Absorbers In Active Galactic Nuclei, Dev Raj Sadaula

Dissertations

Warm absorber spectra are bound-bound and bound-free absorption features, seen in the X-ray and UV spectra from many active galactic nuclei (AGN). The widths and centroid energies of these features indicate they occur in outflowing gas moving with hundreds to thousands of km/s. Depending upon the energy and momentum of the outflow, it can affect the gas within the host galaxy. Thus, warm absorbers’ mass and energy budgets are of great interest. Estimates for these properties depend on models that connect the absorption features' observed strengths with the density, composition, and ionization state of the absorbing gas. Such models assume …

Esports Curricula In U.S. Post-Secondary Institutions: A Case Study, Debra L. Bell

Dissertations

Although the concept of Esports competency has been widely recognized, it is not yet well understood by the various educational institutions that have started offering certification programs in this field. This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the multiple principles that have been established to promote this specialization.

The increasing popularity of gaming and esports has led to the development of a wide range of educational programs that are geared toward addressing the needs of the future workforce. Although the goal of these programs is to provide a comprehensive view of the various facets of this field, the …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Health-Related Baccalaureate And Graduate Web-Based Simulated Clinical Learning Platforms, Kathrine Choura Branch

Dissertations

Simulation has been recognized as a teaching, learning, evaluation, and research strategy based on learning theories, that has come to play a significant role in healthcare education (Beal et al., 2017; La Cerra et al., 2019). Health-related academic programs in higher education have traditionally used simulation to fill gaps in learning and strengthen students’ clinical and critical thinking skills in conjunction with didactic classroom content, laboratory practice, and clinical education in the community setting (Hayden et al., 2014). With the onset and unpredictability of COVID-19, there was almost an immediate need for health-related academic programs across the world to transition …

Alternative Education Programs: An Exploration Of Programs And Supports To Reduce Juvenile Recidivism Among At-Risk Youth, Sarah Elizabeth Vanrensselaer

Dissertations

An exploration of alternative education programs and their relationship to juvenile recidivism was the focus of this narrative analysis. A constructivist epistemology and an interpretivist paradigm formed the conceptual framework, both of which aligned with the theoretical framework of Zimmerman’s (2008) self-regulated learning theory. The research questions focused on how alternative education programs impacted juvenile recidivism with a focus on 10 alternative education participants in Southeast, Wyoming, who have participated in the juvenile justice system. The use of multiple cases, coding, and collaboration between the researcher and the participants were used to ensure trustworthiness of this research. Results indicated the …

Opportunities To Learn The General Education Curriculum: Literacy Instruction For Students With Significant Support Needs In Inclusive Settings, Heather Leigh Fitzpatrick

Dissertations

Students with significant support needs (SSN) have often been denied the breadth and depth of literacy instruction compared to their nondisabled peers. However, exposure to academic literacy increases when students with SSN are educated with their peers without disabilities within inclusive settings. While exposure is the first step to accessing grade level content, it does not necessarily mean that students with SSN will have the same opportunities to learn (OTL). Students with SSN require additional adaptions and supports to learn and make progress in the general education setting. Conversely, these supports are not always provided or used effectively to meet …