Digital Commons Network^™

Racializing Digital Campus Spaces: A Critical Phenomenological Approach To Understanding (Re)Production Of Whiteness In Digital Campus Ecology, Victoria Elizabeth Callais

Dissertations

The landscape of higher education campus environments continues to change as student populations diversify (Parsons, 2023; Renn & Reason, 2013) and campus spaces extend into the digital realm. This critical phenomenological study examined organizational features that racialize digital campus ecology by examining the phenomena of interest, racialized digital campus spaces (RDCS). Through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with undergraduate students that focused on their experiences with RDCS and semi-structured interviews with administrators that focused on the organizational infrastructure and campus digital culture, findings revealed a complex understanding of campus ecology when reflecting on issues around race. I introduce Augmented Reality …

Exploring The Incumbent Early Childhood Workforce As Teachers Who Student And Students Who Teach: A Phenomenological Study, Kate Maxine Connor

Dissertations

The professionalization efforts within the early childhood workforce continue to push for current workforce members to return to college to earn associate or baccalaureate degrees. Leaders of these efforts have called for higher education institutions to be flexible and supportive. At the same time, there is little research on the experiences of teachers returning to college, particularly those attending community colleges where most early childhood higher education programs exist. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of early childhood teachers returning to school to earn their Associate of Applied Science degree in Early Childhood while working in classroom settings. …

Racialization’S Influence On African American Male University Attrition: Is It Culture Shock Or Is There More To The Story, Joseph M. Butler

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the influence of racialization on the attrition rates of African American male students in predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The study examines whether these students experience cultural shock or face more profound systemic challenges. The research explores how African American men navigate and perceive their college environments by employing Critical Race Theory and DuBois' double consciousness. The research utilizes a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative interviews, demographic surveys, and document analysis to view these students' experiences comprehensively. The study focuses on four religiously affiliated universities, highlighting the intersection of race, identity, and institutional culture and revealing patterns of isolation, …

Clinical Social Workers, Telemental Health And The Covid-19 Pandemic, Juli Chaffee

Dissertations

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and due to the shelter in place order that most states required, licensed clinical social workers (CSW’s) were forced to switch from in person services to telemental health services almost overnight. Many did so without previous training, adequate technology, a confidential office, or professional support. While there is a growing body of research regarding the increased use of telemental health in the mental health field during COVID-19, there is minimal research which narrows in what it was like for the CSW’s who made this transition. The purpose of this study was to better …

Middle Class African Americans Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Self-Care Practices Related To Their Spirituality, Self-Efficacy, And Health Literacy, Jacqueline G. Moody

Dissertations

Diabetes mellitus continues to be one of the most commonly diagnosed medical conditions in the United States. More than 25 million children and adults are living with type 1 or type 2 DM (ADA, 2012). Even though 18 million patients have been diagnosed with diabetes, an additional 7 million are unaware they have the disease. An important factor in health outcomes for diabetes is self-care that includes proper glucose levels control. Self-care for diabetes mellitus is important to decrease an individual's risk factors. Self-care consists of the practice of activities that maturing and mature persons initiate and perform, within time …

Hospital-Associated Functional Status Decline In Pulmonary Patients, Amy C. Shay

Dissertations

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant worldwide cause of chronic illness and mortality and one of the most common admitting diagnoses in the United States. Persons with COPD are at increased risk for deconditioning during hospitalization, which can lead to decreased functional status at discharge. Disease-related factors and elements of the hospital environment make older adults with COPD vulnerable to hospital-associated functional status decline. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify activity factors that contribute to hospital-associated functional status decline in older adults with COPD by promoting functioning during hospitalization. This predictive correlational study is a secondary …

Addressing Gatekeeping Challenges In Counselor Education: A Grounded Theory, Vanessa Pauline Gill

Dissertations

This constructivist grounded theory study explored how counselor educators navigate remediation and gatekeeping challenges in CACREP-accredited programs. Fifteen counselor educators with at least one challenging gatekeeping experience participated in semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. All interviews were recorded and transcripts were completed. Data was analyzed using grounded theory methodology and analysis efforts were organized using the MAXQDA 2024 software. Data analysis involving constant comparison methods and memo-writing generated an emerging theory describing counselor educators’ journey from uncertainty to increased confidence in addressing remediation issues. The theory illuminates how experiential learning, reflective practice, and supportive professional relationships inform this developmental process. …

Reclaiming Healing Spaces: A Phenomenological Study On The Transformative Power Of Outdoor Therapy From The Lived Experiences Of Black Clinicians Working With Black Clients, Lynn Murphy

Dissertations

This phenomenological study involved assessing the experiences of Black therapists who engaged Black clients in outdoor therapeutic contexts. The study was founded on the existing literature that shows the quality of the therapeutic relationship is pivotal for client retention and the Western standards that have historically favored treatment within indoor environments. To contextualize this research, a comprehensive literature review was commenced, covering topics such as the decolonization of therapy, the historical and present-day relationship between Blacks and the outdoors in the United States, sedentary lifestyles, the psychological benefits of time spent in nature, various types of outdoor therapy, and the …

Infertility’S Impact On Couples’ Functioning, Elizabeth Sanders

Dissertations

Historically, infertility has been a taboo topic of discussion and is often avoided in conversation because of the stigmatization of the diagnosis. According to the World Health Organization (2022), infertility affects 186 million individuals globally. However, there seems to be a gap in the research as it pertains to the psychological well-being and treatment of men and women diagnosed with this condition. While it has become less of a feared topic, it still is not discussed or researched enough, thus further exacerbating the gap in research on mental health and treatment options. The following dissertation completed a critical review of …

A Multifactorial Study Of Factors Influencing Self-Health Behaviors In Dementia, Elizabeth Malkin

Dissertations

The global increase in dementia cases presents a significant public health challenge, particularly given the absence of a cure and the rising healthcare burden on individuals and society. This study aims to examine the influence of knowledge, beliefs, and motivation on self-health behaviors to mitigate the risk of dementia among individuals residing in the United States. With the use of an online survey, the study utilized the U.S. normed MCLHB-DRR scale and supplemental questions about knowledge of risk factors and degree of closeness to family members with dementia to determine whether (1) more closely related relatives (first-degree relatives) and those …

Differences Are Not Deficits: Women Introverting While Black Through The Ascent To Executive Leadership In Higher Education, Jeri A. Bingham

Dissertations

Diversity of personality type in the workplace can lead to improved morale and productivity when organizations acknowledge and support the attributes and differences of employee behaviors and characteristics. Black women executives identifying as introverted who lead with their authentic personas and intersected marginalized identities, benefit employers, employees, students, and the institution’s brand and bottom line. Introversion and extroversion, ways to describe diversity of personality type, and each having different connotations in office culture, are relevant to this exploration as literature suggests that the population of both personality types is almost evenly distributed. The implications of judgement and the association to …

Multi-Label Classification Using Conformal Prediction, Chhavi Tyagi

Dissertations

In many machine learning applications, such as image tagging, document classi-fication, and medical diagnosis, a data instance can be associated with multiple classes in parallel so that each instance is associated with multiple response variables simultaneously defining multi-label classification. Standard multi-label classification methods that provide point predictions have been developed. They lack in quantifying the uncertainty of predictions. These methods also lack in accounting for label dependencies and are very computationally expensive. This dissertation develops two methods of multi-label classification using conformal prediction that quantify the uncertainty of predictions. Chapter 1 introduces notations and tools that have been used in …

Investigating The Neurovascular Correlates Of Cognitive Function In Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Donna Yali Chen

Dissertations

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) have a 13 times greater risk of cognitive impairment than able-bodied individuals and commonly report symptoms of depression and anxiety. The reports of cognitive impairment in individuals with SCI are independent of concomitant brain injury. Although the direct cause of cognitive impairment in individuals with SCI is unknown, key contributors may include comorbid depression, chronic pain, anxiety, fatigue, brain injury, or cardiovascular dysfunction. Previous studies have focused on SCI at the level of the spinal cord but have under-investigated the supraspinal levels. Due to the lack of neuroimaging studies on SCI rehabilitation, it is …

A Micromagnetic Study Of Skyrmions In Thin-Film Multilayered Ferromagnetic Materials, Nicholas J. Dubicki

Dissertations

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically protected, localized, nanoscale spin textures in non-centrosymmetric thin ferromagnetic materials and heterostructures. At present they are of great interest to physicists for potential applications in information technology due to their particle-like properties and stability. In a system of multiple thin ferromagnetic layers, the stray field interaction was typically treated with various simplifications and approximations. It is shown that extensive analysis of the micromagnetic equations leads to an exact representation of the stray field interaction energy in the form of layer interaction kernels, a so-called 'finite thickness' representation. This formulation reveals the competition between perpendicular magnetic anisotropy …

Enhancing Community Flood Resilience By Incorporating Landscape Hydrological Sensitivity And Connectivity, Wenlong Feng

Dissertations

Rapid urban expansion and dramatic climate change have significantly increased the intensity and frequency of floods worldwide. With rising flood risks, conventional flood defense strategies that rely on structural measures become ineffective. The present designations for flood-prone areas, such as FEMA's flood maps, are becoming unreliable. Flood risk management is shifting toward enhancing community flood resilience, highlighting the importance of non-structural approaches. Landscape resilience has become a foundation of community flood resilience. However, past urban development typically undermined natural hydro-ecological functions and landscape resilience because of poor recognition of landscapes' ecological role, hydrological sensitivity, and hydrological connections. This study aims …

Certifying Stability In Runge-Kutta Schemes: Algebraic Conditions And Semidefinite Programming, Austin Juhl

Dissertations

Numerical stability is a critical property for a time-integration scheme. In the context of Runge-Kutta methods applied to stiff differential equations, A-stability is one of the most basic and practically important notions of stability. Dating back to the work of Dahlquist, it has been known that A-stability is equivalent to the Runge-Kutta stability function satisfying a particular convex feasibility problem. Specifically, up to a transformation, the stability function lies in the convex cone of positive functions. In recent years, sum-of-squares optimization and semidefinite programming have become valuable tools in developing rigorous certificates of stability in dynamical systems. Therefore, it is …

Federated Learning Systems For Mobile Sensing Data, Xiaopeng Jiang

Dissertations

Federated Learning (FL) has emerged as a new distributed Deep Learning (DL) paradigm that enables privacy-aware training and inference on mobile devices with help from the cloud. This dissertation presents a comprehensive exploration of FL with mobile sensing data, covering systems, applications, and optimizations.

First, a mobile-cloud FL system, FLSys, is designed to balance model performance with resource consumption, tolerate communication failures, and achieve scalability. In FLSys, different DL models with different FL aggregation methods can be trained and accessed concurrently by different apps. In addition, FLSys provides advanced privacy-preserving mechanisms and a common API for third-party app developers to …

Data Driven Decision Making For Sustainable Planning And Operations Of Large Scale Networks, Bahareh Kargar

Dissertations

This dissertation explores data-driven decision-making networks, focusing on sustainable planning and operations for large-scale systems such as healthcare supply chains and power systems. One significant application in healthcare is the optimization of vaccine supply chains. An agent-based simulation-optimization modeling framework is developed to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of vaccine distribution. First, an agent-based epidemiological model of COVID-19 is extended to capture disease transmission dynamics and forecast the number of susceptible individuals and infections. Then, a sustainable vaccine supply chain considering the impacts of greenhouse gases is developed and integrated with the simulation model to minimize total costs and environmental …

Electrified Membrane For Water Treatment And Resource Recovery: Advancing Multiscale Strategies In Gas-Involving Reactions, Jianan Gao

Dissertations

Multifunctional, modular, and scalable water treatment technologies that operate without chemical additives are crucial for addressing global water pollution challenges. While traditional membrane-based separation processes are crucial for ensuring clean water supplies, they primarily focus on pollutant removal rather than on the upcycling of pollutants into valuable resources. Electrified membrane filtration presents a robust alternative, utilizing minimal or no chemical additives and harnessing electrical power to directly reduce contaminants or produce reactive oxidants or reductants on-site.

This dissertation is dedicated to the development of innovative electrochemically reactive membranes designed to address three major challenges: (1) the engineering of electrocatalysts with …

A Methodological Framework For Ontology Development, Enrichment, And Application In Natural Language Processing Tasks, Navya Martin Kollapally

Dissertations

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have been widely used in healthcare to record demographics, vital signs, test results, immunizations, medical imaging reports, differential diagnoses, etc. It is now accepted that non-clinical (e.g., social) factors have a substantial influence on health outcomes. Hence, it is desirable to record these Social and Commercial Determinants of Health (SDoH & CDoH) in an EHR. The "non-text parts" of EHR notes (e.g., data tables) rely on coded terms from underlying ontologies or terminologies to facilitate semantic interoperability. Ontologies help define concepts, the relationships between them, and instances that can be utilized in research.

The first accomplishment …

Microwave Catalysis-Enabled Membrane Processes For Microbial Inactivation, Fangzhou Liu

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for advanced technologies to combat virus transmission. Traditional membrane filtration technologies primarily serve as physical barriers, capturing pollutants but failing to inactivate microbial agents such as bacteria and viruses. These membranes typically target larger particles but are ineffective against sub-micrometer viral particles. Thus, there's a critical demand for membrane filtration processes that combine robust filtration with antifouling and reaction -enabled functions for efficient pathogen disinfection. This research explores a novel microwave-assisted membrane filtration process incorporating catalytic reactions to enhance microbial disinfection and prevent membrane fouling, offering a groundbreaking solution to global challenges …

Estimation Of Spo2 Levels And Heart Rate From Ppg Signals In The Presence Of Motion Artifacts, Chizhong Wang

Dissertations

In the rapidly advancing world of health technology, wearable devices are at the forefront, fundamentally changing how individuals monitor their health. The key to this transformation is photoplethysmography (PPG), a non-invasive optical method that measures blood flow variations through the skin by detecting changes in light absorption with each heartbeat. This capability makes PPG essential for monitoring vital signs such as heart rate and blood oxygen saturation(SpO₂). Furthermore, the utility of PPG signals has been extended beyond traditional health metrics to include human activity classification, offering a holistic perspective on an individual's physical health and activity levels, in …

Order-Picking Strategies And Efficiency Models For The Fulfillment Of Multi-Line E-Commerce Grocery Orders, Zijia Wang

Dissertations

The fulfillment process for Buy Online Pickup from Store grocery orders (BOPS-Grocery) is particularly challenging, given the large item count per order and the low-profit margins. This research investigates the BOPS-Grocery model and pursues the following objectives: (i) Defining and specifying the BOPS-Grocery fulfillment process. Differentiating the process from classical warehouse order picking., identifying performance objectives, and characterizing design options and facility layout. (ii) Modelling and developing order picking algorithms specific to the straight aisle section. Formulated as an order hatching problem with picker movement minimization. No order splitting, and (iii) modeling and developing order picking algorithms specific to the …

Numerical Techniques For Improving Simulations Of Tropical Cyclones, Yassine Tissaoui

Dissertations

The increasing frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones (TCs) due to climate change pose significant challenges for forecasting and mitigating their impacts. Despite advancements, accurately predicting TC rapid intensification (RI) remains a challenge. Large eddy simulation (LES) allows for explicitly resolving the large eddies involved in TC turbulence, thus providing an avenue for studying the mechanisms behind their intensification and RI. LES of a full tropical cyclone is very computationally expensive and its accuracy will depend on both explicit and implicit dissipation within an atmospheric model. This dissertation presents two novel numerical methodologies with the potential to improve the efficiency …

Collision Dynamics Of Compound Droplets In Microchannels: A Combined Numerical And Data-Driven Study, S M Abdullah Al Mamun

Dissertations

Understanding and predicting the hydrodynamic interactions of micron-scale droplets is crucial in a wide range of industrial and real-life applications, including microfluidics, pharmaceutics, drug delivery, food science, and enhanced oil recovery. These multi-phase and multi-scale phenomena are further complicated by the presence of core droplets of an immiscible fluid within shell droplets, known as compound droplets. The collisions and interactions of droplets in emulsions are influenced by various physical and geometric parameters, leading to distinct rheological and dynamic responses. This research employs numerical methods for a systematic parametric study of both simple and compound droplet pair collisions under confined shear …

Large Deviation Theory In Stochastic Processes: Applications To Biological Modeling, Moshe C. Silverstein

Dissertations

This dissertation delves into developing and applying stochastic models to analyze complex biological systems. It leverages Large Deviation Theory (LDT) to gain insights into these systems, focusing on two key examples: neural networks and calcium signaling dynamics. Traditional deterministic methods frequently fail to capture biological processes' randomness and inherent variability. Meanwhile, many stochastic approaches struggle to be mathematically tractable or provide accessible insights. The approach introduced in this study provides rigorous mathematical frameworks to enhance understanding of these stochastic behaviors while remaining tractable and insightful.

A stochastic model for a random biological neural network is constructed that addresses the dependencies …

Efficient Numerical Methods For Monge-Ampere Type Equations, Jake S. Brusca

Dissertations

Current numerical methods for Monge-Ampere-type equations and Optimal Transport problems face challenges when handling higher dimensions and large-scale data. This dissertation aims to develop and analyze efficient, highly parallelizable numerical algorithms for solving the Monge-Ampere equation to address these issues. Two approaches are employed:

(1) The discretization method is enhanced by introducing an integral repre-sentation of the Monge-Ampere operator. This integral can be discretized using higher-order quadrature, yielding a more efficient, higher-order monotone scheme that allows for narrower stencils. An additional advantage of this discretization is its natural extension to arbitrary dimensions.

(2) The nonlinear solvers for this scheme are …

Caregiver Support For Patients Diagnosed With Dementia, Michelle N. Kabakibi

Dissertations

Background: Current research indicates that caregivers of dementia patients often experience a great deal of stress related to caregiving. Most of these caregivers are informal caregivers without prior knowledge or training in dementia care. Previous studies indicate that informal caregivers often experience stress during this postdiagnosis period due to a lack of high-quality and available information, education, and support services tailored to meet the unique needs of families caring for a dementia patient. Currently published approaches to providing caregivers with information are largely centered on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Purpose: This descriptive qualitative study was conducted to examine the lived experience …

An Autoethnography Of A Social Justice-Minded Teacher In Corrections, Graciela Rubalcaba-Munoz

Dissertations

ABSTRACT The incarceration of women has increased 93% in the last fifty years. This impacts marginalized communities at disproportionate rates. Although the provision of education in corrections became federal law in 1952 as a means to rehabilitate inmates, women’s facilities currently do not receive equitable resources to support education, which puts additional pressure on the educational staff. The legal requirement for education includes county jails, the transitory facilities that house inmates while they await court or transfer to prison. The jail educational system is volatile, making it difficult to engage students when there are constant interruptions, unexpected incidents, lockdowns, and …

Optimistic Biases On E-Cigarette Cessation: Examining Competing Theoretical Models For Young Adults With And Without Chronic Health Conditions, Eleanor Steffens

Dissertations

The dramatic increase in youth nicotine initiation is an ongoing public health concern and heightens risk for morbidity and mortality, especially among young adults with chronic health conditions. Consequently, there is an urgent need for research exploring potential psychological mechanisms for continued e-cigarette use to aid in the development of targeted cessation interventions and combat the re-emerging nicotine epidemic. Utilizing the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, the present study modeled the impact of optimistic biases for e-cigarette use on e-cigarette cessation interest among young adults with and without chronic health conditions (n=1,827). Results showed that, regardless of …