Digital Commons Network^™

A View From Within: Timbre As An Analytical Tool In Contemporary Viola Music, Ash Mach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Timbre is an elusive musical parameter that musicians, physicists, and cognitive scientists have been grappling with for centuries. While timbre can roughly be defined as an auditory attribute that distinguishes one tone color from another, this definition does not capture the complexities of sound and our perceptions thereof. Research on timbre has flourished since the 20th century, however, timbre studies has largely gone unnoticed within the viola community. This study, “A View from Within,” helps close the gap between timbre studies and viola repertoire scholarship by presenting analyses of three pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries through a timbre …

Representing The Mixed Plate: Involving Descendant Communities And Kānaka Maoli In Hawai’I Plantation Museums, Amanda Ku’Ualohalanileimakamae Lane

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the ways that the involvement of diverse stakeholders at Hawai’i plantation museums affects representations of Hawai’i’s plantation history. Plantations in Hawai’i had a direct colonizing effect on Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians), displacing them from their lands, replacing them with immigrant laborers, and putting into motion the chain of events that led to Hawai’i’s annexation in 1898. The current-day population in Hawai’i continues to reflect these significant changes in the society and culture of the islands. Hawai’i’s plantation museums traverse topics of labor, immigration, indentured servitude, and colonization. Simultaneously, these museums advance stories of perseverance, celebration, and multiculturalism. …

Thermo-Mechanical Instabilities In Next-Generation Friction Materials In High-Speed Sliding Systems, Kingsford Koranteng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, the manufacturing industry has incorporated metals like copper into friction materials to enhance thermal properties and minimize thermo-mechanical instabilities (TMI) in high-speed sliding systems. Unfortunately, these metals have adverse environmental effects due to the emission of hazardous particulate matter. As a result, there is a growing movement towards adopting next-generation friction materials as an alternative solution.

The study begins by conducting experimental and numerical investigations to examine the instabilities found in metal-based friction materials. The primary objective is to utilize the insights gained from the investigations to computationally explore effective strategies for mitigating various instabilities that may arise …

Bolting The Landscape: An Ethnography Of Yosemite As A Significant Climbing Destination, Vanessa Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Yosemite Valley is a transformative landscape that helps to shape climbers’ identities and fosters a unique sense of community, which continually reinforces its status as a renowned and evolving climbing destination. The historical influence of Yosemite Valley on rock climbing began in the 1950s and has since defined itself as a prominent destination for climbers worldwide. This ethnographic research analyzes how climbers forge a meaningful connection with the Valley by forming a deep sense of place that intertwines with their personal identities as climbers and investigates the intricate relationship between climbers’ identities and the Yosemite landscape. This research also explores …

Molecular Dynamics Study Of Characterization In Metal-Free Friction Materials, Yizhan Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metallic friction materials currently used in industry may adversely impact the environment. Substitutions for metals in friction materials, on the other hand, can introduce operational safety issues and other unforeseeable issues such as thermal-mechanical instabilities and insufficient strength. In view of it, this dissertation focuses on developing different kinds of materials from simple structure to complex structure and evaluating the material properties with the assistance of molecular dynamics (MD) tools at the nano scale.

First, the concept of the contacted surfaces in friction at the atomic scale was introduced in order to get accurate understanding of the friction process compared …

Likeness In Utopia: Situation And Metaphor From Thomas More To Edward Bellamy, Sage Rachmiel Bard Gilbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As a literary genre, utopia is notably didactic. It seeks to teach desire and to educate hope. As such, utopia provides a unique site to examine the way metaphor and imagination enable one to be convinced, and the way those same elements facilitate misunderstanding. Following the theorization of Ernst Bloch, the goal of critiquing these literary utopias is not to reject hope but, rather, to educate our own daydreams, to learn and move forward. These chapters examine didacticism and the development of colonial metonymy in Thomas More’s Utopia, the way metaphor operates through time in Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward: …

Quantitative, Photocurrent Multidimensional Coherent Spectroscopy, Adam Halaoui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multidimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS) is a quickly growing field that has a lot of advantages over more conventional forms of spectroscopy. These advantages all come from the fact that MDCS allows us to get time resolved correlated emission and absorption spectra using very precisely chosen interactions between the density matrix and the excitation laser. MDCS spectra gives the researcher a lot of information that can be extracted purely through qualitative analysis. This is possible because state couplings are entirely separated on the spectra, and once we know how to read the data, we can see how carriers transport in the …

Frequency Stability Constrained Grid Operation With High Penetration Of Renewables, Ningchao Gao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Achieving carbon neutrality necessitates a significant integration of renewable energy into power systems. However, the swift implementation of fluctuating renewable energy (VRE) sources such as solar photovoltaics (PV) exacerbates real time power imbalances due to the randomness and uncertainty associated with VRE power generation. Further, the declining reliance on conventional synchronous generators (SGs) for system inertia presents considerable challenges in maintaining frequency stability, especially following disturbances.

Two possible solutions are proposed to address the first issue. Firstly, a speedy real time generation dispatch can be scheduled to allocate generation resources within short time intervals to effectively respond to changes in …

The Use Of Regularization To Detect Racial Inequities In Pay Equity Studies: An Empirical Study And Reflections On Regulation Methods, Christopher M. Peña

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1970s, multiple linear regression has been the preferred method for identifying discrimination in pay. An empirical study on this topic was conducted using quantitative critical methods. A literature review first examined conflicting views on using multiple linear regression in pay equity studies. The review found that multiple linear regression is used so prevalently in pay equity studies because the courts and practitioners have widely accepted it and because of its simplicity and ability to parse multiple sources of variance simultaneously. Commentaries in the literature cautioned about errors in model specification, the use of tainted variables, and the …

Enhancing Search Engine Results: A Comparative Study Of Graph And Timeline Visualizations For Semantic And Temporal Relationship Discovery, Muhammad Shahiq Qureshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today’s digital age, search engines have become indispensable tools for finding information among the corpus of billions of webpages. The standard that most search engines follow is to display search results in a list-based format arranged according to a ranking algorithm. Although this format is good for presenting the most relevant results to users, it fails to represent the underlying relations between different results. These relations, among others, can generally be of either a temporal or semantic nature. A user who wants to explore the results that are connected by those relations would have to make a manual effort …

You Have To Play To Win: Value Capture In Open Innovation, John T. Pritchard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the extensive research on open innovation, debate remains on the relationship between open innovation and firm performance. No consensus exists on the measures of performance and the mechanisms that enable value capture remain largely unexplored. This dissertation addresses these issues in two parts. First, a theoretical model based on knowledge flows is introduced. Knowledge is at the heart of open innovation and this dissertation examines the role that external and internal knowledge play in firm performance outcomes. It integrates the dynamic capability view and open innovation literature to build a framework and set of arguments on how knowledge is …

Changes In Balance With Brain Inflammation: Sensitivity In Dual Motor Mechanisms, Hannah Mcdade

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Concussion assessment in athletes has gained prominence due to potential long-term consequences of traumatic brain injuries. Evaluating balance alterations is crucial for understanding post-injury motor control strategies. This study introduces a novel approach to understanding center of pressure (COP) dynamics during quiet stance tasks for assessing balance impairments in athletes recovering from concussion. Concussed athletes often experience impaired motor function and cognitive deficits, increasing the risk of orthopedic injury. Traditional balance assessments focus on total COP (COPt), overlooking nuanced hip and ankle mechanisms. This research investigates COP variations between constant loading (COPc) and variable loading (COPv) signals in concussed athletes …

Safest Kid (A Sexual Assault Framework In Education To Support Trauma In Kids With Intellectual Disability): Delphi Study Development Of A Model And Utilization, Ashley M. Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is a grave need for additions to the school psychologist’s toolbox to support students with intellectual disability (ID) and sexual trauma. These children are especially vulnerable to adverse life experiences overall and are at a particularly high risk of experiencing sexual abuse and resulting trauma. Children with ID are less likely to have their trauma symptoms identified by those around them, as symptoms do not always present in the same way as their neurotypical peers and trauma symptoms are more likely to be grouped into the rest of their disability through diagnostic overshadowing. Additionally, individuals with ID are at …

Putting It Gently: The Other Side Of A Peace Corps Volunteer Experience, Nicole Jacobson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Peace Corps is a transformative experience for many young Americans. The majority of volunteers have worthwhile services they remember fondly; however, these experiences are not always positive. The Peace Corps is a Cold War initiative that uses soft power techniques to further American exceptionalism, capitalism, and the modernization theory of development. The goal of this project was to understand what factors led to the negative experiences of Peace Corps Volunteers. I conducted an ethnography that focused on online communities, semi-structured interviews, Peace Corps memoirs, and news articles to understand Peace Corps Volunteers’ experiences and the organizational culture where they …

Psychological Safety And Conflict Management Among Nurse Practitioners In Interprofessional Teams, Scott Tyler Faust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative correlational study explored the relationships between perceived psychological safety, conflict management styles, and perceived conflict management success among nurse practitioners (NPs) operating in interprofessional acute or critical care teams in the United States. Despite existing literature on conflict management and psychological safety, there is a noticeable gap concerning the interplay of these factors, specifically among NPs. A multi-item survey was developed from validated measures to assess psychological safety, conflict management success, and conflict management style. The final sample included 944 NPs. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference in the scores of perceived psychological safety, depending on the …

The Politics Of Preservation: Stewarding Artifacts In Archives, Kollynn Hendry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kay Bailey Hutchison served Texas and the United States in many capacities during her political career. She vastly impacted Texas, as well as Nacogdoches, Texas in particular, through her time serving as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and as a United States Senator. In 2012, she donated her massive collection of gifts and memorabilia to the East Texas Research Center, a regional archive at Stephen F. Austin State University. The university honored her donation by creating a room to display the collection and interpret her influence on East Texas. Due to a rushed timeline, administrative interference, and …

Designing Secure Mental Healthcare Chatbots For Older Adults, Aishwarya Surani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The landscape of mental health support has evolved as a result of the rising demand for digital mental healthcare services. Users now have an opportunity to seek mental health support online due to the growth of digital platforms. For those looking for mental health treatments, chatbots have evolved as user-friendly, accessible platforms that provide remote access and convenience. However, for chatbots to be effective, users must divulge personal and sensitive information, such as demographics, insurance information, and a history of mental illness. While chatbots offer services to a variety of demographic users, older adults face unique challenges related to usability, …

Encounter-Oriented Subjectivity In Levinas And Barth: Conditioned Freedom In Resistance To Ethnonationalism, Michael Laminack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines philosophical and political subjectivity, or how an individual knows the world and relates to society, through a comparative analysis of the phenomenologist Emmanuel Levinas and the Christian theologian Karl Barth. Levinas and Barth share a deep structure of “encounter-oriented subjectivity,” meaning subjectivity oriented by encounter with the Other that calls into question the subject’s freedom and, in this same moment, calls the subject to concrete response. Encounter-oriented subjectivity is critical of the “unconditioned freedom” that orients liberal subjectivity and offers an alternative sense of a “passively conditioned” freedom, or a freedom always already called into question by …

Reevaluating The God-Human Relationship Through The Psychological Origin Of Sin: A Comparative Theology Of Schleiermacher And Kierkegaard On The Doctrine Of Sin, Brandon Tsark

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In his The Concept of Anxiety, Kierkegaard’s decision to have Haufniensis acknowledge Schleiermacher’s contribution to the doctrine of sin continues to raise questions regarding Schleiermacher’s influence on Kierkegaard’s intellectual development. These questions also serve to underscore the general need to locate Kierkegaard properly within the larger context of religious and theological studies in the nineteenth century. Our project here seeks to address these questions with a comparative theology of Schleiermacher and Kierkegaard on the Christian doctrine of sin. I argue that Kierkegaard is right to credit Schleiermacher as a source of inspiration in The Concept of Anxiety because of …

Material Culture In The Mediterranean: An Exploration And Examination Of Anti-Judaic And Antisemitic Spanish Medieval Cultural History, Madison Elizabeth Tarleton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author Gavin Langmuir produced two monographs during his career, both published in 1990. Across both texts, one a proper monograph and one a compilation of essays, he offers a bifurcation of anti-Judaism and antisemitism. These texts illuminate his definitions of the terms and his differentiations on the basis of reason and rationality. Using the bones of these theories, I propose a different kind of bifurcation of these terms as it relates to Mediterranean (medieval) material culture using a cultural historical lens. By applying Gavin Langmuir's theoretical model of nonrational anti-Judaism and irrational antisemitism to material culture, I argue that visual …

Optimizing E-Payment Applications For Older Adults: User-Centered Solutions To Improve Security, Privacy, Usability, And Accessibility, Urvashi Kishnani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In an increasingly digital world, older adults are rapidly becoming a vital demographic in the realm of electronic financial transactions. It is imperative to address their unique needs and challenges to ensure their financial well-being. Older adults can be more vulnerable to various online threats, making security and privacy paramount. As they adapt to the digital age, understanding their specific privacy concerns and preferences is crucial for creating trustworthy e-payment systems. Moreover, enhancing the usability of e-payment applications for older adults promotes financial independence and inclusion, contributing to their overall quality of life. By focusing on these critical dimensions, we …

Exploring College Experiences Of Muslim Students At Four-Year Institutions In Colorado: A Narrative Inquiry, Kamal Gamada Ararso

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last two decades, Colorado's number of Muslim Americans (citizens and permanent residents) has substantially increased (Bowen, 2009a; Bowen, 2009b; Mohamed, 2021; Roberts, 2022). This increase is reflected in the growing number of Islamic community centers, emerging Islamic schools, mosques, grocery stores, Muslim cuisines, and the diversity of students in the post-secondary education system (Roberts, 2022). Although centralized data about Muslim college students are hard to find, their presence within the higher education system is well-known. Still, in Colorado, Muslims' religious, racial, cultural, and gendered experiences within the higher education system remained unexplored in the research. Therefore, this exploratory …

An Empowerment Evaluation Of Colorado Mountain College’S Mountain Scholars Program Via Latino Alumni Aspirational Goals And Outcomes, Laura Anne Bruch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative inquiry evaluated Colorado Mountain College’s (CMC) in-house Mountain Scholars Program (MSP) via semi-structured interviews with five of its Latino alumni. This study’s assets-based social justice/transformative philosophical framework included David Fetterman’s methodological empowerment evaluation and Tara Yosso’s conceptual community cultural wealth (CCW) theory. This dissertation in practice examined the gap in literature with regards to an in-house student support services program evaluation that partners with the community and focuses on Latinos’ aspirations and aspirational outcomes. I wanted to be a worthy witness to the student demographic group at CMC, as well as at most American postsecondary institutions, considered the …

Divergence: Toward A Neurodivergent Latinx Liberative Social Ethic, Rudolph P. Reyes Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A significant problem facing neurodivergent Latinxs is the invisibility of their marginalization and oppression. Neurodivergent Latinxs are invisible in dominant society and theological discourse. While neurodivergence and disability are not synonymous, the failure to recognize the marginalization of disability contributes to neurodivergent invisibility. Disability is depoliticized when disability is conceived as an issue of individual embodiment rather than a social issue of acceptance, accessibility, and equality. Neurodivergent Latinxs are erased, and the physical, epistemic, and institutional violence against them go unnamed.

This research project uses the hermeneutical circle for ethics in formulating praxis in combating the oppression of neurodivergent Latinxs. …

Kinematic Analysis Of Gait And Deep Knee Flexion For Pre- And Post-Operative Total Knee Arthroplasty, Samantha Collins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a form of arthritis that develops in the joint due to overuse and aging causing pain, discomfort, and disability. Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is a surgical procedure performed when OA symptoms are severe with an estimated 600,000 patients in the United States currently receiving TKA. Studies have reported dissatisfaction of the knee for 14-39% of patients. This study collected knee kinematics before and after surgery using stereo radiography for precise measurement of gait and deep knee flexion activities. Results showed healthy knee kinematics were not restored and no significant changes could be seen from OA kinematics in …

Exploration Of Motion Capture System To Investigate Human Shoulder Kinematics, Ola Alsaadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The glenohumeral joint (GH) is commonly conceptualized as a ball-and-socket joint [1], and its center of rotation (COR) is presumed to coincide with the geometric center of the medial-superior region of the humeral head [2]. Recent research has endorsed improvements in COR estimation through invasive and noninvasive techniques, including cadaver studies, stereophotogrammetry, and motion capture (MOCAP) systems. Despite increased interest in wearable technology within human movement analysis, the problem of COR estimation employing MOCAP systems and its validation against bi-planar fluoroscopy remains relatively unexplored.

This study employed a marker-based MOCAP system to compare the accuracy, error, and precision of three …

Teacher Perceptions On The Sustainability Of Trauma-Informed Practices In A Delaware School, Joy Elaine Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore teacher perceptions about the sustainability of trauma-informed practices implementation in a secondary, public comprehensive school. For the purpose of this study, the researcher examined perceptions of 10 staff members who have knowledge of and experience with implanting trauma-informed practices into their school routine. The findings from this study can be used by teachers, support staff, school leaders, and district leaders to help sustain an institutional application and implementation of trauma-informed care in schools. The implication from this study suggests resources for school staff to successfully sustain trauma-informed care.

The Impact Of Internal And External Influences On Federal Procurement Specialists, Jonathan B. Page

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Federal procurement specialists have a unique and powerful role in how the United States government spends money. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the impact internal and external influences have on the decision-making process of federal procurement specialists. A mixed-methods research study was conducted using an electronic survey questionnaire to collect quantitative data and video interviews to collect qualitative data. The sample included individuals who held a Federal Acquisitions Certification in Contracting and worked for non-Department of Defense federal agencies. The quantitative findings found that internal and external influences impact federal procurement specialists, but the …

The Impact Of Self-Compassion Strategies To Reduce Stress And Support The Transition To Practice For New Graduate Nurses: A Pilot Project, Charity Michelle Ballmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abstract The purpose of the study was to analyze the impact of self-compassion exercises to reduce stress and support the transition to practice for new graduate nurses. As the years pass, one thing remains a consistent topic in healthcare, and the need for nurses remains constant. The nursing staffing shortage gap seemingly widened further as the COVID-19 pandemic created additional challenges for healthcare systems, patient care, and employees. Retention of the workforce and an intentional focus on new graduate nurses' well-being have become increasingly important. New graduate nurses are a pipeline for the nursing workforce. Supporting the transition to practice …

Assessment Of Self-Efficacy And Practice Change Following Pressure Injury Education In A Long-Term Care Facility, Charity L. Booker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this scholarly project was to evaluate if pressure injury education improved nursing knowledge and self-efficacy in the prevention and management of pressure injuries with the intent to improve practice. A literature review was conducted to evaluate educational interventions for adult learners and nursing roles in the care process. Existing studies indicated that patient outcomes are improved when nurses have adequate knowledge in pressure injury prevention. This quality improvement project was implemented in a long-term care facility with 28 nursing staff. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality pressure injury best practices presentation was the basis for the …