Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Validation Of A Multi-Output Neural Network-Based Virtual Temperature Sensor For Electric Vehicle Thermal Management, Dalton Michael Wiggins

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rely on accurate thermal management to ensure component performance, efficiency, safety, and long-term durability. Critical propulsion system components, including electric motors and high-voltage battery packs, are commonly monitored using physical temperature sensors. However, these sensors increase system cost, introduce additional hardware complexity, and may be impractical for directly measuring temperatures at critical internal locations. Virtual temperature sensors (VTSs) provide a software-based alternative by estimating component temperatures using readily available vehicle operating data.

This research presents the development and validation of a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network-based virtual temperature sensor capable of simultaneously estimating the motor …

Computer Vision Methods For Rfi Segmentation In Radio Astronomy, Yechan Kweon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) increasingly contaminates the radio astronomy spectrum, often exceeding astronomical signal amplitudes by 50–70 dB. Reliable detection and mitigation are therefore essential for studies of faint transient phenomena such as pulsars and fast radio bursts (FRBs). Existing practical methods including Spectral Kurtosis (SK), Median Absolute Deviation (MAD), and SumThreshold perform well in many settings but depend on assumptions about the RFI environment and data statistics, limiting their effectiveness for weak, broadband, or nonstationary interference.

We develop a transform based RFI detection method that requires no prior knowledge of the RFI origin or type. The method operates on …

Technology-Driven Approaches For Invasive Species Detection And Management, Kushal Naharki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Invasive species pose significant ecological, economic, and management challenges globally. Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), and mile-a-minute (Persicaria perfoliata) are widespread invasive plants across the eastern United States and present persistent challenges, particularly in remote and inaccessible landscapes. Effective management of these species requires an integrated approach that combines early detection, targeted intervention, public engagement, and spatial modeling. This dissertation used emerging technologies to improve invasive species detection, monitoring, and management.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based platforms equipped with optical sensors were used to establish …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of West Virginia’S Artificial Food Dye Ban In K–12 School Meals: Initial Year Of 2025-2026, Leah Michelle Rogers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

OBJECTIVES: Artificial food dyes (AFD+) are an increasing policy concern in the U.S., particularly in children’s foods. West Virginia’s House Bill 2354, the first statewide AFD+ ban implemented in K-12 schools, restricts seven AFD+ in state-funded meals. Little is known about how AFD+ bans are perceived or implemented. This study examined how the ban functioned within school food systems and the barriers and facilitators experienced by school stakeholders within the initial year of implementation during the 2025-2026 school year.

METHODS: A cross-sectional, observational mixed-methods study was conducted among implementers, enforcers, and receivers of the policy. A survey tool …

Improving The Continuity Of Care For Opioid Use Disorder: Investigating Fentanyl Overdose Outcomes And Pharmacy-Level Buprenorphine Access, Lyn Yuen Choo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Opioid overdose (OD) deaths remain a leading cause of injury-related death in the United States (US) and approximately 76,516 drug OD deaths were predicted in the past year prior to April 2025. While previous research has focused on fatal opioid ODs, less is known about outcomes following non-fatal opioid ODs (NFOO) involving fentanyl. Patients who experienced a fentanyl OD may develop significant morbidity and inpatient mortality due to fentanyl’s high potency, rapid onset of action, and decreased response to naloxone. Research efforts to improve continuity of care for opioid use disorder (OUD) are highly needed to ensure appropriate follow-up care …

Shaping Occupational Self-Efficacy In Complex Jobs: Cognitive Flexibility, Role Stressors, And The Workplace, Carolyn Henn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Career advancement in many professions requires employees to move beyond a single specialized role and perform effectively across different responsibilities. These complex jobs often combine technical work, project oversight, client interaction, financial accountability, and coordination with others. Successfully managing these overlapping responsibilities requires strong occupational self-efficacy, but not much is known about the factors that shape employees’ confidence in their ability to perform in complex jobs, particularly under role stress. This study uses cross-sectional survey data from 132 full-time professionals working in complex, multi-role jobs across a range of industries to examine how cognitive flexibility, role stressors, and job demands …

Examining Moral Susceptibility In Ai Vs. Human-Assisted Decision-Making, Seth James Fogle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly integrated into decision-making contexts, yet their influence on ethical judgment remains unclear. This study examines whether advice from an AI advisor, compared to a human advisor, affects moral susceptibility in a consumer decision-making scenario. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design (advisor type × price condition), this research tests whether personal agency, perceived objectivity, and diffusion of responsibility operate as psychological mechanisms underlying ethical decision-making.

Results indicate that advisor type did not significantly influence moral susceptibility, nor did it significantly affect the proposed mediators. Additionally, the price condition did not moderate these relationships. …

The Hidden Process Of Student Placements: Perspectives From Slp, Ot, And Pt Coordinators, Almara Jane Sidney Hutchinson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This comparative multi-case study examined the unseen processes behind clinical placement planning in allied health education. Clinical placements are essential to preparing students in speech-language pathology (SLP), occupational therapy (OT), and physical therapy (PT); however, little research has explored how Directors and Coordinators of Clinical Education (DCE/CCEs) navigate the complex decision-making involved in planning these experiences. Guided by Greco and Myers’ (2024) framework conceptualizing placement planning as an interaction between process and experience, this study explored how coordinators described their planning processes and the role of student-centeredness within them.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 DCEs/CCEs representing SLP, OT, and …

Social Media Addiction And Its Influence On The Physical Social Interactions Among West Virginia University Students, Blessing Ochom Omaleko

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

ABSTRACT

Social Media Addiction and its Influence on the Physical Social Interactions Among West Virginia University Students

Blessing O. Omaleko

This qualitative study investigated social media addiction and its perceived influence on face-to-face interactions among 14 West Virginia University students using an open-ended qualitative survey. Grounded in Griffiths' (2013) behavioral addiction components, salience, mood modification, conflict, and relapse, the data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Findings revealed that while students characterized their social media use as a habit rather than an addiction, their descriptions aligned with multiple addiction components. Students consistently valued in-person interactions over online …

Difficult Tasks And Strained Ties: Irritation As A Mediator For Relationship Quality And Caregiver Distress, Payton Elisabeth Radcliffe

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Caregiving, defined as providing regular unpaid assistance to individuals with chronic illness or disability, is a widespread role associated with both societal benefit and psychological strain (Berg et al., 2021; Schulz et al., 2020). Prior research indicates that perceived caregiving difficulty is a key predictor of caregiver distress, though the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear (Blom et al., 2024; Gérain & Zech, 2022). Drawing on the Stress Process Model (Pearlin et al., 1990), the present study examined irritation as a mediator linking perceived caregiving difficulty to relationship quality and caregiver distress, while also testing whether caregiver relationship type moderates …

How Do Reading Specialists Shape Their Identities As Literacy Leaders? An Exploration Of Competence, Performance, And Recognition Within Communities Of Practice, Christina Glance Petrone

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative multiple-case study explored how reading specialists enact literacy leadership within elementary schools in West Virginia. Although reading specialists are increasingly expected to support schoolwide literacy improvement, leadership responsibilities are not always explicitly defined within their roles. Guided by a communities of practice framework and an identity model, this study examined how reading specialists develop and demonstrate literacy leadership through their daily interactions with teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. Data sources included participant questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with participants, their principals, and colleagues from their school. Participants in this study included three reading specialists (interventionists) working in K-5 …

Borrowed But Mine: Time-Based Asymmetries In Psychological Ownership, Elizabeth Ann Brauer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

People often borrow everyday items, such as a friend’s jacket or pair of sunglasses, and after a period of use, may begin to feel as if the item is their own. Psychological ownership captures this felt sense of “mine,” even in the absence of legal ownership, and reflects the extent to which a target becomes incorporated into the self (Pierce et al., 2003). Despite decades of work on psychological ownership, little is known about how psychological ownership develops and changes within interpersonal lending and borrowing contexts. This dissertation examines how possession duration influences psychological ownership in interpersonal borrowing relationships and …

So There I Was, Jesse Marie Baggett

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This written thesis provides a description and analysis of my thesis exhibition, So There I Was, which presents a body of ceramic sculptures and paintings that explore themes of adventure, travel, and shared experiences. The work reimagines personal experiences through a cast of animal characters, with a rabbit acting as a stand-in for myself. These narratives are inspired by events from my own life and are transformed into imaginative scenes that emphasize playfulness, wonder, and storytelling.

The sculptures combine toy-like animal figures, pull carts, and miniature architectural structures to create playful environments that resemble playsets or staged scenes where …

The Differential Impacts Of Internal And External Corporate Social Responsibility Activities On Consumer Trust After Covid-19, Kennadi C. Mccoy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores the strategic role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in helping small businesses recover from crises, with a specific focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. Different from many traditional studies that highlight the ethical or reputational aspects of CSR, this research will examine its practical effects: how CSR initiatives during crises influence business success by enhancing consumer trust, particularly by examining the differential impact of Internal CSR versus External CSR. The study suggests that, compared with internally focused CSR, external CSR activities will have a greater impact on consumer trust. In addition, the dissertation suggests that this effect is …

The Importance Of College Radio As An Experiential Learning Opportunity For Students, John Boggess

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As society evolves, journalism does too, and many universities are experiencing a significant shift from traditional outlets such as radio to more modern, digital platforms. College radio is a common resource of journalism schools to practice and develop professional skills, but with budget cuts and a lack of continued support from the university, it can be presumed that college campuses might be trying to phase it out. While radio may not be the most booming outlet in the world of journalism today, college radio still possesses the opportunity for students to gain the proper skills for the professional world that …

Empowered Choices: A Quality Improvement Women’S Health Initiative In Faith-Based Nursing For Women Recovering From Substance Use Disorder, Jennifer Mewshaw

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: Women with substance use disorder (SUD) face higher rates of unplanned pregnancy, reproductive infections, and delayed prenatal care. Faith community nurses (FCNs) often already serve within this community and have a long history of promoting public health interventions. However, they lack the knowledge and confidence in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education.

Evidence Review: A literature review identified barriers to SRH care for women with SUD and the role of FCNs in community and public health interventions. Evidence supports providing FCNs with the knowledge and skills to deliver SRH education and support for women with SUD using trauma-informed and …

Improving Access To Treatment For Alcohol Use Disorder For Veterans: An Evidence-Based Practice Policy Analysis, Mary Rizzo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is common among veterans and is associated with poor health outcomes. Although extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) is an effective treatment, maintenance injections at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System are only available at the main medical center, requiring many veterans to travel long distances each month.

Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based practice policy analysis was to evaluate the feasibility of offering XR-NTX injections at Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) and develop a policy recommendation to improve access to care.

Intervention: This project examined the current XR-NTX administration process and compared it with alternative approaches used within the …

Landscape As Expo: Reimagining Desert Landscapes As Climate-Adaptive Cultural Infrastructure In Las Vegas, Parinaz Baradaran Anaraki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Contemporary desert cities face increasing environmental and social challenges driven by climate change, including extreme heat, water scarcity, fragmented ecological systems, and limited access to high-quality public open space. In many rapidly urbanizing regions, conventional urban development has marginalized desert landscapes, treating them as vacant land rather than valuable ecological and cultural assets. This thesis proposes Landscape as Expo as a new framework for transforming desert landscapes into climate-adaptive cultural infrastructure, where ecological processes become both functional systems and public experiences.

The project focuses on a 140-acre site within the Tule Springs Planning District in North Las Vegas, Nevada, identified …

The Histamine-3 Receptor In Cardiac Fibrosis: A Novel Role In Fibroblast Function, Heather Linsky

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the United States, heart failure affects approximately 6.7 million individuals. Despite a number of available therapies, heart failure prevalence continues to grow, suggesting the need for a broader range of effective therapies. More specifically, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction comprises approximately 50% of all heart failure cases and, as the name suggests, is a disease of diastolic dysfunction as opposed to systolic dysfunction. A hallmark of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is myocardial fibrosis, which is a key contributor to diastolic dysfunction, and is the major focus of this dissertation work. In the heart, histamine-3 receptor activation …

Promoting The Use Of Smoke Evacuation Systems In The Operating Room: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Andrea Leigh Drayer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: Surgical smoke produced during procedures poses serious health risks to operating

room (OR) staff and patients, yet many hospitals, including an academic medical center in

northern West Virginia, have underutilized smoke evacuation systems. The imminent

enforcement of West Virginia House Bill 4376, mandating smoke evacuation use, provided both

urgency and opportunity for an intervention.

Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) quality improvement project

was to increase timely compliance with the use of smoke evacuation systems during all smoke-

producing procedures, ensuring alignment with safety standards and legislative requirements.

Methods: A systematic evidence review of academic …

Graded Repertoire For Violin By Latin American Composers: Pedagogical Analysis And Categorization Of Selected Pieces, Irene Guerra Rudas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Repertoire sequences have evolved from a collection of technical studies into a comprehensive educational framework. This research aims to enhance the integration of innovative pedagogical materials by identifying, analyzing, and categorizing works originally composed for violin by Latin American composers. These works are assessed for their suitability within a structured violin curriculum and organized into graded levels, ranging from elementary to advanced.

Each selected piece is evaluated according to pedagogical parameters commonly used in established violin teaching traditions. These parameters include pitch range, rhythmic complexity, bow strokes, length, stylistic diversity, musical language, and the historical and cultural relevance of both …

The Hidden Costs Of Consumption: A Multi-Context Investigation On Stigma And Social Judgment, Siti Nuraisyah Suwanda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Consumption is not always as simple as an exchange of value between a buyer and a seller. In many contexts, what individuals choose to consume or not consume can carry social meaning, leading to judgment and devaluation. While prior research has explored stigma broadly in marketing and consumer behavior, less attention has been given to stigma that caused specifically by consumption choices. This dissertation addresses this gap by examining how consumption becomes socially evaluated and judged across different contexts, with the goal of advancing both theoretical understanding and practical insights into socially sensitive consumption.

Essay One develops the foundation by …

The Impact Of Ai Service Workers On Opportunistic Complaint Behavior, Chelsi J. Baker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Consumer complaint behavior research has traditionally focused on interactions between customers and human employees, leaving open questions about how these behaviors may change when the service agent is artificial intelligence. This research looks at whether customers are more likely to engage in opportunistic complaint behavior when interacting with AI service agents and explores what might explain that behavior. The results show that customers are more likely to behave opportunistically when interacting with AI service agents than with human employees. Perceived morality helps explain this relationship, as more human-like service agents increase the extent to which exaggerating a complaint is seen …

Ornithine Metabolism In Retinal Pigment Epithelium And Retina And Implications In Gyrate Atrophy, Artjola Puja

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ornithine aminotransferase (OAT) is a mitochondrial enzyme that regulates ornithine metabolism by converting ornithine to pyrroline-5-carboxylate, a precursor for proline and glutamate synthesis. Deficiency of OAT causes systemic ornithine accumulation and leads to gyrate atrophy (GA) of the choroid and retina, a hereditary disorder characterized by progressive chorioretinal degeneration and irreversible vision loss. Chorioretinal atrophy typically starts at the mid-peripheral retina and progresses toward the macula. Although elevated ornithine is considered toxic to the eye, how ornithine is metabolized in ocular tissues and why OAT deficiency causes selective, region-specific vulnerability remain unclear. We combined ex vivo and in vivo stable …

Graft: Graph-Augmented Framework With Vision Transformers For Multi-Label Classification, Ghazaleh Mirzaee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Multi-label classification of thoracic diseases from chest X-ray images poses a distinctive challenge: patients rarely present with a single isolated pathology, and automated systems must identify multiple co-occurring conditions simultaneously from a single radiograph. Standard classification architectures treat each disease label as an independent binary decision, failing to capture the statistical co-occurrence patterns, spatial anatomical relationships, and visual feature similarities that characterize multi-disease presentations in clinical data. Class imbalance and incomplete labels compound these problems. In NIH ChestX-ray14, the rarest pathological class has only 227 training instances, and many co-occurring conditions go unlabeled because radiologists focus their reports on the …

Addressing Algorithmic Bias In Ai Journalism: A Toolkit For More Equitable Coverage Of Marginalized Communitie, Sierra Monet Worden

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This project addresses a critical gap in journalism reporting concerning the use of artificial intelligence (AI) when covering stories on marginalized communities. Partially as it relates to the bias that exists in artificial intelligence algorithms, and the lack of training that exists for the implementation of these tools. Journalists play a crucial role in providing accurate and fair information on marginalized communities, yet the implementation of AI presents a set of all new challenges and allows opportunities for more bias to make its way into news coverage. Existing resources for reporting focus more on ethics and less on how to …

Public Perception Of Using Public Lands For Climate Change Mitigation, Casey Marie Zaitzew

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Biological carbon sequestration provides a way to integrate carbon initiatives while meeting sustainable forestry management needs. In the United States, woody plants capture about 13% of annual carbon emissions, highlighting the importance of forests and other ecosystems in national climate strategies.With over 640 million acres of public land, management strategies that incorporate carbon sequestration could significantly influence national carbon storage. Because public lands are taxpayer-funded, public acceptance is critical in carbon-focused policies. While prior studies have examined public attitudes toward carbon capture and storage techniques, fewer studies have focused on biological sequestration within federally managed lands.

This study analyzes public …

Exploring The Role Of Occupational Therapy In A Pediatric Specialty Care Office, Sierra Leigh Hays

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Introduction: The role of OT in primary and specialty care clinics is a rising area of interest in the field. There are also many multidisciplinary clinics that OTs can be or are apart of. This study aims to evaluate the consulting role of OT in primary and specialty care clinics, as well as to evaluate data collected by an OT in a pediatric brachial plexus and peripheral nerve clinic. Methods: The first objective was focused on analyzing functional outcomes, using the Active Movement Scale (AMS), of children following neurosurgery or onabotulinum toxin A injections. This was a retrospective study with …

Caring For The Caregiver: Implementing An Occupational Therapy-Tailored Educational Program To Alleviate Caregiver Burden, Lura Elizabeth Simons

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Caregivers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors experience caregiver burden, which is a prevalent issue. The most significant concern is for symptoms of burden affecting mental health and sleep quality. This doctoral capstone project addressed the knowledge gap regarding programs that alleviate these signs and symptoms through evidence-based interventions. The objective was to create an educational program with modules that demonstrated improvement in satisfaction and content understanding through in-person sessions and individualized interviews with staff members. This project aimed to reduce perceived burden by conducting in-person sessions to implement interventions through an occupational therapy (OT) lens and by using educational …

Back To The Office Or Out The Door: The Impact Of Return-To-Office Mandates On Employee Well-Being And Turnover Intention, Charlotte Renee Nelson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The widespread adoption of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered traditional workplace arrangements. As organizations increasingly implement RTO mandates, questions have emerged about how these changes affect employee well-being and turnover intentions. Guided by the Job Demands–Resources framework, this study examined the relationship between RTO mandates and two employee outcomes: employee well-being and turnover intention. The study also tested whether work engagement mediated these relationships and whether perceived organizational support and work stressors moderated the relationship between RTO mandates and work engagement.

A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected from 229 U.S. employees working …