Digital Commons Network^™

Spatio-Temporal Deep Learning Approaches For Addressing Track Association Problem Using Automatic Identification System (Ais) Data, Md Asif Bin Syed

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In the realm of marine surveillance, track association constitutes a pivotal yet challenging task, involving the identification and tracking of unlabelled vessel trajectories. The need for accurate data association algorithms stems from the urge to spot unusual vessel movements or threat detection. These algorithms link sequential observations containing location and motion information to specific moving objects, helping to build their real-time trajectories. These threat detection algorithms will be useful when a vessel attempts to conceal its identity. The algorithm can then identify and track the specific vessel from its incoming signal. The data for this study is sourced from the …

System Analysis Of An Internal Combustion Engine (Ice) – Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (Sofc) Hybrid Cycle, Jose Javier Colon Rodriguez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy and the rigid operation of existing coal plants, the need for flexible power generation technology is eminent. Hybrid energy systems have shown potential for flexible, grid following dynamics while maintaining higher efficiencies. The work below focuses on the performance analysis of a proposed 100 kW pressurized Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) hybrid system. The un-utilized fuel from the SOFC stack provided the chemical energy to operate the engine. A turbocharger was used to deliver the necessary air flow for both the stack and engine. An external reformer …

Physical Activity Promotion, Assessment, And Engagement In Clinical Settings In The United States, Kristin A. Grogg

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Physical inactivity is an important contributor to morbidity and all-cause mortality and the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended that physicians increase their role in physical activity assessment and promotion to combat physical inactivity and related comorbidities. Healthcare providers are increasingly called upon to initiate physical activity promotion with their patients to manage conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Still, recent reports indicate that less than half of primary care visits include some type of physical activity promotion. Although the National Physical Activity Plan includes some recommendations for clinicians and the healthcare sector on physical activity promotion, it …

Analysis And Performance Of Osvaldo Golijov’S Hebreische Milonga, Gerardo Sanchez Pastrana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov is one of the most important and well-recognized composers of the 21^st century. His works are unique because of the diverse mixing of styles due to the interculturalism present in his music. In the program notes of his Hebreische Milonga, Golijov mentions that this piece can connect his Argentinian and Jewish roots as well as the influence of Astor Piazzolla’s music. In addition, there is a connection between the tango and the Jewish people residing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, that is not addressed frequently when discussing the history of the tango. This research begins …

The Effect Of Sequential Stimuli On Variable-Interval Schedule Performance And Resurgence, Amanda K. Miles

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Resurgence, or the recurrence of a previously established but not currently occurring response given a worsening of current conditions, is a systematic phenomenon with clinical implications; thus, understanding the variables that impact resurgence is important. Investigations into the impact of discriminative stimuli on resurgence have yielded mixed results about whether the stimuli associated with extinction mitigate or prevent resurgence. The current experiments were conducted with sequential stimuli, that is, two or more stimuli occurring in a fixed sequence, that allowed determination of the effect of discriminative stimuli across a continuum of reinforcement conditions (from most temporally distal to most proximal …

Optimal Deployment Of Air Vehicle As Communication Relay For Multiple Ground Vehicles, Juan David Pabon Arias

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Heterogeneous teams of both air and ground mobile vehicles can combine the advantages of mobility, sensing capability, and operation time when performing complex tasks. However, when ground vehicles operate in cluttered environments with randomized obstacles, they may experience line of sight (LoS) obstructions and loss of communication due to those obstacles. To mitigate this issue, an airborne relay can be positioned in the vicinity of the ground vehicles to aid communication by establishing two-hop communication links between the vehicles.

This thesis develops an analytical framework to calculate the probability of spanning a two-hop communication between a pair of ground vehicles …

Fast Raising: Digital Fundraising As Interaction Rituals, Matthew P. Hartwell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Twice a year, GamesDoneQuick hosts events that showcase the Speed Running Community, a sub-set of the Video Game Community. Since its inception in 2014 through 2021 GDQ has raised $25.7 million that has been distributed to the Prevent Cancer Foundation and Médecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors without Borders). This collection of studies analyzes the Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 event utilizing the Interaction Ritual Theory framework of Randall Collins to understand how ritualistic social action of this community has been leveraged by event organizers to promote successful crowd funding efforts that benefits organizations outside of the community. Further it expands on …

“I’Ll Tell You No Lies”: An Exploration Of Trauma, Memory, And Violence Against Women In North Carolina Murder Ballads, Madison Ava Helman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores trauma, memory and violence against women in Western North Carolina murder ballads “Tom Dooley,” “Poor Omie Wise,” “Poor Ellen Smith,” “The Ballad of the Lawson Family,” and “Frankie Silver.” I posit that these ballads were influenced by prescriptive societal conceptions of femininity, which in turn influenced societal ideations of violence against women. Using folklore performance theory, I analyze the text and context of these ballads and their subsequent histories, eventually arriving at a template for polyvocality that incorporates multiple ballad variants and encourages diverse performances.

“Ingenious Entanglements”: Sheriffs, Capitalism, And Civil Society In America, 1750-1850, Chad R. Holmes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Sheriffs served as indispensable legal actors who facilitated the expansion of democracy and capitalist transformation, processes that eventually limited their ability to profit from their work and diminished their social status. This dissertation is organized around specific sheriffs and the actions they performed to illustrate how county officers influenced society beyond the execution of court orders. These men—Rhode Island’s Beriah Brown, Pennsylvania’s John Barker, and Massachusetts’s Elisha Porter, Luke Baldwin, and Charles P. Sumner—believed they understood how to balance community demands and state directives in ways that would produce personal profit and greater authority. The work of these officers and …

Energy Digital Twins In Smart Manufacturing Systems, Anna Billey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this thesis, an Energy Digital Twin for smart manufacturing systems was developed and evaluated. In particular, the study focused on bidirectional parameter communication between the physical and the virtual part with the aim of optimizing the energy used in the manufacturing process. Rising costs and the environmental impacts related to energy consumption have grown in importance worldwide. There are elevated concerns in sectors like manufacturing, leading to an urgent quest to reduce energy consumption. A recent advancement in Industry 4.0 technology, the Digital Twin, represents a promising smart technology and tool that researchers are investigating to help reduce energy …

Face Image And Video Analysis In Biometrics And Health Applications, Na Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Computer Vision (CV) enables computers and systems to derive meaningful information from acquired visual inputs, such as images and videos, and make decisions based on the extracted information. Its goal is to acquire, process, analyze, and understand the information by developing a theoretical and algorithmic model. Biometrics are distinctive and measurable human characteristics used to label or describe individuals by combining computer vision with knowledge of human physiology (e.g., face, iris, fingerprint) and behavior (e.g., gait, gaze, voice). Face is one of the most informative biometric traits. Many studies have investigated the human face from the perspectives of various different …

Designing King Lear: How Costume Design For A Theatrical Production Is Affected By A Transition To Film, Jacob Steven Currence

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Designing King Lear: How Costume Design for a Theatrical Production is Affected by a Transition to Film

Jacob Steven Currence

William Shakespeare’s King Lear was written in 1606, and it recounts the folktale of a king losing his power and sanity. Several hundred years later, in 2022, West Virginia Public Broadcasting aired the West Virginia University School of Theatre & Dance production of King Lear. As costume designer for the play, it was my task to depict King Lear’s decline through his wardrobe. My costume work needed to reflect his descent into madness and ultimate loss of power. Moreover, this …

Relational Turbulence And Identity Gaps Amongst Committed Consensually Non-Monogamous Partners, R. E. Purtell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate relational turbulence processes and test Relational Turbulence Theory’s (RTT) first five propositions in a sample of 528 committed consensually non-monogamous (CNM) partners as they are experiencing the transition of their committed partner adding a new sexual or romantic partner other than themselves. CNM relationships are those in which at least one partner has multiple sexual and/or romantic relationships with the consent of all parties involved. Generally, the first five propositions of RTT were supported. Specifically, self uncertainty and partner uncertainty positively predicted relationship uncertainty, which in turn predicted biased cognitive appraisals, and …

Understanding Being A Special Education Teacher In The Era Of Covid-19: Teacher Perceptions Two Years In, Amanda N. Walkup

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused a disruption to the education of children, but has contributed to the ever-growing teacher shortage in the United States. In an effort to better understand the effects of the pandemic on special education teachers, this study utilized a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of special education teachers in one southeastern state. Lived experiences of these teachers during the pandemic focused on “Frustrations Beyond Their Control,” “Unorganized Processes and Procedures,” and “Building Relationships.” Overall, participants were found to either languish in the ramifications of the pandemic on their schools and students, or …

The Everyday Work-Lives Of Public Librarians In A Diverse Us City, Mariam Jalalifard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation is situated within the context of the author's personal experience as a librarian of color and educator, exploring the dissonance between the perceived value of their role and their own understanding of its worth. The study aims to bring to light the processes that shape the experiences of female librarians, particularly those who are women of color. The research is informed by Institutional Ethnography (IE) and Narrative Analysis, which focus on the everyday lived experiences of people as the research problematic, and progress through layers to uncover how external power structures influence daily life. Five active female and …

Lipid Binding Properties Of Huntingtin As A Novel Therapeutic Target, Chathuranga Siriwardhana

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As protein aggregation is the defining hallmark of all amyloid diseases, a common therapeutic strategy is to develop molecules that inhibit aggregation. However, this approach has yielded limited success. Many amyloid proteins directly interact with lipid membranes. These interactions promote distinct aggregation pathways and often result in membrane damage leading to toxicity. As a result, directly targeting the ability of amyloids to bind lipid membranes represents a novel therapeutic strategy. As a proof of principle, the interaction between lipid membranes and mutant huntingtin protein (htt) aggregates was used to test this strategy. Mutant htt containing an expanded polygulatmine (polyQ) domain …

The Role Of Digital Spaces In Caring For Children With Feeding Tubes: Home, Family, And Community Reconsidered, Sara Gilbert Loftus

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Abstract

This dissertation draws from feminist geographic research to critically examine the landscapes of care traversed by family caregivers of children with feeding tubes and complex medical and long-term care needs. Drawing from theories and methodologies from feminist disability and digital geographies, in combination with feminist science technology studies (STS), I explore the impact of neoliberal policy changes on daily caregiving tasks and how families, in response to these policy changes, (re)create digital spaces and relationships to satisfy their unmet needs. This research examines the growing and shifting roles of digital spaces in the everyday lives of marginalized and/or vulnerable …

Effects Of Development On Hpa Function Following Pubertal Stress, Brittany D. Elliott

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For women, two of the greatest risk factors for affective disorders are adversity experienced during puberty and later becoming pregnant. We have created a translationally relevant mouse model where we address these complex risk factors. Previously, we discovered that pregnant mice (dams) that experienced chronic variable stress (CVS) during puberty display a blunted hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response when exposed to an acute stressor. Interestingly, this alteration only first becomes apparent during pregnancy, which is a sensitive period for these effects due to normative neuroendocrine changes. Further investigation of the mechanisms underlying this dysfunction revealed altered gene expression in the paraventricular nucleus …

Evaluation Of Renewal During Differential Reinforcement With Asymmetrical Choices And A Context Fading Mitigation Technique, Kacey R. Finch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Successful clinical behavior analytic treatment often results in decreases in challenging behavior and increases in appropriate behavior. These reductions in challenging behavior are often achieved by implementing differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA; Petscher et al., 2009). One variation of DRA to decrease challenging behavior is differential reinforcement with asymmetrical choices, which are two or more concurrently available response options associated with differential outcomes (Fisher & Mazur, 1997; Kestner et al., 2023). However, responding that was previously reduced sometimes reemerges. Specifically, renewal is the reemergence of a previously reduced response following a context change. The first two experiments evaluated renewal …

Ambient Ammonia Synthesis Via Microwave-Catalytic Materials And Plasma Chemistry, Siobhan Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Ammonia is critical to supporting human life on earth because of its use as fertilizer. The Haber-Bosch process to produce ammonia has been practiced for over 100 years. This process operates at high pressure and temperature to overcome the thermodynamic and kinetic limitations of the ammonia synthesis reaction thus researchers have tried to overcome it for decades. At present this process represents 1% of global energy usage and 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. The proposed chemical looping ammonia synthesis approach seeks to reduce the environmental impact of this critical process and to elucidate microwave-catalytic principles.

This research aims to …

Epistemological Insecurity In The Anthropocene, Dustin Purvis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation analyzes how increased mainstream awareness of climate change and other complex environmental phenomena transforms some of the basic tools we use to understand the world, including notions of agency, evidence, and causality. More specifically, this project highlights numerous contemporary literary and cultural narratives that formally and thematically depict impromptu systems of action and comprehension developed by humans confronting the unique forms of information overload that result from damaged and rapidly changing environments. Following critics like Ulrich Beck, Rob Nixon, and Stacy Alaimo, I suggest our current era of ecological instability and destructive environmental practices dictate what I refer …

Art-Based Social And Emotional Learning Curriculum In The K-6 Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study, Michelle Fegeley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Preparing elementary school students to succeed in a learning environment that was significantly transformed by a global pandemic will require a major investment in new curricula that focuses more on social and emotional learning and less on standards that primarily emphasize just knowing and doing. This research investigates how the implementation of social emotional learning and SEL-based art activities in the art classroom can help to lower student stress levels in the elementary school art classroom. By providing learners with an opportunity to grow socially and emotionally, teachers may help students understand their feelings and use artmaking as a way …

Navigating Place And Gender: A Multicontextual Critical Narrative Inquiry Of Rural Trans* Student Experiences, Jessie Lynn O'Quinn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this critical narrative study was to understand how rural West Virginia trans* students navigate cultural norms of their rural home communities and higher education contexts. An essential part of this critical narrative was to provide rural trans* students with an avenue to share their unique experiences and give them a platform to share their voices. The resulting narratives suggested that the normative tensions rural trans* college students experience across contexts stemmed from negative regional experiences that reinforced traditional gender norms. Negative home contexts and experiences forced students to feel like they had to build walls and distance …

Evaluating A Virtual Reality Simulation-Based Tool In Undergraduate Nursing Students For Impact On Accuracy, Clinical Judgment, Fear, And Self-Confidence When Donning, Doffing, And Disposing Of Personal Protective Equipment, Stacy Lynn Russell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: PPE training is essential to prevent transmission of infections or autoinoculation of infections among healthcare providers and patients. Student nurses play a vital role in infection control practices to protect themselves and patients from transmittable infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an innovative teaching and learning strategy known as virtual reality simulation in teaching proper PPE use in comparison to more traditional learning.

Research Questions: This study aimed to answer three research questions: (1) What is the acceptability among faculty of using a head mounted VRS to train undergraduate nursing students in the proper …

Drivers Of Change In Mindfulness- And Acceptance-Based Interventions With Athletes: Investigating The Influence Of Dosage, Readiness, And Attitudes, Thomas O. Minkler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Mindfulness- and Acceptance-based interventions (MABIs) are being used with increasing frequency with sport participants. Research suggests that such interventions may promote sport performance and impact performance-relevant factors, although the current quality and quantity of research is low. Specifically, questions about intervention engagement (i.e., dosage), potentially impacted by stage of change and attitudes toward sport psychology, need clarification. The present study utilized a multi-method, quasi-experimental longitudinal design with female- and male- identified NCAA collegiate athletes to investigate the effects of an MABI. Specifically, one NCAA Division II team (n = 16) and three NCAA Division III teams (n = …

Descriptions Of Breast Self-Care From Inner-City African American And Hispanic Women Seeking Care In A Comprehensive Breast Care Center, Salamata Yoda

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Background: A plethora of inquiries has irrefutably revealed a decline in the death rates of breast cancer in some ethnic populations due to timely diagnoses, and enhancement in treatment measures. However, not all women have gained equal access to these innovations in healthcare. Certainly, as a repercussion of the noted disparity, the overall breast cancer prevalence among African American and Hispanic women has steadily escalated. Although no single test can detect all breast cancers early, practicing breast self-care consisting of breast self-awareness (BSA) in combination with other screening methods such as clinical breast exam (CBE), mammogram screening, and a suitable …

Three Essays On Environmental And Energy Economics, Maher F. Mekky

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this dissertation, three related topics are investigated about environmental and energy economics. The research in these essays utilize panel data and regression models. The overall theme of these essays is to explore the relationships between energy and the environment in the United States (U.S.).

In the first essay, using data from fifty U.S. states between 2012 and 2020, the impacts of three types of state level policies on electric vehicles (EV) adoption are examined: 1) policies that mitigate the environmental impacts from energy production, 2) policies that provide financial incentives to consumers for EV purchase, and 3) policies that …

Organizing (Eternal) Identity And Identification: An Upward Glance Into Religious Institutions, Casey M. Stratton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation disrupts at least two religious spaces: First, scholars religiously adhering to (social) scientific norms, and second, people identifying with religious organizations (i.e., churches). First, we begin constructing a theoretical lens using poststructural ideas offered by Foucault, Derrida, and Bakhtin to read and disrupt (religious) discourse. Second, we complicate organizational identification as a concept, deeming it fixed and fluid—a paradox within religious discourses that endorse Truth and Perfection. Here, we draw from the communication constitutes organization (CCO) approach. Third, we further curate the lens by applying poststructuralism, identification, and CCO in a specific context: The Church of Jesus Christ …

Natural Fracture Evolution: Investigations Into The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale, Appalachian Basin, Usa, Natalie Abigail Mitchell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Optimizing recovery from unconventional shale reservoirs has generated considerable research into optimal recovery methods through hydraulic fracturing design and shale reservoir characterization in the development of long-term hydrocarbon producers. Permeability at multiple scales from nanometer-scale pore sizes and nano-darcy permeability to completion-induced fractures defining a 100’s of meter stimulated reservoir volume plays a significant role in hydrocarbon flow during production in shale reservoirs. Preexisting cemented fractures in unconventional shale reservoirs are abundant and preferentially reactivate during induced hydraulic fracturing treatment to create necessary large-scale permeability. While previous investigations have significantly improved our knowledge of shale reservoirs, it has also highlighted …

Investigating The Role Of Nudt7-Mediated Peroxisomal Coa Degradation In The Regulation Of Hepatic Coa Levels And Lipid Metabolism, Schuyler Dan Adams Vickers

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Coenzyme A (CoA) is a crucial cofactor required to support many essential metabolic processes, including fatty acid oxidation and synthesis, the TCA cycle, and bile acid synthesis. In order to support the proper functioning of these pathways, CoA levels within the cell must be properly regulated. The regulation of CoA levels is achieved through a balance between CoA synthesis and CoA degradation. While the regulation of CoA synthesis has been extensively characterized, the degradation of CoA has received less attention. As such, the contribution of CoA degradation to the regulation of metabolism is poorly understood. NUDT7 is a CoA-specific Nudix …