Digital Commons Network^™

Teaching At The Ai Crossroads: Educators’ Experiences, Ethics, And Practice In Pharmacy Education, Crystal Marie Zuniga

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI), including emerging generative AI tools, is increasingly influencing healthcare workflows and reshaping expectations for workforce preparation. Pharmacy technician education must respond to these shifts while maintaining academic rigor and prioritizing patient safety, ethical practice, and professional accountability. This qualitative study examined pharmacy educators' perspectives on the integration of AI within the Pharmacy Technician Program at Southern Valley College, with attention to how educators interpret AI’s relevance, risks, and instructional implications in pharmacy education.

Data collection included one focus group and individual semi-structured interviews with four pharmacy educators with diverse professional experiences in pharmacy practice and education. Data …

Sub-Ghz Propagation Along Freight Trains For Wireless Onboard Communications, Dario Hinojosa

Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing length of freight trains, maintaining reliable wireless communication for onboard sensors has become increasingly challenging. Sub-GHz communication bands are a promising solution due to their long-range capability and suitability for rural railway environments. This study analyzes radio wave propagation around freight railcars to evaluate path loss and determine how antenna polarization affects wireless communication performance.

Time-domain full-wave electromagnetic simulations were performed using simplified railcar models and later validated through field testing using a vector signal generator, vector network analyzer (VNA), and spectrum analyzer. Various antenna polarization configurations were evaluated within the Sub-GHz Long Range (LoRa) frequency band …

Accurate Polyp Segmentation With Visual Mamba, Diego Adame

Theses and Dissertations

Medical image segmentation is a fundamental task in computer-aided diagnosis because it enables precise delineation of anatomical structures and pathological regions from clinical images. While convolutional neural networks and Transformer-based models have achieved strong performance on many medical segmentation benchmarks, CNNs struggle to model long-range dependencies and Transformers often incur high computational complexity for high-resolution medical images. Recently, state space models have emerged as an efficient alternative for dense prediction tasks due to their ability to capture long-range dependencies with linear complexity. However, existing Mamba-based segmentation models still rely on pixel-wise raster scanning that disrupts spatial locality and use simple …

Writing And Witnessing Ourselves Into Being: Testimonios Of A Chicana Educator And Latine Students For Social Justice In A Writing Course At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Amy Montoya

Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative study of first-year writing students at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) sought to understand the extent to which the practice of writing testimonios transformed how students constructed their sense of identity for social justice. Guided by the research question: How does the practice of writing testimonios in a writing course at an HSI shape faculty and student identity for social justice? This qualitative study analyzed the lived experiences of three former Latine female undergraduates and the researcher in a co - participatory testimonio methodology study. Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of decolonization (Mignolo & Walsh, 2018; Paraskeva, 2013) …

Are College Students Thinking Twice About Having Kids? How Political Factors May Affect The Future Birth Rate In The United States, Gloria Flores

Theses and Dissertations

The trend of the birth rate decline is an important phenomenon which has attracted scholarly attention in the United States. Prior research has explored factors such as income, education, and personal preferences. However, there is minimal research on how the political environment affects people’s family planning decisions. That is, in what ways might perceptions of modern politics affect whether people decide to have children? The limited amounts of research in other countries focusing on political efficacy and its effects on people’s decision to have children have found that people are highly sensible about their political environment when it comes to …

Low-Vision Students’ Experiences With And Suggestions To Improve Desktop Virtual Reality: A Qualitative Study, Tanveer Mansur Syed

Theses and Dissertations

Visually impaired students have faced challenges in the field of education, particularly in science education. Not surprisingly, the unemployment rate for working-age visually impaired people has been above 70%. This persists despite federal laws to support the education and employment of visually impaired people,

Virtual Reality (VR) technology has evolved for several decades. Its use has proliferated in areas that include education. Today, VR science lab simulations are presented as a cost-effective alternative to traditional science labs. Research shows these to be viable substitutes to traditional science labs without a significant drop in learning outcomes. However, this researcher was unable …

An Experimental Study On Turbine-Based Energy Harvesters For Thermal Underwater Gliders, Stephen Edward Coster

Theses and Dissertations

Buoyancy-driven underwater gliders have been optimized for long-duration missions primarily for continual monitoring of the ocean’s water column. However, longer missions and higher-powered sensors have increased the energy requirements of gliders. While current solutions aim to increase battery capacity, the development of energy-harvesting systems (EHMs) could greatly improve mission capabilities in both ability and duration. This thesis discusses the experimental testing of an underwater glider with an EHM as detailed in the theoretical study, “Development of a Turbine-Based Ocean Thermal Energy Harvesting Mechanism Applied to the Underwater Glider” by Hongbo Hou, PhD. The rear-mounted turbine captures energy using the kinetic …

Degradation And Metabolic Analysis Of Synthesized Quorum-Sensing Signals By The Model Eukaryote Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Adam Josef Bach

Theses and Dissertations

Bacterial organisms can “talk” with one another on a colony-wide scale using a communication system known as quorum-sensing (QS) via chemical signals. These signals are produced at a basal rate throughout the life of the bacteria and are classified as autoinducers, which diffuse across the cell membrane. Once the critical concentration is reached, they begin to diffuse back into the cell and initiate a phenotypic change. As these signals exist outside the membrane of their producer, they are also accessible to other organisms. It has already been noted that some plant species uptake these compounds through their roots and break …

Aircraft Fault Detection Via Weight And Bias Analysis Of A Custom First Neural Network Layer, George Harrison Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Fault detection in aircraft is traditionally handled through redundant hardware and comparison algorithms to detect failures. Alternatives like model-based residual generation and data-driven approaches such as supervised fault classification and unsupervised anomaly detection have been explored, but they suffer from practical limitations; model-based methods require accurate system models, and data-driven methods have large constraints on the data limiting scalability and adaptability. This work presents a purely data-driven neural network architecture featuring a custom first layer designed for real-time fault detection where the weights and biases of this layer are used to detect faults. The network requires zero supervision and complements …

Quantifying Noise In Monte Carlo Simulations Of Cosmic Rays In A Shock, Abhro Rahman

Theses and Dissertations

Cosmic rays are a phenomenon known to humankind from the early 1900s, and yet today the details of their physical behavior are not fully settled. While the observed spectral fluxes of cosmic rays follow a power-law trend when plotted against particle energy, the exact mechanisms under which they get to such high energies are still under study. This thesis will undertake a subsection of that task, where the Monte Carlo simulation of particle accelerations is described in Warren (2015), and we aim to identify and quantify the noise inherent in such simulations. This document takes a long path through particle …

Moodify: A Mood-Based Music Recommendation System, Meghana Kagitha

Theses and Dissertations

Music has long been recognised as a powerful tool for emotional regulation, yet existing music streaming platforms often fail to align song recommendations with a user's current emotional state. Moodify is a mood-based music recommendation system designed to bridge this gap by delivering personalised playlists that reflect how a user feels in real time.

This project presents the design, development, and evaluation of Moodify, a mobile application that leverages the Circumplex Model of Emotion to capture user mood through an intuitive two-dimensional valence-arousal interface. Rather than relying on text input or manual search, users plot their emotional state directly onto …

Adaptive Artificial Potential Field Guidance And Control For Autonomous Docking With Uncooperative And Unknown Spacecraft, Steven Holmberg

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing demand for on-orbit servicing (OOS), active debris removal (ADR), and space domain awareness (SDA) missions has increased the need for autonomous spacecraft rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) with uncooperative and unknown targets. Traditional guidance and control methods are typically designed for cooperative systems with known geometry and state information. This work builds on previous research to develop and evaluate an artificial potential field (APF)-based control framework capable of autonomous operation with minimal prior target knowledge and applicability to both relatively static and tumbling spacecraft.

The proposed APF formulation incorporates established safety constructs from cooperative docking systems, including an …

Moon Adaptive Technology For Extraterrestrial Architectural Robotics (Matear), Candela Noemi Solis Zampini

Theses and Dissertations

The Moon Adaptive Technology for Extraterrestrial Architectural Robotics (MATEAR) focuses on the development of an autonomous robotic system capable of providing structural building blocks directly from lunar regolith. As a sustained human presence on the Moon becomes a necessity, the costly and limited payload capacity associated with transporting construction goods from Earth creates a critical challenge. MATEAR addresses this problem through in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), integrating a regolith processing system onto a remote operated vehicle. The proposed system is designed to collect lunar dust, mechanically compact the material, and apply thermal treatment to enhance cohesion through sintering. These regolith-made bricks …

Decomposition And Spectral Characterization Of Unsteady Loads In Pulse-Jet Propulsion Testing, Cesar Benitez

Theses and Dissertations

Pulsed jet propulsion systems produce inherently unsteady forces whose time-resolved characterization is essential for performance assessment, yet the measured load signal conflates aerodynamic forcing with the dynamic response of the measurement balance itself. This thesis develops a load centered framework for the dynamic characterization of a pulsed jet system, treating the measured load fluctuation as the primary physical observable rather than attempting full true-thrust reconstruction. A single-degree-of-freedom balance model identified through ringdown testing provides the structural reference scale, yielding a natural frequency of 8.5 Hz and damping ratio of 18%. Power spectral density, phase-averaging, and synchronous–residual decomposition is applied uniformly …

Exploration Of Extended Chemical Reaction Networks, Ramiro Santos

Theses and Dissertations

Chemical Reaction Networks (CRNs) is a well-established model for analyzing distributed and concurrent systems. A central problem studied across CRNs is the reachability problem, which asks whether a target configuration can be obtained from a given initial configuration through a sequence of valid transitions. Classical CRNs are highly expressive but not Turing-universal; their reachability problem is Ackermann-complete, indicating extremely high computational complexity that nevertheless falls short of full universality.

In this thesis, we study Extended Models of Chemical Reaction Networks in which the dynamics of the system are modified. We analyze these models through two fundamental questions. First, simulation, we …

Vision-Language Guided Quadruped Navigation With Reinforcement Learning Control, Chen Yuan Wang

Theses and Dissertations

Large Language Models and their multimodal variants, Vision-Language Models (VLMs), can interpret natural language instructions and visual context. Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods such as Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) have been shown to successfully learn stable quadruped locomotion. This work investigates whether a VLM integrated with an RL controller can control a quadruped robot to perform instruction-following navigation to a predefined target using text instructions, egocentric vision, and proprioceptive state.

Most VLM-based robotics work directly target prediction of robot actions from multimodal inputs. This approach often depends on large amounts of expert demonstration data, generated by controllers such as trained RL …

Modeling Causal Interactions Across Brain Functional Systems For Population-Specific Disease Analysis, Alissen Moreno

Theses and Dissertations

Functional brain connectivity provides critical insight into neural mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative and affective disorders. Traditional neuroimaging studies rely on undirected or region-specific connectivity measures developed predominantly using racially homogeneous cohorts, limiting fairness and generalizability across diverse populations.

We propose a population-aware framework modeling directed causal interactions across large-scale brain functional subnetworks. Resting-state fMRI data from the HABS-HD cohort were used to construct subject-level causal connectivity matrices via ICA-LiNGAM, aggregated into interpretable system-level hyper-connectomes representing interactions among eleven canonical brain subsystems. These features trained nonlinear models for Alzheimer’s disease stage classification and trait worry prediction.

Results demonstrate that MLP models outperform …

Investigating Pre-Service Teachers’ Readiness For Early Reading Instruction: A Mixed Methods Study Of Quantified Knowledge In Phonemic Awareness And Lived Experiences, Kristin Morgan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the lived experiences of pre-service teachers as they develop their knowledge and instruction skills during a three-week module within their first literacy course in a teacher preparation program. Literacy courses play an important role in equipping pre-service teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote reading development. Research suggests that phonemic awareness is a crucial skill that predicts later reading achievement; however, many teachers lack the necessary experience and knowledge. This gap raises concerns about teacher preparation programs and how pre-service teachers learn. Guided by Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study sought to understand …

Impact Of Multicultural Literature Through Reader's Response, Rachel Konrad

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine how students respond to using five multicultural read aloud texts and responding to them in a response. The goal of this study was to see if student engagement improved as a result of the study and if student comprehension improved through the use of pre and post assessments. Student data was collected that included a pre and post assessment, anecdotal records of student discussion, responses to texts, and student and parent surveys. Students discovered and discussed themes across texts such as cultural identity, community, and belonging.

The Impact Of Mentor Text On Second Grade Writing, Brittany A. Still

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to (a) ascertain the effect mentor text had on student engagement and (b) determine the impact mentor text had on student writing style. Students utilized strategies from five mentor texts during the writer's workshop to write their own personal narratives. Students demonstrated increased engagement through class discussions following each read aloud. Writing style was impacted as students implemented different writing elements into their own writing based on the mentor text discussed. Implications for teaching writing are discussed.

Foreign Language Experience Effects On L2-Accented Speech Attitudes In College Students, Jordan L. Ellington

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to test whether knowledge of a second language in college students can affect perceptions and prejudices towards speakers with foreign accents. The testing was completed through both implicit and explicit attitudinal measures in regard to recorded audio stimuli. The explicit attitudinal testing was performed through participant self reporting of attitudes. Participants were presented with first (L1) or second (L2) language accented English samples and then rated that speaker in terms of various characteristics or traits that represented the speaker's solidarity and status. The implicit testing was performed in an Auditory Implicit Associations Test on …

Recognizing Metaphorical References To Sexual Assault Resistance And Represented Rape Myths In Coraline (2009), Braden Slater

Theses and Dissertations

Is there any value in children’s horror literature and film? Literary theorists have shown that children’s horror is uniquely positioned to be not only captivating and accessible, but also educational and hopeful for some young audience members. Like most fictional monsters, those presented in children’s horror can be read as metaphors for the fears and experiences people face in real life. Scholars have argued that engaging with this type of frightening media may help people confront challenging ideas and feelings from a place of safety. Building on this theoretical foundation, I perform a close reading of the 2009 film Coraline, …

Exploring Subject-Verb Agreement Challenges Among Third-Grade Portuguese Dual Language Immersion Students: A Mixed-Methods Study, Marisa Tobias

Theses and Dissertations

Dual Language Immersion (DLI) programs are commonly recognized for supporting the development of oral proficiency; however, persistent challenges with grammatical accuracy, particularly subject-verb agreement, remain common among elementary-aged learners. This mixed-methods study focuses on third-grade students in a Portuguese DLI program and examines how they use present-tense verb forms in different classroom contexts. Drawing on classroom observations, instructional materials, and students’ oral and written production, the study analyzes the nature of the input learners receive and the types of errors that persist during oral communication. Findings indicate that students demonstrate greater accuracy during structured tasks, while difficulties with subject-verb agreement …

Differentiable Objectives For 3d Scene Relighting Via Gradient Descent On Olat Basis Coefficients, Anson Savage

Theses and Dissertations

Designing effective lighting is an iterative and often time-consuming process. This work contributes to automatic lighting design research by presenting a render-engine agnostic optimization routine: gradient descent on RGB multipliers of one-light-at-a-time (OLAT) basis images. We compare several objective functions to accomplish lighting tasks and show that our method is capable of quickly and effectively exploring different lighting styles using either text prompts or reference images. We also present several datasets specific to lighting tasks and show that fine-tuning on these datasets can improve performance.

These Wretched Waters: A New Perspective On The Myth Texts And Visual Adaptations Of The Danaids, Tessa Haney

Theses and Dissertations

Both Greek and Latin texts regarding the Danaids are rife with gestational imagery and vocabulary. This textual focus on chthonic, symbolic aparturience coheres with both Greek and Roman perceptions of femininity. Women in both cultures were socially mandated to marry, have children, and confine themselves to the domestic sphere. The Danaids’ refusal to participate in this system would have been viewed as a breach of cosmic order, and a punishment that grounded the sisters in their 'traditional’ femaleness would have been viewed as a solution to such a breach. While early modern visual adaptations of the Danaid myth lack gestational …

“Music Is The Instrument To Bring The Heart Of A Community Together”: Frederic Balazs And The Tucson Symphony Orchestra, 1952-66, Jackie Bodily Biggs

Theses and Dissertations

The audience for classical music is declining, according to data from the National Endowment for the Arts. In the face of such challenges, aspiring music professionals may find inspiration in the musicological illumination of pertinent historical case studies. This paper offers one such example via a foundational exploration of the musical career of Hungarian American violinist, conductor, and composer Frederic Balazs. Though lacking any dedicated scholarly literature to speak of, Balazs’s legacy as the first full-time conductor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra (TSO) from 1952 to 1966 included establishing arts organizations and nourishing the classical tradition at its very grass …

Independent English Teaching In Brazil: A Case Study, Jade G. Gunca

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study investigates the experiences and practices of successful independent English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Brazil who operate outside traditional schools and private language institutes. Rather than providing a broad descriptive profile, this study offers an in-depth examination of a small group of teachers. These educators frequently use social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to showcase communicative, personalized, and flexible instruction in response to growing learner demand. Although English is widely taught in Brazilian schools, persistent structural constraints often limit students’ development of communicative proficiency, prompting some learners to seek instruction from independent …

Domain-Specific Fine-Tuning Of Neural Machine Translation For Georgian Religious Texts, Jacob Brent Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates whether domain-specific fine-tuning of a large multilingual neural machine translation model improves translation quality for English-to-Georgian religious text, a low-resource pair underserved by existing systems. Using the 1.3-billion-parameter NLLB-200 model as a baseline, two LoRA-adapted variants were trained: General-FT, on 91,143 parallel segments of contemporary religious discourse drawn from the General Conference talks and other publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Scriptural-FT, on 33,229 segments from the scriptural canon of The Church. The three models were evaluated using automated metrics (BLEU, chrF, COMET) covering both domain-matched and cross-domain conditions, and on a …

The Lookahead Transformer, Justin P. Olcott

Theses and Dissertations

Large Language Models (LLMs) are transformer models that generate text autoregressively in two stages: prefill and decode. The prefill stage processes all input tokens in parallel and caches them into the KV cache. The decode stage uses the KV cache, processes a single token at a time, and is generally memory-bandwidth constrained. Each decode step generates a token probability distribution, samples from it, appends the token to the cache, and repeats. This left-to-right, one-at-a-time generation paradigm has proven effective for language modeling in many domains; however, it also has limitations such as token permanence, constant compute per token generation, constant …

Studies On The Contribution Of Osh6 To The Functions Of Late Endosomes, William King

Theses and Dissertations

The late endosome (LE) is a hub organelle connecting endocytic, biosynthetic, exocytotic, and autophagic vesicle traffic pathways. Malfunctions of LEs are associated with multiple age dependent diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). Despite this significance, how cells refurbish lipids and proteins to LEs to maintain their sustained activities are not clear. Previous studies in the model organism budding yeast show that up-regulation of a lipid transporter Osh6 (PERG6-OSH6) accumulates phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI4P) on the trans-Golgi network. It also promotes vacuole fusion and maintains the robustness of vacuoles in aged cells. Since LEs are the organelle between the TGN and vacuoles in …