Digital Commons Network^™

Use Of Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy For Estimating Soil Chemical, Physical, And Hydrological Properties In Mississippi And Texas, Kanthake Yasas Bandara Gamagedara

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate and efficient estimation of soil properties is essential for advancing sustainable agriculture, water management, and soil survey applications. Traditional laboratory methods and pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are widely used but are often constrained by high costs, time requirements, and limited scalability. As an alternative, mid-infrared (MIR) and visible–near-infrared (vis–NIR) spectroscopy provide cost-effective, rapid, and non-destructive approaches for soil analysis. However, variability among spectrometer types, geographic regions, and soil scanning conditions poses challenges to model transferability and generalizability. This dissertation evaluated strategies to overcome these challenges and enhance the prediction of soil chemical, physical, and hydrological properties in Mississippi and Texas. …

Equity By Design: A North Glenn High School Equitable Practices Policy Guide, Kelli Andrews Jarrett

Theses and Dissertations

This capstone project addresses equity gaps in dual enrollment programs in Mississippi, with a focus on North Glenn High School, a pseudonym for a high-poverty rural school. While dual credit opportunities have expanded statewide, disparities remain for first-generation, low-income, and minority students. A significant barrier is Mississippi’s reliance on ACT benchmarks for eligibility, which disproportionately excludes marginalized groups. The study examines the potential of the Pre-ACT in grades 9 and 10 as an early diagnostic tool to identify readiness gaps and inform targeted interventions before students take the ACT. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and the Dual Enrollment Equity …

Rapid Kinetic Fluorogenic Quantification Of Malondialdehyde In Ground Beef, Keshav Raj Bhandari

Theses and Dissertations

Presented herein is rapid kinetic fluorogenic method to quantify malondialdehyde (MDA) in ground beef, utilizing 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) as the fluorogenic probe. This assay significantly shortens the total analysis time, from sample preparation to data acquisition, to just six minutes presenting a major advancement over traditional methods that typically require two hours and multiple instruments. The assay’s robustness against matrix interferences was validated using sample volume variation and standard addition calibration methods. Additionally, the effects of ambient exposure to air, washing, and cooking on MDA content in raw ground beef were quantified. While both ambient exposure to air and cooking …

Electrospun Nanofiber Creation With Varying Polymer-Solvent Combinations For Air Filtration, Lancaster Jace Hill

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to analyze various polymer-solvent combinations for electrospun creation of nanofiber media and to determine the best-suited solution for lab-grade electrospinning. Suitable solutions allow for controlled morphology of fiber diameters and for efficiency of media creation. The principal variables are solvent, concentration, and voltage. Humidity and temperature play a secondary variable role. The solution must withstand an electric field of ≤30 kV and be insoluble in water to maintain desired morphology and structure. Manipulation of the solutions and variables allow for fiber diameter optimization and beading minimization. High temperature filter applications require efficiency in intense heat and preservation …

Spatiotemporal Ecology Of Mycobacterium Ulcerans And Mycolactone Functions In French Guiana And Southeastern United States Aquatic Environments, Magdalene Dogbe

Theses and Dissertations

Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, produces mycolactone, a polyketide toxin traditionally studied for its role in human pathogenesis. This dissertation presents a comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of M. ulcerans and mycolactone producing mycobacteria (MPM) ecology in the Americas and also reveals mycolactone's role in the environment as a microbial community regulator. Through comparative studies in French Guiana (endemic) and the southeastern United States (non-endemic), combined with experimental microcosm investigations, this research contributes to environmental pathogen ecology understanding. Environmental surveillance across 2,226 samples from French Guiana revealed complete MPM restriction to freshwater environments, with zero detections from 1,226 coastal …

Novel Experimental Techniques For Pressure Transients, Luliang Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation introduces novel experimental techniques for analyzing pressure transients, focusing on dynamic strain and pressure measurements to advance the understanding and application of Pulse Pressure Amplification in percussive devices. The research evaluates a high-speed linescan extensometer utilizing linescan Digital Image Correlation (DIC) on a Kolsky Bar to obtain strain data at high strain rates. This data is critical for accurate material characterization and simulations to model dynamic behavior. Additionally, a novel method for measuring dynamic pressure waves in pipe systems has been developed, enabling direct assessments of pressure amplification in devices such as tapered pipe systems. The findings contribute …

Design, Development, And Validation Of An Automated Hole-Punching System For Precision Irrigation In Lay-Flat Poly Pipe Tubing, Micah James Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Increasing pressure on water resources in agricultural regions, particularly the Mississippi Delta, demands innovative irrigation technologies to optimize water usage while maintaining crop productivity. This research presents the design, development, and validation of an automated hole-punching system for lay-flat poly pipe tubing used in precision irrigation applications. The system ensures accurate and consistent hole placement through an integrated rotary cutting die, a PLC-based control architecture, stepper motor actuation, and distance-sensing and position-synchronization. The software logic maintains precise hole spacing despite variations in tubing speed. System performance was evaluated through extensive testing and statistical analysis of hole-spacing accuracy, repeatability, and sagitta-based …

Lecun-Pso Hybrid Initialization Of Neural Network Using Asymmetric Gait Features For Classification Of Parkinson’S Disease, Michael Joseph Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex condition with a wide range of clinical symptoms. It is a progressive neurological disorder that has afflicted an estimated 1 million people in the US and 10 million worldwide. The diagnosis of PD is typically based on the presence of clinical features, with no specific diagnostic test or biomarker. The methods of assessment for PD are also used, in whole or in part, for similar symptom diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Essential Tremors, Multiple System Atrophy, Supranuclear Palsy, Dementia with Lewy bodies and Huntington’s disease. Many of the current clinical tests have low sensitivity …

Physics-Informed Neural Network For Maximum Detectable Distance Estimation In Mobile Gamma Spectrometry, Nancy A. Ibrahim

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate estimation of the Maximum Detectable Distance (MDD) is critical for environmental remediation, nuclear incident response, and public safety. Conventional approaches assume stationary detectors and rely on computationally intensive simulations, limiting their applicability for mobile, real-time surveys. Mobile gamma spectrometry introduces additional complexities due to detector motion, variable acquisition times, and heterogeneous backgrounds. This study addresses the central question of how effectively a Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) can estimate MDD for mobile gamma spectrometry, while maintaining both accuracy and computational efficiency under dynamically changing environmental conditions. A multi-phase approach was employed, combining field data collection, computational modeling, and operational tool …

Complex-Valued Structured Parameterized Learnable Filter Banks For Time-Frequency Domain Based Classification, Sabyasachi Biswas

Theses and Dissertations

Most conventional radar-based classification methods, including human activity recognition (HAR) and modulation recognition, rely on computationally intensive two-stage processes involving time-frequency (TF) transformations, such as the short-time Fourier transform (STFT), to generate micro-Doppler signature (��-Ds). These ��-Ds are then classified using deep neural network (DNN), a method introducing significant temporal latency and limiting real-time applicability. To overcome these limitations, this dissertation proposes a novel complex-valued Deep learning (DL) framework employing structured parameterized learnable filter (PLF) banks, enabling direct classification from raw radar data. The research first introduces high-resolution spectrogram network (HRSpecNet), a deep learning model designed to reconstruct high-resolution ��-Ds …

A Case Study On Redesigning Classroom Activities And Assessments For Generation Z Students, Sushma Shrinivasan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the dynamic interplay between pedagogical strategies, learner diversity, and emerging educational technologies through three interconnected studies. Study 1 compares Traditional instruction, Problem-Based Learning (PBL), and Simulation-Based Learning (SBL), revealing that while PBL and SBL enhance student performance—particularly PBL—their impact on perceived learning varies. Notably, SBL reduced perceived learning despite strong outcomes, underscoring the affective and metacognitive complexities of active learning. Study 2 examines the role of demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, employment, and first-generation status, finding no significant main effects but identifying a key two-way and three-way interactions, suggesting that instructional effectiveness is influenced by the …

Improving Artificial Intelligence Literacy Among Middle School Students Using Tangible Objects, Sayantani Dutta

Theses and Dissertations

Given the rapid advancement of Computer Science (CS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), introducing these disciplines early and effectively in education is essential. Many middle school students, however, struggle to understand these subjects when taught with traditional, abstract, and screen-based methods, which often fail to engage students or build deep conceptual understanding. This study argues that tangible, hands-on learning tools and interactive activities make AI and CS concepts more accessible, concrete, and engaging for students. The findings show that, compared to traditional lectures, hands-on activities lead to substantially improved comprehension, retention, and enjoyment. While the sample size poses limitations, the evidence …

Toward A Unified Network Flow Framework: From Conservation Principles To Fluid Dynamics Models, Zonghan Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Network flows govern a wide range of critical systems, from tangible infrastructures like transportation and power grids to replicable processes such as information spread and epidemics. While tangible flows obey conservation laws and physical constraints, replicable flows, like rumors or viruses, can grow, decay, or vanish unpredictably. Despite their increasing interaction in real-world settings, these flow types are typically modeled in isolation, using disconnected mathematical frameworks. This dissertation presents a unified modeling approach that bridges the gap between conserved and replicable flows by embedding principles from fluid dynamics into graph-based propagation models. I introduce physically informed extensions to classical models, …

Bayesian Alignment Prior To Connectionist Temporal Classification Loss, Lawry Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

We propose revisions of Connectionist Temporal Classification (CTC) loss and forced alignment to support longer input sequences. CTC loss is normally used for training in speech and handwriting recognition tasks when the labels are not fully aligned with the data, while forced alignment is a downstream task that finds the optimal path for segmentation purposes. The current implementations consider all possible alignments between the input and label, which grows exponentially with the size of the input. We show that in cases when silence is removed and speaking rate is consistent, the true alignment is a mostly straight line across time …

Commutative Schur Rings Over Characteristic 2 Special Orthogonal Groups, Andrew Haviland

Theses and Dissertations

We study commutative Schur rings over the special orthogonal groups $\mathrm{SO}^{\pm}(n,2)$ that contain the class $\mathcal{C}$ of transvections. We show that the partition of $\mathcal{C}$ determined by a commutative Schur ring has either one or two parts. We classify all remaining partitions of $\mathcal{C}$ that could be determined by a commutative Schur ring.

Implementing Dataops: A Scalable Framework For Modern Data Warehousing, Dmytro Valiaiev

Theses and Dissertations

DataOps has been coined as a novel term that emerged as a synthesis of data management practices with software engineering concepts, such as DevOps and Agile, with the goal of improving data quality and governance in enterprises. The proliferation of scratch table use and transformation tools, such as dbt, has led to an exponential increase in the number of data models, which complicates standardization efforts and increases maintenance overhead. Although the market is saturated with various flavors of text-to-SQL engines that promote increased productivity and self-service use in organizations, there are limited tools available to optimize individual queries, enforce consistency, …

Mitochondrial Insoluble Aggregates In Aging And Alzheimer’S Disease Models: Cross-Species Proteomic Integration, Identification Of Conserved Candidates, And Pharmacological Disruption Of Eef-2 Interactions, Sonu Pahal

Theses and Dissertations

Protein aggregation within mitochondria emerges early in both aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and contributes to progressive loss of proteostasis. Insoluble mitochondrial aggregate fractions from Caenorhabditis elegans revealed extensive enrichment of metabolic and translational proteins that also appear in human Alzheimer hippocampal aggregates. Comparative analysis across age and genotype identified a conserved subset of aggregation-prone proteins, several of which cluster around elongation factor 2 (eEF-2), a regulator of ribosomal translocation and energy coupling. Cross-species integration defined a network in which eEF-2 links chaperones, metabolic enzymes, and RNA-binding proteins that co-aggregate in both human Alzheimer material and nematode models. Functional tests …

Toward Understanding Multi-Agent Decision Making In Complex Societies, Jonathan Skaggs

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates Multi Agent Decision Making (MADM) within Complex Societies (CS), systems of interdependent agents whose collective behaviors emerge from local interactions. Such emergent dynamics are nonlinear and difficult to predict, posing significant challenges towards understanding how individual decisions scale to societal outcomes. Existing approaches often fall short of capturing the combined attributes of CS, including asymmetry, decentralization, and adaptivity. To address this gap, we introduce new models and analyses of agent strategies that explain how cooperation and stability can arise in CS. Structured around three interrelated projects, this dissertation enhances our comprehension of MADM in CS. The research …

Towards Resilient Data Governance: An Industry Study On Practitioner Perspectives On The Current State Of Data Governance, Anthony Mazzarella Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Experts agree that data governance is crucial for managing data as an asset, yet in practice, it remains inconsistently defined, unevenly implemented, and poorly understood. Earlier industry studies offered valuable descriptive benchmarks of governance adoption and professional roles, but provided limited theoretical insight and little empirical evidence explaining how governance functions within organizations. Building on this foundation, the current research offers a more substantial and analytically rigorous contribution by transforming descriptive observations into empirical explanations. Through a collaborative academic–industry partnership, the study utilizes a global survey of 565 respondents (348 valid cases) to analyze governance structures, motivations, challenges, and the …

Computational Expressions Of Void Reactions In Extended Chemical Reaction Network Models, Aiden J. Massie

Theses and Dissertations

Chemical Reaction Networks (CRNs) are a system of abstraction of real-world chemical dynamics. Each CRN system is defined as a pair of molecular species and reaction rules, which consume a set of reactant species and create a new set of product species. In this paper, we investigate the simple class of void reactions, which cannot create new species and are computationally weak with small-enough sizes in basic CRNs. Here, we study their computational expression in more powerful extended CRN models. Specifically, we consider the Step CRN model, in which new species are added into the system through a sequence of …

Quantum Entanglement As A Resource For Coordinating Navigation, Aamir Ahmad

Theses and Dissertations

John Clauser, Michael Horne, Abner Shimony, and Richard Holt (CHSH) originally formulated the CHSH game as an experiment to establish entanglement as a quantum mechanical phenomenon that could not be predicted by classical theories. I will apply the quantum strategy used in the CHSH game to demonstrate that it also establishes a structure that employs entanglement as a resource to enable coordination without communication in the context of navigation.

Training Aba Service Providers To Use Phonemic Transcription: A Comparison Of Two Alphabets, Kristin Marie Albert

Theses and Dissertations

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) service providers regularly develop speech and shape articulation when working with minimally vocal children with autism. However, these providers usually have not received training in related subject areas as part of their certification coursework. This results in a gap between their scopes of competence and practice. The present study aimed to lessen this gap by training ABA service providers to take phonemic transcription. The author, in consultation with a speech-language pathologist, developed and implemented a computer-based programmed instruction training package. Studies 1 and 2 employed a concurrent multiple-probe design with an embedded adapted alternating treatments design …

Qualitative Stereo Vision Using Distributed Extended Waltz Filtering, Ben Mathew

Theses and Dissertations

Stereo vision is a fundamental problem in computer vision, aimed at reconstructing three-dimensional scene structure from two or more two-dimensional images. Traditional stereo algorithms rely on quantitative disparity estimation, often constrained by calibration precision, lighting variations, and surface texture. In contrast, our proposed Qualitative Stereo Vision seeks to understand depth relationships and spatial configurations from multiple planar views through symbolic reasoning and constraint satisfaction, offering a more flexible and cognitively plausible approach to scene interpretation.

This dissertation presents a novel framework called Distributed Extended Waltz Filtering, designed to provide qualitative stereo vision, particularly in the presence of occlusions—a persistent challenge …

Influence Of Peer-Led Team Learning In Students’ Chemistry Self-Efficacy, And Academic Achievement In General Chemistry Courses, Hector Leal

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most perplexing issues facing peer cooperative learning is dealing with student motivation and goal orientation. Sometimes the students who could most benefit from the positive effects of peer learning are the ones least likely to participate due to fear of exposing their academic weaknesses to others or even to themselves (Arendale, 2020). Exploring the complexity of student motivation is being carefully studied amongst elementary and secondary education student populations. However, this important construct is often ignored in the study of postsecondary education in general, and the provision of learning assistance, particularly at the college level. My purpose …

Factors Influencing Teacher Professional Autonomy And Career Satisfaction: The Effects Of Unrealistic Professional Expectations Surrounding Student-Centered And Technology Implementation Tropes, Karla Gabriela Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

The research problem is to investigate to what extent unrealistic professional expectations stemming from a predominant emphasis on the tropes of student-centeredness and technology integration impact teachers’ experiences of professional autonomy and career satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to find out what factors impact teacher autonomy and career satisfaction while also considering how teachers can be effectively supported to improve these areas. Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach, this qualitative study will be held in the Rio Grande Valley and will analyze interviews of both current teachers and teachers who have recently left the profession. Therefore, this study will …

Navigating Cultural And Professional Identities: A Study Of Hispanic Women's Experiences In Aerospace Internship Programs, Jennifer Becerra

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study investigated how Hispanic women navigated cultural identity and professional development during National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) internship programs, examining the role of culturally responsive mentoring in supporting retention. The research question was, How do Hispanic women in aerospace-internship programs navigate the intersection of cultural identity and professional development as they transition from academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs to aerospace careers, and what role does culturally responsive mentoring play in supporting their retention?

Using Anzaldúa’s nepantla concept, Duncan-Andrade’s critical-hope theory, and Ladson-Billings’ culturally relevant pedagogy as theoretical frameworks, in this study, I employed semistructured …

Collective Agency And Community Resilience Among Farmworkers In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Angel Velazquez

Theses and Dissertations

This research assesses how farmworkers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas use everyday practices to build resilience and adapt to changes in their lives. I apply two interconnected theories, White’s (2017, 2019) framework of collective agency and community resilience and Castro and Sen’s (2022) framework of everyday adaptation actions, to study these practices. I conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with Latino farmworkers and professionals who work with local farmworker organizations in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of Texas. Interview transcripts were analyzed to determine if and how Latino farmworkers in the RGV can work towards community resilience and implement …

Determination Of An Effective Natural Boxelder Bug (Boisea Trivittata) Repellent, Reyna Chavez

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the use of ecofriendly repellant alternatives to pest management to control boxelder bugs (Boisea trivittata). This bug gathers by the thousands on warm surfaces of exterior suburban homes during early fall and late spring. I determined bug repellency to turmeric oil (Curcuma longa), catnip (Nepeta cataria), citronella (Cymbopogon nardus), and lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). The treatments consisted of essential oils containing 20% methanol. All treatments demonstrated repellency of Boxelder bugs. Citronella was the most effective and had the highest level of repellency range of 90-99%. Catnip was the least effective with a repellency range of 63-82%.

Clustering 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Time Series With Dynamic Time Warping And Time Warp Edit Distance, John Knight

Theses and Dissertations

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) captures dynamic circadian changes in blood pressure (BP) that are not reflected in static clinic readings. This study applied time-series clustering with two elastic distance measures—Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) and Time Warp Edit Distance (TWED)—to identify distinct phenotypes in 2,155 24-hour ABPM time series from participants in the Maracaibo Aging Study. DTW and TWED both yielded three clusters corresponding to non-dipping, moderate-dipping, and strong-dipping patterns. The non-dipping group showed elevated nighttime BP, associated with greater cardiovascular and cognitive risk, while the strong-dipping group was associated with higher education and younger age in baseline clinic measurements. …

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words—, But Ecg Signals Have More To Say, Ashley N. Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

With the increasing adoption of deep learning classification models in the medical domain, a critical challenge remains: achieving high predictive accuracy while maintaining clinical Inter-pretability. This study examines how model architecture, dataset origin, and the use of full versus subset data affect both classification performance and Interpretability in Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal analysis. ResNet18 is evaluated using an open-source ECG Image Dataset, thus a custom dataset derived from digitized ECG images. Post-hoc explainability methods, such as Integrated Gradients, are applied to determine which time steps have the most significant influence on model decisions. The findings demonstrate that model architecture and dataset …