Digital Commons Network^™

Unplug: Psychological Impact Of Nature In The Age Of Media Technology, Haisi Hu

Theses and Dissertations

My thesis explores the psychological, cultural, and societal consequences of humanity's growing disconnection from the natural world, intensified by dependence on artificial environments such as media, technology, and generative AI.

Found Words, Lost Homes: Immigration And The Language Of Identity, Ali Motamedi

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the relationship between personal experience and public space through a body of work that moves between image, text, and material. Rooted in an intimate perspective and extending into streets, landscapes, and communal environments, the practice examines how nomadism—both physical and conceptual—shapes ways of seeing and making. Drawing from my background in engineering, a deep connection to Farsi literature, and the lived experience of immigration, the work reflects on themes of displacement, belonging, and identity.

Fugitive Colors, Natalie Rose Eddings

Theses and Dissertations

My objects are meditations on intertwining themes of labor, rest, and interiority and their shadow sides—power, subjugation and the gaze. I couple materials that have millenia-long histories such as metals, glass, paper and clay with found objects and plat materials to illustrate narratives and exhume memories. Drawn from nature and technologies of land, plant stewardship and the domestic realm, I imagine my sculptures as life supporting vessels or magical enclosures.

Through sculpture, photography and printmaking, I build structures that are space of quiet to be filled with thought, healing and development. Like incubators and seed pods, my work is protective …

Understanding The Lived Experiences And Sense Of Belonging Of Bipoc Lgbtqia+ College Students At Urban Institutions Of Higher Education, Kayla M. Bassknight

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study explores the lived experiences and sense of belonging of college students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) at urban higher education institutions. Using Meyer’s minority stress model, Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory, and Strayhorn’s belonging framework, the study investigates how students’ intersecting identities shape their college experiences. Through an instrumental case study design, the research focuses on the unique challenges and opportunities faced by BIPOC LGBTQIA+ students, particularly the role of co-curricular engagement and institutional agents in fostering belonging. Eleven individual interviews and two focus …

The Mindful Way: A Mindfulness Psychoeducational Group For Latinx College Students, Karen A. Morales

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have extensively studied mindfulness as a promising intervention that can aid college students in managing stressors. Unfortunately, researchers have underrepresented minority populations like Latinx college students in mindfulness literature. The Mindful Way (TMW) is a culturally responsive psychoeducational group program that aims to close the gap in the literature. The pre-test and post-test of TMW program measures student’s tendency to practice mindfulness, their personal and academic resilience, degree of self-compassion, emotion regulation skills, problematic alcohol consumption, and symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, before and after participating in the program. The hypothesis of the present study is …

How Do Women Deal With Beauty Standards?, Mandy Lashay Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the profound impact of beauty standards on women’s lives, focusing on how unrealistic ideals influence their emotional and physical well-being. Through a series of figurative oil paintings, this work examines women’s actions to conform to and reject these standards. It also explores the consequences of striving to meet or falling short of these ideals, such as emotional turmoil, physical pain, potential social exclusion, as well as the comparison, and competitive beauty culture. This research analyzes the motivations behind striving for beauty standards, such as pursuing attention, success, and validation. Drawing from contemporary literature and visual analysis of …

Breast Cancer Survivors’ Readiness-To-Work Perceptions: A Pilot Study, Joy Darlene Cain

Theses and Dissertations

This pilot study explored the perceptions of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and struggles they experienced when returning to work or maintaining employment. It sought to understand the impact of cancer treatment on work demands and how or if that impacted the survivor’s perception of her employment status. This study found significant differences in the RTW perceptions for women with breast cancer in the areas of marital status, physical effort, work strategies, and work-related help. The most significant difference were the differences between women with partners and women without partners. Surprisingly, women without partners, while they do …

Lauryn C. Salazar: A Life History Of Mariachi Leadership, Berta Alicia Guerra

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze Lauryn C. Salazar’s mariachi/educational leadership style by focusing on her contributions to the community of Texas Tech University and Tarleton State University. Leadership styles, as defined by Northouse, 2021, refer to the distinct approaches leaders use to guide, motivate, and influence their teams. After examining Salazar’s background to place her motivations and actions in the proper context, this study analyzed what Salazar did, how she perceived her actions, and how others perceived her actions. The life history written by the researcher was primarily based on data collected through eight interviews; however, …

Effects Of Reflective Journaling And Nudges On Academic Motivation And Engagement, Lakshmi Satya Sai Veda Mahita Uppuluri

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the effects of reflective journaling and motivational nudges on academic motivation and engagement among college students. Grounded in Self- Determination Theory (SDT), the research examines how different interventions influence intrinsic motivation, and academic behaviors such as class attendance, participation, and preparation. The study employed a between-group experimental design with three conditions: a control group, a journaling group, and a journaling group that also received daily motivational nudges. Results showed that students in the journaling groups—particularly those who received nudges—experienced a significant increase in academic motivation. While changes in academic engagement were not significant, the effect size suggested …

An Analysis Of Face Morphing Presentation Attacks Against Facial Recognition Systems, Joshua Breininger

Theses and Dissertations

Security has been a problem for human society for as long as history has been recorded. The identification of people is an ongoing, ancient battle, with a variety of methods that only become more complex with time. The Romans performed censuses, ciphers have been used for thousands of years in the pursuit of security, and in modern day we own identifications and governments keep track of who lives in their country with citizenship and licenses. The question of ”Who are you?” is vital for society to function, which opens up a massive field of potential for how to ask that …

Exploratory Study On Factors That Impact Job Embeddedness For Northeast Government And Commercial Aerospace Procurement Specialists, Nicholas Alaimo

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined job embeddedness theory and its impact on commercial and government aerospace procurement professionals in the Northeast United States. The research sought to understand the factors that influence why these professionals remain in their positions and what elements contribute to improved job performance. Job embeddedness theory explains employee retention through three key factors: perceived fit within their role, perceived links to organizational culture, and perceived sacrifices that would result from leaving.

The study identified six main themes. First, the research found both similarities and differences in how aerospace procurement specialists connect with aerospace culture in government subcontracting …

Personality Trait Recognition Through Deep Neural Temporal Modeling Of Non-Verbal Behavior, Kushal Vangara

Theses and Dissertations

Personality research seeks to explain the wide range of human behaviors through stable, measurable traits. Human interactions are inherently rich and multidimensional, and analyzing behavioral data offers a promising path to uncover personality insights. The increasing convergence of psychology, computer science, and machine learning has fueled interest in computational approaches to personality assessment. Advances in sensing technologies have made it possible to capture fine-grained information about individuals’ behaviors and interactions in naturalistic and controlled environments. Automated audio-visual analysis techniques extract relevant behavioral cues, which machine learning models then interpret to infer underlying personality traits. This work provides a comprehensive overview …

The Effect Of Hiv-1 Infection Associated Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide (Lps) On Human Oral Keratinocytes: Implications For Promoting Chronic Inflammation, Md Shafayat Jamil

Theses and Dissertations

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) remains a major global health concern, affecting approximately 39 million people worldwide, with 500,000 new infections reported in 2022. While combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has significantly reduced viral replication, HIV-1 infection is linked to various comorbidities, including oral dysbiosis and accelerated aging. Immune dysregulation in HIV-1–infected individuals promotes the proliferation of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria like Porphyromonas gingivalis, a key contributor to periodontal disease. P. gingivalis secretes lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which adversely affects human oral keratinocytes (HOK), the first line of defense against microbial threats in the oral cavity. HOK recognize LPS as a threat, …

The Impact Of Politics On Romantic Relationships: Longevity, Quality, And Political Beliefs Or Candidate Choice?, Jadelyn Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

This project aimed to understand how polarization in the United States affects romantic relationships. Other studies in this area have only gauged samples that were either couples in relationships or singles. This work compared the responses of individuals based on their relationship status (in a relationship or not), to note the differences, if any, between samples. This research was conducted through surveys on The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley student population.

In understanding how political opinions affect relationship longevity, satisfaction, and whether candidate choice or opinions matter more, there were interesting findings. Regarding relationship longevity, there was a significance …

Territorio Nepantla: A Visual Exploration Of The Matamoros – Brownsville Borderlands, Michel Valeria Flores Tavizón

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the work presented in the MFA exhibition titled Territorio Nepantla. A multidisciplinary exhibition featuring a visual exploration of the Matamoros and Rio Grande Valley borderlands through the perspective of a Mexican transfronteriza traversing the Matamoros – Brownsville border. The feminist Chicana theory of nepantla, a word from Nahuatl origin meaning “in-between” is central to the exhibition. Scholar Gloria Anzaldua defines the borderlands as a nepantla space, a liminal space where art and la frontera intersect. Nepantla represents the in-betweenness beyond physicality. A nepantla space can be emotional, spiritual, sexual, linguistical and more. This body of work …

Perceptions Of Special Education Teachers On The Transition Planning Process: Examining Practices That Predict A Positive Post-Secondary Outcome For Students With Disabilities In The Lower Rio Grande Valley School Districts, Mayra Lorena Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the significance of the transition planning process for students with disabilities, particularly from the perspectives of the special education teachers. Grounded in Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this research examined the role of the student, parent, work related experiences and teacher involvement in the transition process, and the relationship between these factors and College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) measures. Using a quantitative approach, that included special education teachers’ responses to the Secondary Education Transition Questionnaire adapted version and a cross analysis with 2022-2023 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) CCMR indicators, the study identified critical gaps between …

¿Puedo Decirlo En Español?: Teacher Views On Utilizing Translanguaging Pedagogies To Bridge The Language Gap In Secondary Classrooms, Luis Carlos Bocanegra

Theses and Dissertations

Translanguaging disrupts the notion of language as a fixed, separate system, offering a deeper insight into how individuals fluidly navigate and construct meaning across linguistic boundaries. This research study uses narrative research and participatory action research to employ translanguaging as a pedagogical framework to create inclusive spaces where emergent bilinguals could fully utilize their linguistic repertoire in secondary schools in the borderlands of the Rio Grande Vally in deep South Texas.

The findings of this study are organized into two overarching themes: cultural relevance and inclusivity in borderland schools, which brings to light the importance of culture, inclusivity, and supportive …

The Benefits Of Fantasy Book When Used As A Coping Measure Against Interpersonal Conflict In Hispanic College Women, Ruby Kaitlynn Tijerina

Theses and Dissertations

High mental health disparities among Hispanic individuals have been well-documented. One potential contributing factor to mental health challenges is interpersonal conflict, which is prevalent among Hispanic young adults. Effective interventions are needed to treat psychological symptoms associated with interpersonal conflict, and one possible approach is bibliotherapy via fantasy fiction reading. This study examined the therapeutic benefits of fantasy fiction reading compared to self-help and scholarly reading materials among 109 Hispanic college women. Participants attended two lab sessions scheduled one week apart. In Session 1, self-report measures and a reading assignment were administered to participants, while in Session …

Exploring The Relationship Between Suicidal Behavior And Obesity Among Young Hispanic Adults In The United States, Nadeen Salhadar

Theses and Dissertations

The rates of obesity and suicidal behavior have continued to increase over the years among young adults in the United States. Previous research has indicated a relationship between obesity and suicidal behavior, primarily among women, yet minimal research has been done to examine factors that explain this relationship (i.e., mediators). This study investigated the role of depression, body dissatisfaction, body shame and guilt, insomnia, physical health, and social anxiety on obesity and suicidal ideation among 209 college-aged Latina women. The researcher hypothesized that there would be an indirect relationship between obesity and suicidal behavior through multiple variables. Mediation analyses via …

Emotional Outbursts In Latinx Autistic Youth With Intact Or Non-Intact Families; Frequency, Severity, And Socio-Demographic Correlates, Sandra Lucia Masso Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, communication, and restricted repetitive behaviors. One of the core difficulties in individuals with ASD is related to emotional outbursts. Emotional outbursts (EO) are behavioral episodes in response to situations, environmental and physiological stimuli that occur in an extreme, unpleasant, sometimes aggressive way, often disproportionate to the context. Considering the impacts that EO’s can cause in populations with neurodevelopmental disorders and on the well-being and mental health of parents/caregivers, the need arises to evaluate these populations. Due to the core characteristics of ASD (such as a rigid mentality, …

The Effect Of Food Preference On The Efficacy Of The High-Probability Instructional Sequence To Treat Food Selectivity, Christina Marie Sheppard

Theses and Dissertations

Food selectivity involves avoiding certain foods based on type, texture, brand, smell, temperature, or presentation, and it affects 80% of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Although several antecedent-based and consequence-based behavioral interventions exist to increase acceptance and consumption of food in this population, one antecedent-based intervention that has shown promise both within and outside of a feeding context is the high-probability instructional sequence, which consists of the delivery of three high-probability instructions before delivery of a low-probability instruction. The high-probability sequence is used to increase compliance with instructions that have a low probability of completion (e.g., taking a bite …

#Helpplz: Mental Health Representation In Theatre For Young Audiences, Kate Elizabeth Dirrigl

Theses and Dissertations

#HELPPLZ is a play for young theater audiences that depicts four teenagers with various mental health challenges. It’s target audience is for children ages ten to fifteen and should be performed by actors of similar ages. #HELPPLZ is an immersive theatre experience, as a audience members watch four actors perform from four different lifestyles and point of views, all while broadcast on screens behind the actors. Every seat is a good seat in the house. This play follows a shift in trends of mental health depiction in contemporary theatre. No longer demonized and much more accessible, plays such as Dear …

The Effects Of Placing Students In Special Education In A Disciplinary Alternative Education Program, Daniel Garza

Theses and Dissertations

Educating students with special needs can be very challenging especially when their academic challenges are compounded with behavioral challenges. Disciplining students with special needs can create additional challenges and often the use of punishment can have little to no effect in deterring undesirable behavior. As behaviors escalate, so does the form of punishment and students with special needs are often sent to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program. This study aimed to uncover the effects of placing students who receive special education services in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program focusing on the impact of placements on academic outcomes and behavioral changes. …

Linguistic (In) Security And Persistence In Doctoral Studies: A Mixed-Methods Study Of The Impact Of Metapragmatic Discourses On The Persistence Of Multilingual Doctoral Students, Germaine Tondji

Theses and Dissertations

Linguistic beliefs and practices in doctoral studies have often been overlooked, partly due to the assumption that advanced students face fewer language-related challenges. However, research on multilingualism in hypernormative academic contexts suggests that linguistic concerns persist even among the most educated. Multilingual doctoral students (MDSs) operate at the intersection of multiple linguistic and epistemic systems. In English-dominant, monoglossic environments, they must not only navigate the complexities of doctoral study but also reconcile competing linguistic and epistemic identities. This study explores the role of linguistic insecurity (LI) in MDSs' doctoral persistence through a mixed-methods design. The quantitative phase draws on survey …

Improving Home Security Through User Centered Device Positioning, Lalith Nadipalli

Theses and Dissertations

In today’s world, where technology is advancing rapidly and security threats are becoming more complex, the need for effective home safety measures is more critical than ever. Homeowners are increasingly turning to a variety of smart devices, such as smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and security cameras, to protect their living spaces against potential dangers like burglary, fire, and environmental hazards. These devices offer essential protection, acting as both early warning systems and visual surveillance tools. However, their effectiveness largely hinges on how well they are placed within the home. Proper placement of these safety devices ensures that they provide …

The Impact Of System Transparency On Perceived System Reliability, Perceived System Usability, And Information Clarity In Self-Driving Car Systems, Uditkumar Nair

Theses and Dissertations

In human-computer interaction (HCI), the development of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology has created new difficulties, especially in building user confidence as well as understanding of system functioning. The effect of system transparency on user- centered outcomes, such as perceived usability, perceived system reliability, and information clarity, is examined in this thesis. In order to evaluate their experiences in both ordinary and high-stakes driving situations, participants engaged with both system- transparent user interfaces (TUIs) and non-transparent user interfaces (NTUIs) across a number of experimental scenarios. In order to assess how well each interface conveyed system logic and actions, the study included …

The Marionette Among Us: The Dark Triad, Influence Tactics, And The Fabric Of Team Relationships, Jarret Nathan Bain

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the influence of the Dark Triad personality traits—Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy—on workplace team dynamics, particularly through the use of hard and soft interpersonal influence tactics. The research focuses on Team Member Exchange (TMX) as a measure of perceived relationship quality among team members. Using a cross-sectional survey of employed adults recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), the study investigated the relationships between Dark Triad traits, influence tactics, and TMX. The findings reveal that while Narcissism is positively correlated with TMX, Machiavellianism and Psychopathy show more complex patterns of association, impacted by the choice of influence tactics. The …

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Embedded Instruction And Item Quality On Activity Selection, Julianne Isabella Fernandez

Theses and Dissertations

Naturalistic teaching strategies, such as embedded instruction, have been used to effectively teach a variety of skills to individuals diagnosed with ASD and other developmental disabilities. However, the effect of embedding instructions on a child’s play preferences is unknown. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether response allocation is dependent on frequency of demands or quality of items available during preferred activities. We used a concurrent operants arrangement in which a room was divided into two sides and various toys were placed in each with embedded demands available in one side. In Experiment 1, researchers evaluated the time …

Cross-Dataset Fairness Evaluation Of Transformer-Based Sentiment Models, Sara Zuiran

Theses and Dissertations

With the growing exploration of Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems in decision-making environments, it is essential to evaluate technical and ethical aspects of the dataset and the NLP model to improve fairness. To assess fairness, the thesis examines demographic imbalances in sentiment classification models by evaluating transformer-based models fine-tuned on the Stanford Sentiment Treebank version 2 dataset (SST-2) against the demographically annotated Comprehensive Assessment of Language Model dataset (CALM). This work identifies performance disparities in sentiment prediction across demographic groups by examining sensitive attributes such as gender and race. The study evaluates both the RoBERTa and MentalBERT transformer models using …

Bridging The Gap: Enhancing Devops Security Through Comprehensive Threat Modeling, Ashutosh Jagdish Sonar

Theses and Dissertations

Today, security is an essential component of software development, especially in DevOps environments where rapid and continuous product release cycles are common. Systems are vulnerable to new attacks because traditional security approaches often cannot keep up with the pace of change. The threat modeling approaches used in DevOps are examined in this thesis, along with their advantages, disadvantages, and suitability for use in current software development processes. Well-known frameworks including STRIDE (Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service (DoS), and Elevation of Privilege), Attack Trees, LINDDUN (Linking, Identifying, Non-Repudiation, Detecting, Data Disclosure, Unawareness, and Non-Compliance.), Practical Threat Analysis (PTA), …