Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Utility Of Haptic Feedback To Improve Pilot Situational Awareness & Performance: A Psychophysiological Approach, Jessica Van Bree

Theses and Dissertations

Pilot situational awareness (SA) has been deemed to be a critical component of flight efficacy, efficiency, and overall mission success. Studies have shown that several incidents and accidents have been the result of level-one SA errors, meaning that members of the flight crew have failed to accurately perceive the elements in their environments. As such, several strategies have been investigated to improve pilot SA. One potential avenue of research is the addition of haptics in to the flight deck. In some studies, the implementation of haptics have shown to improve piloting tasks, pilot safety, and aircraft control. The current study …

An Evaluation Of Noncontingent Reinforcement And Additional Treatment Components In The Treatment Of Stereotypic Behavior, Stephanie Nicole Brand

Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with autism often engage in stereotypic behavior that competes with learning and social skills. Behavior analytic treatment may be implemented to reduce stereotypy. Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is one treatment that is often effective to reduce stereotypy. However, literature suggests that the use of NCR is contraindicated in some circumstances, as it may compete with the acquisition of new skills or may increase subsequent persistence of stereotypy. This research was designed to expand our knowledge of potential limitations of NCR when combined with other treatments. Study one examined persistence of stereotypy following treatment with NCR with and without response blocking. …

Benthic Infaunal Responses To Shoreline Restoration, Jessica Lauren Cline

Theses and Dissertations

In the age of increasing urban coastal sprawl, natural shorelines are being replaced by hard armoring structures, which result in the loss of valuable ecosystem services. Hybrid living shorelines, areas that include limited and less intensive armoring strategies paired with the integration of plants and other natural materials, present an opportunity to marry the need for more aggressive stabilization with the continued preservation of ecosystem functions and biological communities. This project uses benthic infauna to evaluate the success of a living shoreline installation in Palm Bay, Florida. The deployment features experimental treatments of breakwaters and red mangroves to explore how …

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 …

Comparative Assessment Of Lower Limb Neuromusculoskeletal Activation And Joint Kinematics In Normal And Impaired Gait, Jack Ryan Schule

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates whether accessible and affordable technologies can provide clinically significant, quantifiable gait analysis comparable to traditional marker-based motion capture systems. Modern high-end systems offer excellent accuracy but remain financially and logistically inaccessible to many clinicians and researchers. To address this gap, a framework was developed using markerless pose estimation using the model, MediaPipe, inertial measurement units (IMUs) processed through an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), and surface electromyography (sEMG) to measure joint kinematics and neuromuscular activity during gait. An experiment was performed where data was collected from participants with both normal gait and pathologies including: Osgood–Schlatter disease, Plica Band …

Examining The Relationship Between Title 14 Code Of Federal Regulations (Cfr) Part 147 Maintenance School Aviation Maintenance Technician (Amt) Instructor Experience And Instructor Pass Rates For Airmen Certification Standards (Acs) Element Subject Areas, Richard Lyman Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative, correlational study examined the relationship between Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) instructor experience and student pass rates in 14 CFR Part 147 maintenance schools. Data were collected from February to August 2025 using purposive and snowball sampling, which yielded 67 complete responses. Instructor experience, measured in months of A&P-rated maintenance work prior to teaching, ranged from 1 to 684 months (M = 253.54, SD = 197.97). Student pass rates, defined as the proportion of students passing ACS element subject area courses, ranged from .52 to 1.00 (M = .95, SD = .07). Most instructors were male, White, over 50 …

Conflict Management: Values-Based Training Effects On Shifts In Strategy Preference Among Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, Candace Renae Fay

Theses and Dissertations

Problem-solving refers to a behavior evoked by a problem in which the behaver manipulates, supplements, and consequently, generates discriminative stimuli (SD) that they subsequently respond to (Donahoe & Palmer, 2004; Skinner, 1957, 1968). The use of problem-solving when faced with interpersonal conflict reflects pro-social behavior patterns, while providing a learning opportunity for identifying relevant variables and contingencies, and possible reductions of extended conflict or escalation in anti-social behavior patterns. Patterns of preference can be identified following multiple opportunities, given an array of options, resulting in consistency of choice responses (Martin, 2006). When less prosocial (avoiding, yielding), or antisocial (forcing) conflict …

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 …

Elucidating The Oxidation Mechanisms In Cr2alb2 Using Density Functional Theory And Thermodynamic Modeling, Ushan Asela Adhikarige

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the oxidation behavior of Cr2AlB2 surfaces using density functional theory calculations combined with thermodynamic modeling. Our analysis encompassed surface stability assessments, oxygen adsorption studies on various surfaces, and thermodynamic insights into oxidation mechanisms. Surface stability assessments reveal that the (010) surface terminated with an Al layer exhibits the lowest surface energy. Oxygen adsorption studies on the (010), (111), and (021) surfaces demonstrate strong dissociative adsorption with binding energies ranging from -4.72 to -4.22 eV depending on coverage. Thermodynamic analysis shows that elevated temperatures reduce oxidation favorability, while increased oxygen partial pressure enhances it. The study reveals that …

Integration Of Fluorescence Imaging And Advanced Analytical Techniques For Reliable Contamination Detection, Mahsa Aliee

Theses and Dissertations

Effective surface contamination detection in food processing and healthcare environments is hindered by the limitations of visual inspection and ATP bioluminescence testing, both of which struggle to identify thin, transparent, or spatially irregular organic residues. These constraints contribute to inconsistent hygiene verification and create a need for objective, scalable, and real-time detection methods capable of operating under variable environmental conditions.

This dissertation develops an integrated framework that combines UV-induced fluorescence imaging with advanced analytical techniques to improve contamination detection reliability. A UV/UVC fluorescence imaging system was engineered with synchronized pulsed excitation (275 nm, 365 nm, 405 nm), adaptive exposure control, …

A Stochastic Framework For Hosting Capacity Analysis Of Residential Distribution Systems With Solar Photovoltaic And Electric Vehicle Adoption, Sina Ibne Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

The rise of distributed generation and the electrification of transportation are driving fundamental changes in the electric grid. The growing adoption of electric vehicles and solar rooftops introduces significant uncertainty in demand patterns, posing new challenges for the operation of distribution systems. Residential distribution systems are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of residential solar photovoltaics (PV) generation and electric vehicle charging, as they introduce significant variability and localized stress on the grid. To ensure reliable and efficient operation, utilities must account for the long-term growth of these technologies in their planning processes. While substantial progress has been made in assessing …

Control Strategy, Multi-Objective Optimization, And Economic Viability For Utility-Scale Wind-Solar-Based Hybrid Power Plant, Shree Om Bade

Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid Power Plants (HPP) that combine wind power plants (WPP), solar power plants (SPP), and battery energy storage systems (BESS) have recently emerged to provide dispatchable renewable electricity, improve the stability of the power grid, maximize use of infrastructure assets, and minimize carbon releases. Nevertheless, regardless of their technical potential, the large-scale application of HPP still encounters many barriers, such as operational complexity, inadequate sizing, and financial viability. To mitigate these issues, this study incorporates three research questions. First, this study introduces a four-layer hierarchical control architecture for coordinating WPP, SPP, and BESS to ensure dispatchable power. Second, a multi-objective …

Thermal Desorption-Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Method Development For The Determination Of Wood Preservatives, Nafisa Bala

Theses and Dissertations

A thermal desorption-pyrolysis gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection (TD-Pyr-GC-MS) method was developed, enabling a comprehensive analysis of preservatives as well as native wood constituents in treated wood. The developed method is based on thermal desorption, i.e., extraction of wood preservatives, followed by pyrolysis to investigate changes in the occurrence of characteristic wood building blocks (e.g., guaiacol derivatives). We implemented a combined MS data acquisition (i.e., SITI) consisting of selected ion monitoring (SIM) and total ion current (TIC), allowing for low limits of detection of preservatives in SIM mode and TIC detection of any evolving species. The matrix detection limits …

The Role Of Attitude Ambivalence In Extending The Theory Of Planned Behavior: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Factors Predicting Influenza Vaccine Uptake Intentions Among Active-Duty Military Parents For Themselves And Their Children, Walter Eugene Carroll

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a mixed-methods study examining how U.S. military parents form intentions to vaccinate themselves and their children against influenza. The study applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the construct of ambivalence tounderstand how attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control influence vaccination decisions within the unique institutional and cultural environment of military life. Quantitative data were collected from 341 military parents through an online survey distributed across more than 50 military-affiliated Facebook groups. Regression models tested TPB constructs, flu knowledge, and social media use as predictors of vaccination intention and ambivalence. Results showed that flu shot …

Integrating Cognitive And Visual Scanning Strategies In Flight Instruction: Effects On Student Pilots’ Learning During Approach And Landing, Hyungwoo Jo

Theses and Dissertations

This interdisciplinary study employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design to advance innovation in aviation education by incorporating eye tracking technology with enhanced performance traceability through visual modeling and comparative feedback. Specifically, the study investigated student pilots’ scanning behavior, cognitive strategies, and proficiency development on a normal approach and landing task by modeling flight instructors’ cognitive behavior. The first research phase revealed statistically significant differences in scanning ratios between 10 flight instructors and 10 student pilots along with substantial performance variation. The result showed that student pilots exhibited excessive outside fixation, often failing to monitor or respond to energy management in …

Cross Cancer Toxicogenomic Modeling Of Arsenic Exposure Identifies A Four Gene Signature For Lung Cancer Risk, Joshua Kennedy

Theses and Dissertations

Arsenic is a naturally occurring carcinogenic element linked to DNA damage via reactive oxidation and epigenetic alteration that is ubiquitous throughout nature and has been associated with oncogenesis in the lungs, bladder, skin, and liver. Lung Cancer is both the most diagnosed cancer worldwide and the deadliest, comprising approximately 12.4% of all cancers globally and contributing to more human cancer death than any other condition, with roughly 90% of cases arising due to tobacco smoking, which exposes the user to arsenic trioxide and synergistic carcinogenicity when exposure includes both smoking and consumption of arsenic-contaminated drinking water. A novel set of …

Evaluating Hail Spectrometer Data Quality And Uncertainty For Calculating Radar Reflectivity Factor, James Klinman

Theses and Dissertations

Reliable in situ measurements are essential for accurately forecasting and nowcasting hailstorms, as they provide insight into storm processes, improve predictions that protect public safety, and help assess potential damage to agriculture and infrastructure. This study evaluates the reliability of in situ hail measurements from the T-28 aircraft’s Hail Spectrometer and assesses their feasibility for radar reflectivity validation and parameterization. Data from 14 flights across five field campaigns were analyzed, focusing on comparisons between one-dimensional (1D) 1-Hz accumulated particle counts and two-dimensional (2D) particle images produced by the Hail Spectrometer. The 2D data were processed using the System for Optical …

Dynamic Wellbore-Integrity Framework For Post-Blowout Capping Of Offshore Wells, Abdelhakim Khouissat

Theses and Dissertations

In the aftermath of a blowout, a well undergoes a period of unrestricted fluid discharge (de facto primary recovery) followed by pressure buildup after its shut-in, which can adversely impact wellbore integrity. The quintessential example is Union Oil’s 1969 “A-21” well blowout in California’s Santa Barbara Channel, where seafloor-broaching incidents (oil “boilups”) kept taking place from the sides of the well following several failed well-capping attempts, until reservoir depletion eventually allowed a successful shut-in.Analytical and numerical reservoir depletion models are coupled with near-wellbore geomechanics to quantify yardsticks related to the post-blowout discharge utilized to indicate dangers for underground blowouts, in …

Toward An Anthropological Ecocriticism, Grant Mcmillan

Theses and Dissertations

Environmental storytelling has increasingly reckoned with concepts and assumptions about (N/a)ture inherited from the Western intellectual tradition. The late 2010s and early 2020s in particular have seen an explosion of fiction that interrogates the limits of these past ideas. Relatedly, ecocriticism of this period has entered a self-reflexive mode that has sought to deal with its own limitations while offering insights that may prove generative for a more general audience of environmentally minded readers. This project adds to ongoing ecocritical discourse by tracing a series of implicit affinities between the broad traditions of anthropology and environmental fiction through their shared …

Methane Infusion Improved Oil Recovery In The Bakken Formation, Demetrius Maxey

Theses and Dissertations

This research establishes methane infusion improved oil recovery (MI IOR) as a technically viable and economically attractive early-stage intervention for unconventional reservoirs. Integrated multi-scale investigations included quantum molecular theory, nanoscale characterization, NMR experimentation, and field scale reservoir simulation. FEG-SEM analysis of core samples enabled development of a peer-reviewed pore size classification system informing MI operational design parameters. Integrated well logging quantified petrophysical properties across the Bakken stratigraphy. NMR relaxometry identified the lab-scale pore-level sweep efficiency of MI at 3,750 psi in Bakken core samples. Mobilization of hydrocarbons from Np1, Np2, and Np3 pores yielded recovery factors of 45-60%. Field-scale reservoir …

Integrated Machine Learning For Predicting Reservoir Properties And Experimental Approach For Evaluating Co2-Brine-Rock Interactions In Carbonate Formations, Luc Yvan Nkok

Theses and Dissertations

Understanding subsurface properties is fundamental for optimizing hydrocarbon recovery and ensuring the long-term integrity of carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations. Conventional methods such as empirical correlations, advanced logging, and laboratory measurements, though widely used, are costly, time-consuming, and often limited in accuracy within formations. This study develops an ML framework to enhance the prediction of petrophysical and geomechanical properties and experimental investigation to evaluate time-dependent alterations in petrophysical and geomechanical rock properties under CO₂-brine exposure.In the first phase, six ML algorithms Decision Tree, Random Forest, Extra Trees, XGBoost, LightGBM, and K-Nearest Neighbor were applied to predict key petrophysical parameters …

Optimizing Virtual Reality User Experience With Balanced Integration Of Quality Attributes, Ananth Ramaseri

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a real-time adaptive framework for mitigating cybersickness and enhancing user experience in virtual reality (VR) environments by dynamically adjusting key visual rendering parameters in response to users’ head movements. Conventional VR systems typically rely on fixed or manually configured settings that do not account for individual motion patterns or varying susceptibility to discomfort, leading to suboptimal usability and degraded immersion. In response, this work integrates software architecture tactics with data-driven machine learning models to proactively manage cybersickness while preserving rendering performance.

The proposed system employs a client–server architecture based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern. We conducted a …

A Climatology Of Northern Plains Tornadoes With Regard To Radar Coverage, Charles Richie Ii

Theses and Dissertations

Tornadoes are among the costliest and deadliest severe weather events in the United States. Doppler weather radar is one of a meteorologist’s most useful tools for early detection of tornadoes. However, there are several notable areas across the Northern Plains (Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota) where the National Weather Service’s (NWS) radar coverage exceeds 10,000 feet above radar level, leaving an effective “radar gap” where tornado detection becomes increasingly challenging, if not impossible in some cases. Even within these radar gaps, the NWS is still responsible for issuing Tornado Warnings to fulfill their mission of protecting life and …

Exploratory Study Of Relationships Between Law Students' Well-Being, Academic Success, And Perceptions Of Passing The Bar Exam And Admission, Pamela Shea

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the experiences of law students that impact their perception of being prepared for the Bar Exam and Bar admission. Analyzing the stressors law students face during law school reveals the essential need to incorporate the eight dimensions of well-being into curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities for students to flourish as they prepare for post-graduation success. Using the data from the 2021 Survey of Law Student Well-Being, which surveyed 5,865 law students from thirty-nine ABA-accredited law schools, a three-factor model was created to group students’ concerns into academic and health concerns, social and environmental concerns, and well-being behavioral …

Beyond Artemis: A Framework For Strategic International Cooperation In Space Exploration And Security, Lang Eric Sundby

Theses and Dissertations

The need for a more robust and formalized international cooperation framework has grown from the technological and political developments of both State and commercial actors in the space domain. Existing treaties, such as the Outer Space Treaty, have established norms for space activities, and recent agreements, like the Artemis Accords, have advanced additional innovative principles. Despite this progress, these agreements fall short of offering organizational structures for cooperation and methods for legal enforcement. Growing geopolitical competition has led to the formation of new models for China’s and Russia’s cooperation with other States in space, which include the International Lunar Research …

Microbial Communities And Host Plants Of Megachilidae In The Greater Grand Forks Area (Ggfa), Sara Margit Wallace

Theses and Dissertations

Although Megachilidae are important pollinators in the United States, there is still much to learn about the health and functionality of these bees. Megachilids are threatened by competition from non-native pollinators and other environmental factors. The species distribution and composition of the gut microbiome in megachilid bees are not well known for the Greater Grand Forks Area (GGFA). My research seeks to answer the questions: what megachilid species are in the GGFA, where are they, and what symbionts are in their gut microbiomes? I collected and identified solitary bee specimens from North Dakota and Minnesota, dissected their gut contents, and …

Experimental And Computational Insights Into Reservoir Rock Mechanics And Petrophysical Properties, Prasad Pothana

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the influence of stress, mineralogy, and microstructure on the elastic and transport properties of reservoir rocks. A multi-scale framework integrating laboratory measurements, petrophysical inversion, and discrete-element simulations is developed to quantify the stress-dependent behavior of heterogeneous sedimentary formations relevant to hydrocarbon production and CO2 sequestration.

Core-scale experiments quantify velocity–effective stress and permeability–effective stress relationships in tight siliciclastic and mixed lithologies. Results demonstrate that pore-throat collapse and microcrack closure under confining stress cause systematic reductions in permeability and acoustic velocities. The derived empirical functions provide predictive capability for estimating in-situ stress effects on reservoir performance and time-lapse seismic …

Degradable And Tunable Silyl Ether And Silyl Ester Containing Polymers: Synthesis, Characterization, Hyperbranching, And Applications, Vladimir Vladimirovich Zotov

Theses and Dissertations

The development of degradable polymers has emerged as a significant focus within academic research, driven by increasing concerns over non-degradable waste. Previous studies showed the ability to degrade the Si-O-C bond in mild conditions, which was further taken into medical applications. The slow degradation time of the linear polymers and their nanoparticles in mild conditions led us to pursue two different solution paths. In this work we looked at hyperbranched poly(silyl ether)s A2+B3 and A2A’+B3 methodologies and silyl ester containing polymers. Hyperbranched polymers show potential in drug delivery applications as they are capable of loading more of the drug and …

When Scripts Diverge: Strengthening Low-Resource Neural Machine Translation Through Phonetic Cross-Lingual Transfer, Ammon Shurtz

Theses and Dissertations

Multilingual Neural Machine Translation (MNMT) models enhance translation quality for low-resource languages by exploiting cross-lingual similarities during training--a process known as knowledge transfer. This transfer is particularly effective between languages that share lexical or structural features, often enabled by a common orthography. However, languages with strong phonetic and lexical similarities but distinct writing systems experience limited benefits, as the absence of a shared orthography hinders knowledge transfer. To address this limitation, we propose an approach based on phonetic information that enhances token-level alignment across scripts by leveraging transliterations. We systematically evaluate several phonetic transcription techniques and strategies for incorporating phonetic …

Educational Policy, Implementation, And Challenges: A Case Study Of Administrative Practice In Using Student Growth Measures For Instructional Improvement In A K-12 School District In Northern New Jersey, Dean Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative single holistic case study explores how school administrators in a Northern New Jersey district implement student growth measures (SGMs) mandated by the New Jersey Department of Education. Grounded in Lipsky’s (1980) theory of street-level bureaucracy, Wright’s Connected Actions Roadmap (2022), and Argyris and Schön’s (1978) theory of action, this work examines how administrators in the case study navigate policy mandates while addressing the demands of leading their schools. Data was collected through two rounds of semi-structured interviews with eleven administrators, supplemented by field notes. Thematic analysis revealed five areas: administrative agency in balancing compliance and authenticity, collaboration as …