Digital Commons Network^™

Chatbots In The Classroom: Understanding The Impact Of Chatbot Integration In Writer’S Workshops On High School Students’ Writing, Gabriel Cerda

Theses and Dissertations

Writing is a complex developmental skill, and much research has been conducted to understand in which ways to best close the gaps that national data indicates exist for students in K-12 education. This quasi-experimental study explored how integrating chatbots as dialogue agents within a writer’s workshop framework influences the quality of written compositions among Grade 12 students. The research was grounded in the Direct and Indirect Effect Model of Writing (DIEW) and the Writer(s)-Within-Community (WWC) model, which emphasize both the cognitive and social-emotional dimensions of the writing process.

Participants received real-time, individualized feedback, with pre- and post-test essays evaluated using …

Assessing Water Quality And Nitrogen Dynamics In Bahia Grande, Texas Using Field And Remote Sensing Data, Sk Taufiqul Islam

Theses and Dissertations

An 8,220-acre estuary in South Texas, Bahia Grande has recently been restored from a disconnected hypersaline basin to a tidal estuary. A spatially explicit water quality index (WQI) was developed and in situ physicochemical data coupled with remote sensing data from Sentinel-2 were used to determine ecological integrity. A WQI from 29.45-53.20 yielded a spatial distribution of water quality that displayed a non-linear spatial trend throughout the estuary. Water quality close to the Brownsville Ship Channel inlet yielded values of 'Moderate/Stressed' water quality (> 50). These areas represent local zones of disturbance where ammonium concentrations were more than 11 µmol/L. …

Bayesian Change-Point Detection In Stock And Cryptocurrency Markets Using Shrinkage Priors, Yosalin Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

Financial markets often undergo abrupt structural changes driven by political, economic, and geopolitical events, leading to substantial volatility. Detecting such change-points is crucial for identifying structural breaks, improving risk management, and enhancing forecasting performance in financial time series. This study proposes a Bayesian change-point detection framework that incorporates both the t-shrinkage prior and the Horseshoe shrinkage prior. These priors enforce strong regularization on successive differences in mean parameters, enabling the identification of piecewise constant structures in time series data. Posterior inference is conducted using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, specifically a Gibbs sampling algorithm, which iteratively samples from the …

Essays On Ai-Driven Analytics For Enhanced Healthcare Delivery: From Onset To Outcomes In Neurological Diseases Management, Gabriel Owusu

Theses and Dissertations

Chronic neurological diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs), pose mounting global healthcare burdens. Despite advances in AI and health information technologies, early detection, precise diagnosis, and effective caregiver support remain elusive. This dissertation proposes innovative AI-enabled analytical frameworks to address these challenges across the full ADRD continuum.

The first essay designs an explainable AI-enabled clinical decision support system (CDSS) using a graph neural network for early AD identification, evaluated through usability studies demonstrating improved risk awareness and clinical engagement. The second essay introduces MADT-RNN, a multi-level attention-based deep transfer recurrent neural network that fuses convolutional and recurrent architectures …

The Effects Of Ai Adoption On Digital Entrepreneurial Intention: A Meta-Analysis, Xandra Precious Okori

Theses and Dissertations

AI adoption and its widespread use have sparked debates about the future of work, job displacement, and the evolving entrepreneurial landscape. While AI is often seen as a threat to traditional employment, research shows that this emerging technology is more likely to change task structures rather than eliminate entire occupations or industries. This shows that there are new entrepreneurial opportunities, particularly digital, that potential entrepreneurs can venture into. This thesis uses a meta-analytic approach to study the relationship between AI adoption and digital entrepreneurial intention, addressing inconsistencies in current research.

Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search was conducted across Web …

Exit Topology Effects On Low-Mach Jet Impingement, Alejandro Garcia

Theses and Dissertations

Planar PIV characterizes a low‑Mach (M = 0.05) air jet impinging normally on a plate at fixed spacing H/D = 4.0. Four nozzles of equal hydraulic diameter (D = 50.8 mm) are compared: circular, rectangular (AR 3), diamond, and elliptical (AR 2); asymmetric exits are tested in major and minor orientations. Mean velocity, azimuthal vorticity, and turbulence kinetic energy reveal that exit topology strongly modulates the stagnation footprint and shear‑layer growth. The circular jet forms the canonical toroidal wall jet and a narrow stagnation core (dₛ = 0.9D). Orienting the rectangular major axis toward the plate elongates the core to …

From Witness To Weapon: How Elizabeth Barrett Browning’S “The Cry Of The Children” Embodies And Transforms The Rhetorical Situation, Elyssa Vianey Solis

Theses and Dissertations

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “The Cry of the Children” employs trauma-driven rhetoric to expose Victorian child labor exploitation.

Combining literary analysis with rhetorical theory, this research contextualizes the poem within 19th-century industrial exploitation, showing how Browning transforms documentary evidence like the 1842 Children’s Employment Commission Report into emotional testimony. Visceral imagery, ironic juxtaposition, and embodied suffering weaponize pathos to reveal systemic abuse and moral urgency. Applying Lloyd Bitzer’s and Richard Vatz’s theories, we can posit that Browning both responds to and defines the crisis, merging poetic protest with social reform as civic intervention.

By engaging Bitzer and Vatz, this paper argues …

Chronicles Of A Caliche Road: Lessons From The Monte Through A Poetic Currere Of Language, Memory, And Identity, Brenda Ochoa

Theses and Dissertations

This autobiographical study explores how language, memory, and identity are shaped through lived experience in the South Texas brushland known as the monte. Situated within the cultural and linguistic landscape of the Rio Grande Valley, the study examines how land, native plants, and regional wildlife function as an informal curriculum that shapes voice, silence, and ways of knowing beyond formal schooling. Grounded in autobiographical inquiry, the study uses poetic currere as both an analytic process and a mode of representation to illuminate the relationship between language experience, memory, and identity across time. Data sources include personal memories, reflective journals, original …

Vision-Based Vibration Monitoring Of Civil Structural Damage Detection Using A Low-Cost Autonomous Uav, Javier Antonio Becerril

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents the development and experimental validation of a low-cost autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for non-contact vibration-based structural damage detection. We extract structural vibration signals directly from video recordings captured by the onboard camera during flight. The extracted vibration signals are analyzed in the frequency domain to identify natural frequency shifts associated with structural degradation and damage.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a laboratory-scale steel frame structure is tested under both healthy and simulated damage conditions. In contrast to advanced commercial UAV inspection systems, the developed UAV achieves comparable inspection capability at a significantly lower …

Developing A Qpcr Method For Evaluating Parasitoid Wasps As A Potential Means Of Control Of The Southern Cattle Fever Tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) Microplus In South Texas, Abbey Abalos

Theses and Dissertations

Ixodiphagus spp. wasps are natural enemies of ticks that have been reported to cause mortality in multiple tick species. Parasitoid wasps may represent a potential biocontrol alternative to traditional chemical tick control methods, which are challenged by non-target toxicity and the development of pesticide resistance in species of concern such as Rhipicephalus microplus, a pest of livestock that causes billions of dollars in loss to the livestock industry worldwide. Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. is a congeneric species of R. microplus, and parasitism of R. sanguineus by Ixodiphagus sp. in areas of co-occurrence has been observed. It is unknown if R. microplus …

Pesticides And Poverty: How Socioeconomic Factors Relate To Pesticide Application In The Continental Us, Reed Smetter

Theses and Dissertations

Pesticides are often used to help reduce the populations of weeds, insects, and pathogens in agricultural and urban settings, reducing the risk of outbreaks and losses of agricultural yield. The communities that surround agricultural areas often bear the brunt of the negative community and environmental health effects of these chemicals, and are frequently rural, poor, and lack critical infrastructure resources. Pesticide application volumes are often linked closely with specific health effects. In this study, I apply social vulnerability theory to compare the potential connections between the application rates of pesticides and socioeconomic variables across the United States using a nationwide …

A Visit-Count-Based Complete Foraging Strategy For Robot Swarms, Arturo Yahir Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Swarm robotics systems often rely on a balance between exploration and exploitation to perform tasks like Central Place Foraging. While exploitation methods such as pheromone trails and site fidelity are well-studied, the efficiency of the underlying random search exploration remains a challenge, frequently leading to redundant coverage and wasted time as multiple agents repeatedly search the same fruitless areas. This thesis introduces a memory-enhanced exploration strategy designed to improve the efficiency of random search in a swarm of simple robots.

In our proposed algorithm, each robot, constrained with limited memory, periodically logs its recent locations while exploring. This spatial data …

The Impact Of Nutrition On Insecticide Resistance And Gene Expression In Aedes Aegypti, Esmeralda Guadalupe Rosas

Theses and Dissertations

The development of insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti, a major vector of dengue and Zika viruses, threatens vector control efforts, particularly in endemic regions such as South Texas. Insecticides remain widely used; however, their overuse has accelerated metabolic resistance mediated by cytochrome P450 enzymes. Environmental factors such as larval nutrition may influence mosquito physiology and resistance-associated gene expression, yet this relationship remains poorly understood. This study examines how larval nutritional conditions affect the expression of cytochrome P450 genes linked to pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti. Larvae were reared under five dietary treatments differing in lipid and protein ratios, and adults …

The Role Of Operational Context In Shaping Energy Management Portfolios: A Comparative Case Study Of Two Manufacturing Facilities, Cynthia Aranda

Theses and Dissertations

Using two facilities as illustrative examples, this research investigates how a manufacturing plant's operational and financial context may influence its investment decisions in energy-efficiency measures. This challenges the primacy of the simple payback period (SPP) as a screening tool and instead demonstrates the role of operational context in investment decision-making. To this extent, this study is anchored to a qualitative comparative case study analysis of two ITAC energy assessments for two manufacturing plants in Texas: a higher value-added aerospace MRO plant (GE Aerospace, TR0060) versus a cost-sensitive automotive stamping plant (UMP Metal Stamping, TR0061). The two cases illustrate two different …

Spatiotemporal Evolution Of Flow Decline And Water Consumption In A Highly Regulated Transboundary River: The Lower Rio Grande/Bravo, Ana Yarely Casillas Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Long-term flow variability in transboundary rivers reflects the combined influence of water availability, infrastructure development, and binational water use. Integrating historical discharge with evolving water-use data remains challenging due to fragmented records and nationally bounded assessments. This study reconstructs a 125-year discharge record (1900–2025) from historical Water Bulletins and modern observations at 12 gauging stations, providing a spatiotemporal assessment of flow evolution and water-budget components in the Lower Rio Grande/Bravo (LRG).

Discharge records were grouped into four hydrologic regimes—natural (1900–1913), pre-dam (1935–1950), post-dam (1974–1989), and modern (2010–2025)—and analyzed alongside binational water-use data across major sectors. A basin-scale water budget, using …

Probing The Dynamic Behavior Of The Androgen Receptor In The Presence Of Heptyl And Methyl Parabens, Edgardo De Leon

Theses and Dissertations

The androgen receptor (AR) mediates physiological signaling from endogenous androgens, a function that can be disrupted by endocrine disruptors with serious reproductive and developmental consequences. Parabens, widely used preservatives, inhibit AR signaling in cell-based assays, with inhibitory potency correlating with alkyl chain length: heptylparaben exhibits stronger antagonism than methylparaben, which shows no effect. We hypothesize this differential potency arises from allosteric modulation at the AR Binding Function 3 (BF-3) site, altering dihydrotestosterone (DHT) binding dynamics. Docking calculations using antagonist-bound AR crystal structures, followed by molecular dynamics simulations, show that methylparaben fails to remain bound at BF-3, whereas heptylparaben maintains stable …

A Testimoniando On Tutoring Practices In A Predominantly Latine Writing Center: How Drawing From Tutors’ Memories Fosters Reflective Practices, Emily Michelle Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

The student body of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) consists primarily of Latine students, a population that is reflected in the Writing Center’s tutor demographics. Tutor practices connect to the training sessions that are based on disciplinary expectations but also incorporate each tutor’s epistemology, cultural beliefs, and lived knowledge experiences. To reflect on the practices, memories, and experiences that tutors collected at the Writing Center, the concepts of testimoniando and testimonios will serve as the praxis and means of sharing the experiences and lived knowledge of tutors who identify as part of a marginalized group; this allow …

Morphological Evolution And Sediment Budget Of A Flood-Tidal Delta On The Rio Grande Delta Plain: Bahia Grande, Texas, Usa, Aleen Pertuz Paz

Theses and Dissertations

The Isabel Delta is a recently formed flood-tidal delta within the restored Bahia Grande system on the Rio Grande Delta Plain, Texas, USA, where renewed tidal connectivity has created conditions for rapid sediment buildup and landform evolution. This study quantified morphological changes from 2008 to 2025 using satellite imagery. It assessed sediment retention by comparing the effective sediment discharge required to reproduce observed delta growth with field-based estimates of sediment supply derived from channel hydrodynamics, cross-sectional area, and suspended sediment concentration. The delta expanded steadily throughout the study period, with increases in bar, channel, and total surface area, and an …

Identification Of Peptides For A Muc13 Cancer Vaccine, Abigail Olivia Gomez

Theses and Dissertations

Mucin 13 (MUC13) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is frequently overexpressed in epithelial cancers. Its extracellular domains and cytoplasmic signaling potential contribute to disrupted cell adhesion, increased invasion, and cancer-promoting pathways, making MUC13 a promising target for immunotherapy. This project used an in-silico approach to identify MUC13-derived peptides predicted to bind HLA class I molecules and support CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses. Bioinformatics tools were used to screen candidate epitopes for HLA binding affinity, antigenicity, toxicity, IFN-γ-inducing potential, and population coverage, allowing rational prioritization of peptide candidates for experimentation. Selected peptides were evaluated in THP-1-derived macrophages using RT-PCR, Western blotting, …

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 …

Teaching Under Restriction: Pre-Service Teachers’ Experiences With Censorship, Johnny Salinas

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of pre-service teacher candidates at a predominantly minority university in South Texas about educational censorship in K–12 schools. Grounded in critical theory, the research explored how restrictive policies—including book bans and legislation related to race, gender, and identity—affect candidates’ developing professional identities and career aspirations. Data were collected through an anonymous, open-ended questionnaire and analyzed to identify six interconnected themes: autonomy and fear, book bans, policy and legislation, race and identity, subject-specific impacts, and readiness and confidence. Participants described an increasingly tense educational climate marked by heightened scrutiny and ambiguous policy expectations. They voiced …

Soil Water Content Beneath Agrivoltaic Installations In A Subtropical Semi-Arid Climate, John Justin Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

Agrivoltaics (AV) not only beneficially influences agricultural microclimates in the field, AV systems can generate on-site energy to offset operational costs, diversify income sources, and improve overall resilience, while providing environmental co-benefits such as reduced heat stress on plants and improved resource use efficiency. This thesis evaluated agrivoltaic shading effects on SWC and soil temperature using high-resolution in situ measurements collected over one year in an active vineyard, incorporating row type, soil depth, shading, and time of day. With precipitation as the primary water source, shaded soils exhibited up to 24.53% lower SWC relative to sun-exposed soils, likely due to …

Multivariate Time-Series Forecasting Of 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Using Long Short-Term Memory And Temporal Fusion Transformers, Sebastian Alejos Torres

Theses and Dissertations

Time series play a central role in healthcare by enabling continuous patient monitoring and forecasting of physiological and clinical measurements. Traditional models, such as autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), are limited in capturing nonlinear dynamics and irregular sampling. In this study, we develop and evaluate Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Temporal Fusion Transformers (TFTs) to forecast 24-hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) time series enriched with demographic and clinical features. Mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and R² were used to evaluate predictive accuracy and temporal pattern …

Structure–Property Engineering Of Sn-Based Hybrid Perovskites Via Bulky Organic Cation Incorporation: From 3d To 2d Architectures, Kevin Alejandro

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates tin-based hybrid organic/inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) as a lead-free alternative to silicon solar cells. To manipulate optoelectronic and efficiency of the semiconductors, methylammonium was substituted with bulky propylammonium and tetrabutylammonium cations to induce quasi-2D/3D Ruddlesden-Popper phases. X-Ray Diffraction confirmed 2D layered phases in propylammonium hybrids (5-15%), while tetrabutylammonium hybrids faced steric limits, triggering vacancy ordered perovskite phases at 1% concentration. Optical analysis showed a bandgap narrowing from 1.30 eV to 1.26 eV with increased substitution. Although photovoltaic performance generally declined, the 10% propylammonium hybrid achieved the highest fill factor of ~0.79, indicating superior internal charge transport. This work …

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) …

Bridging The Gap: A Gap Analysis Of Commercial Pilot Training And Emerging Advanced Air Mobility Training Needs, Yarisse Adorno-Oyola

Theses and Dissertations

The integration of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) into the national airspace presents new challenges for pilot training that are not adequately addressed by current commercial flight training standards. AAM aircraft, such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, differ significantly from conventional aircraft in terms of design, propulsion, and automation. As a result, pilots will require new training that goes beyond the traditional fixed-wing or rotorcraft training offered under 14 C.F.R. Parts 61 and 141. The current study conducted a gap analysis to evaluate the alignment between current commercial pilot training and AAM's emerging training needs. Deficiencies in current …

A New Approach To Generate Combinatorial Patterns In Logical Analysis Of Data And Its Application To Predict College Retention, Salihah Ahmed E. Jaafari

Theses and Dissertations

Student retention and degree completion remain central challenges for higher-education institutions, with significant implications for student success, institutional effectiveness, and public accountability. While advances in predictive analytics have enabled earlier identification of students at risk of withdrawal, many commonly used machine learning approaches suffer from limited interpretability, constraining their practical usefulness for advising, intervention, and policy decision making. This dissertation addresses the problem of predicting student persistence by developing and evaluating optimization based, interpretable classification models within the Logical Analysis of Data (LAD) framework. Building on existing LAD formulations, this research introduces two novel pattern generation models, the Best Term …

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 …