Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Ability Grouping On Academic Achievement In Elementary Reading, Kristi Bissell

Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT This action research study describes the impact of ability grouping on fifth-grade students’ academic achievement in reading. The theoretical framework that supported this study is embedded in cooperative learning, social learning, and social interdependence. This study used a mixed methods design to consider the following research questions: “How does ability grouping impact students’ academic achievement in reading in a fifth-grade classroom?” The study also examined the impact that reading had on students’ confidence through a second research question: “What is the impact of ability grouping as it relates to students’ reading confidence?” A third research question was examined to …

No More Loosies: A Mixed-Methods Study On The Implementation And Enforcement Of The Loose Cigarette And Bidi Sale Ban In India, Mayank Sakhuja

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Sale of loose cigarettes and bidis (loosies) is widely accepted as a key factor in promoting the tobacco epidemic in India. This mixed-methods study aimed to broaden understanding around the sale and purchase of loosies addressed three aims: 1) To determine the prevalence and correlates of loosies purchase in India; 2) To examine the association between purchase behavior and health warning labels (HWLs) exposure and responses, and 3) To conduct a stakeholder analysis regarding the ban on the sale of loosies in India. Methods: Data from the 2018-19 Tobacco Control Policy (TCP) India survey (643 current cigarette users and …

Simulation-Based Optimization Of A Dc Microgrid: With Machine-Learning-Based Models And Hybrid Meta-Heuristic Algorithms, Tyler Van Deese

Theses and Dissertations

The field of economic dispatch (ED) focuses on optimizing power flow in a power system to minimize costs. It has the potential to significantly enhance system effectiveness, and efficiency, and reduce operating costs. Various techniques have been employed to tackle this problem, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. One promising approach is simulation-based optimization (SBO), which allows for accurate modeling of system interactions and improved representation of expected results. However, SBO requires running numerous simulations to identify an optimal solution, and there is a possibility of not achieving the global optimum. This work aims to address these challenges using …

Design Of A Test Frame And Its Corresponding Test Methods For A Deployable Composite Boom, William Luther Montgomery

Theses and Dissertations

Deployable composite booms (DCB) are an advanced class of support beams growing in applications including solar collectors and solar sails. DCBs can be coiled or folded into a compact footprint and the ability to be deployed, and in some design, concepts redeployed, making them optimal components for aerospace where weight and volume are finite resources. DCBs are a cutting-edge technology that has yet to be perfected with a need for longer booms with increased stiffnesses to accommodate the latest proposed designs. Atomic-6 has proposed a 16-foot boom manufactured using an autoclave process which aims to reach the goal of producing …

Blue Phase Liquid Crystals Within Curved Confinements, Sepideh Norouzi

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation provided detailed information on molecular orientation, phase behavior, and morphology of high chirality and blue phase liquid crystals under curved geometrical confinement. In fact, at a sufficiently high level of chirality (pitch length<500nm), the anisotropic molecules of liquid crystals arranged into three dimensional (3D) cuboidal symmetries which is so-called blue phase liquid crystal (BP). BP cubic structures are consisted of doubly twisted anisotropic molecules in the form of cylinders and an amorphous network of defect lines; wherein, their different orientations result in BPI with body-centered cubic symmetry and BPII with simple cubic symmetry. The unique molecular orientations in BPs exhibit tunable photonic band-edge properties, and their short coherence length allows for sub-millisecond response times, making them highly attractive for photonic and sensing applications. However, their narrow thermal stability range and challenges associated with their monocrystal formation make their largescale proliferation infeasible. To enhance our understanding of BPs and address the challenges associated with integrating them into micron-scale and flexible devices and applications, we investigated their properties within micron-scale curved cavities. The use of curved geometry enabled us to explore the interplay between curvature, topological confinement, surface anchoring conditions, and polymer stabilization on the molecular organization, morphologies, and phase behavior of BPs.In this research to investigate the properties in curved micron-scale geometry, a custom microfluidic device was fabricated to produce droplets and core-shell structures, which allowed us to precisely control the degree of curvature and shell thickness. My results demonstrated that the stabilizing BPs within droplets extend the thermal stability range and lead to size-dependent phase behavior. These stabilized droplets exhibited dynamic characteristics to external variations, wherein they can reconstruct their initial crystal structure afterward. The polymerization mechanism within curved geometries enables a dynamic thermal and mechanical response. The partial phase separation at the interface contributes to their dynamic attributes while stabilizing BP structure at room temperature. Additionally, in the case of core-shell structures, the combination of shell thickness, curvature, and surface boundary conditions manipulated the molecular organization of both chiral nematic and BPs, resulting in intricate molecular arrangements. In shells, our findings demonstrate that both higher degrees of curvature and strong spatial confinement destabilize BPI causing it to transition into structures and optical characteristics reminiscent of BPII. We also have found that in BPs confined within curved boundaries skyrmion lattices nucleate at greater thicknesses than those observed for a flat geometry. Furthermore, the microfluidic setup enabled us to investigate the properties of BPs in meta-states or the effects of flow-induced reorientation on their transient structural responses. The underlying principles behind these molecular organizations were explored through a combination of experimental observations and theoretical simulations in bulk conditions.

Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Implementation Of Differentiated Instruction With Grade 3 Students In A School District In Central Georgia, Letasha Pope

Theses and Dissertations

It is a promotional requirement for grade 3 students to pass the Reading Georgia Milestones Assessment. Teachers are also expected to implement Differentiated Instruction (DI) with their students. The problem addressed in the study was to examine third grade teachers’ perceived effectiveness of Differentiated Instruction with students who must pass the Reading Georgia Milestones Assessment. The purpose of this bounded, case study was to describe teachers’ perceptions of implementing DI with grade 3 students in a school district located in central Georgia. The research paradigm that was used in this study was qualitative. This study included semi structured interviews of …

Shades Of Housing: Real Estate Urbanism And State Planning In Egypt, Zeinab Nadeem

Theses and Dissertations

The housing crisis is a global dilemma, especially in the context of urban cities in developing countries. Housing affordability has become more challenging in the recent global and national turbulent economic conditions of rising inflation rates and construction costs, where Egypt is witnessing a surplus of vacant housing units that are either unsold or unoccupied with citizens involuntarily relocating to remote new cities. The government has also significantly engaged in real estate market speculation by offering public land for profits to private investors in the market since the 1990s. The shades of housing found in Egypt are the works of …

Recycling Of Electrode Materials From Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries To Develop Supercapacitor Devices, Yasmine Mesbah

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, there has been a rapid expansion in the utilization of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to the propagation of portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage systems. Despite the plentiful advantages provided by LIBs, concerns have emerged regarding resource depletion and the environmental impact associated with their widespread use. The lack of essential resources such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, along with the difficulties associated with managing battery waste, necessitates the development of sustainable strategies that encompass the entire lifecycle of LIBs. Recycling has arisen as a promising solution to combat these challenges and promote a more circular …

Public-Private Partnerships (Ppp) In Technical Education: The Case Of Egypt’S Applied Technology Schools (Ats), Youstina Magdy

Theses and Dissertations

Technical education is a form of education that gained momentum in the 1800s and was considered as a parallel distinct model to general education by the post-war period. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) were one of the scaling up and enhancement efforts of technical education. In Egypt, the technical secondary education system has various school models; however, it was until 2018, when we first see the implementation of an PPP model with the establishment of the Applied Technology Schools (ATS). ATS schools aim at supplying the labor market with experienced skillful competent graduates in the demanded sectors in the Egyptian labor market, …

What's Your Type? The Relationship Between Enneagram Personality Style And Psychiatric Diagnosis, Danielle Augusta Huber

Theses and Dissertations

Despite its long history and ever-growing popularity amongst mental health providers and laypeople, the Enneagram model of personality has seen limited empirical support regarding its clinical relevance and efficacy. The present study sought to contribute to the literature supporting the Enneagram’s use in psychotherapy. As a majority of therapeutic services aim for the reduction and/or resolution of psychopathology, often in terms of one or more diagnoses, and as previous research has theorized how the Enneagram model and psychiatric diagnoses might be related (Palmer, 1988), it was the researchers’ intention to analyze whether these theoretical associations could be statistically supported. This …

An Examination Of Mmpi-3 Score Patterns Of Sex-Trafficked Women, Edleen De Jesus-Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

Sex trafficking is a hidden crime that affects many vulnerable groups such as women and children. Prior research has demonstrated that individuals currently or formerly engaged in sex trafficking experience heightened levels of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health concerns. Most of these studies relied on structured interviews and, to date, no empirical studies have evaluated the psychological difficulties of sex trafficking victims with an empirically valid measure. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2020a) is a personality assessment measure widely used to assess sexual abuse survivors, substance abusers, and various inpatient and …

Politics Of Belonging: Being Armenian In Turkey And Lebanon, Pinar Ertekin

Theses and Dissertations

An estimated two million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire before the beginning of World War I, and almost all of them were annihilated or displaced during the genocide of 1915. My work revolves around the meaning of the Armenian Genocide to Armenians living in Turkey and Lebanon. I focused on what it feels like to be an Armenian living as a Turkish citizen in a state and nation that had perpetuated and then consistently denied the genocide of their ancestors, and I examined how Armenians in Turkey experience their everyday lives, the challenges they encounter as well as their …

Application Of Computational Tools To Identify Variations Associated With Peromyscus Dominant Spot, Zhenhua Shang

Theses and Dissertations

Peromyscus are the most prevalent mammalian species in North America, and they're employed extensively in both laboratory and field studies. P. maniculatus and P. polionotus, the deer mouse and the old-field mouse, are closely related and can produce viable and fertile hybrid offspring. However, a comprehensive database of polymorphisms, particularly in those kept as living stocks and supplied to university researchers, is lacking. In chapter 2, we performed comparative genomic study on P. maniculatus and P. polionotus and used the polymorphic data to identify the range of genetic complexity that underlies physiological and behavioral differences between two species. We also …

The Intersectionality Of Rurality And Race On Covid-19 Vaccination Among Adults In The United States, Shiba Simon Bailey

Theses and Dissertations

Background Vaccination remains a cornerstone of public health, significantly contributing to the prevention and control of infectious diseases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine development was critical to prevent new SARS-Cov-2 infections. However, COVID-19 vaccination uptake among racial and ethnic minority populations and rural residents in the United States (US) lags behind their urban non-Hispanic White counterparts. Underlying causes of these disparities are unclear, but vaccine hesitancy, access to care barriers, and structural racism may be to blame. Such barriers may vary by residential urbanicity, leading to different racial/ethnic disparities in rural and urban America. Understanding the variations in vaccine uptake …

Building Leadership Capacity To Support International Educators: A Professional Learning Series, Amanda Hajji Minnillo

Theses and Dissertations

Due to teacher shortages, school districts across the country are hiring international educators to fill their staffing needs. This is particularly the case for world language and dual language immersion programs that seek to hire multilingual individuals. Educators who come from different countries need differentiated support in their acculturation process to the American education system. Rarely does training for instructional coaches or educational leaders provide the cross-cultural knowledge and content-specific training needed to support international educators. The purpose of this mixed-methods action research study is to understand international educators’ experiences coming to teaching in an American school district and leverage …

Revolting Motherhood: [De]Generative Breast Stories Transmuting Medical/Moral Paradigms In Britain During The Long Nineteenth Century, Leslie Rene Pearson

Theses and Dissertations

Eric Plemons writes in *The Look of A Woman* that “biological stories do more than describe biologies” (54). This dissertation explores what breast cancer stories do and how society creates meaning around the experience of breast cancer. I argue that, in the long nineteenth century in Britain, breast cancer was part of a two-sided medical/moral paradigm where medical diagnosis became enmeshed with morality. Health, then, became a result of proper domestic behavior, disease a result of straying from societal norms. Following the introductory chapter, chapter two traces the development of this paradigm as an outgrowth of the emergence of middle-class …

Critical Literacy And Student Engagement: Disrupting The Canon In The Secondary English Classroom, Katherine Burdick Ramp

Theses and Dissertations

Canonical literature is typically featured on the required texts list of secondary English classes while culturally relevant literature is frequently eschewed. Students struggle to understand and connect with the canonical literature as there are limited cultural connections that are relevant to their lives. As a result of this lack of culturally relevant literature in modern English curriculums, there has been a decrease in student engagement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students’ engagement and their academic performance increased through the inclusion of these culturally relevant texts. Two research questions guided this study: (1) What effect does the …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Social Determinants Of Health In Relation To Cigarette Smoking And E-Cigarette Use Among Adults, Kankana Sengupta

Theses and Dissertations

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and premature mortality in the U.S. and other high-income nations. E-cigarette use or vaping is an addictive behavior. During the past 5 years, the prevalence of e-cigarette use has increased markedly in U.S. adolescents and young adults. The public health implications of this increased prevalence are unclear. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with cigarette smoking in adulthood. However, the pathway from experiencing ACEs in childhood to smoking cigarettes or using e-cigarettes in adulthood is not clearly understood. Additional factors experienced between childhood and adulthood might either increase or decrease the …

Transforming Lessons And Those Who Write Them: Professional Development For Educational Content Writers To Integrate Technology Into Lessons Using The Tpack Framework, Rachael Patricia Santopietro

Theses and Dissertations

Efforts to improve technology integration for K–12 teaching and learning focus on professional development for teachers. This research study, however, implemented a professional development course in technology integration for educational content writers at a publisher in the Southeastern United States. This research is strategic because most writers surveyed do not integrate technology to align with pedagogy and content, because developing 21st century learning is important, and because educational resources should meet national standards for integrating technology. This action research involved designing and implementing a professional development course that instructed content writers (n = 6) in technology integration using the TPACK …

Load Determination, Strengthening, And Behavior Study Of Prestressed Concrete Channel Bridge Girders In South Carolina, Elhussien Khaled Elbatanouny

Theses and Dissertations

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is currently engaged in a multi-year effort to assess the structural integrity of its inventory of over 9,000 bridges. This assessment process is expected to result in an increase in the number of bridges that require load postings, repairs, or replacements across South Carolina. This could potentially lead to adverse economic repercussions due to restricted truck routes, bridge closures, repair work, and the need for bridge replacements. To alleviate the escalating costs associated with these challenges, it is imperative to explore methods aimed at reducing the need for load postings and bridge closures …

A Method For Single-Particle Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy With A Nanofabricated Coplanar Stripline, Jacob Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from magnetic particle imaging principles, magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) serves as a valuable tool employing superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) in diverse applications ranging from medical imaging to biosensing and the comprehensive study of magnetic particles’ characteristics. MPS leverages the nonlinear response exhibited by SPIONs when a external magnetic field is applied, enabling a highly sensitive method for examining biological systems and more. However, conventional MPS setups demand a high particle concentration of approximately 10^15 particles per liter to generate a detectable response. The first objective of this work is to simulate the dynamics of a system with the ability …

The Impact Of Withdrawing From War: Veteran Attitudes Toward The Afghanistan Withdrawal And Implications On Healthcare Utilization, Mental Health Distress, And Motivation To Serve Again, Delaney J. Bennett Granko M.S.

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined veteran service members from all eras, ranks, branches, and time of service to evaluate the mental and physical health impact of the Afghanistan Withdrawal on their functioning and utilization of healthcare services. To our knowledge, this is the first scientific study examining the Afghanistan Withdrawal's impact on veterans. The researchers aimed to better understand service member attitudes about the withdrawal and their motivation to serve again based on their experience. Qualitative responses were requested to further understand veteran opinions on the withdrawal.

The study sample consisted of 112 veterans from one or more of the United States …

A Work Towards A Single-Bridge Hydrazine Sensor, Brenden Jay Schmeltz

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrazine can currently be detected by irreversible methods, Carbazolopyridinophane (2,18-Dithia[3][1,8]carbazolo[3][2,6]pyridinophane) CP was synthesized by Brown et al. to detect hydrazine in real-time while also being reversible. The threshold for detection was 100 ppb, regulatory use requires 10 ppb as this is when permanent damage to humans can be caused. A more sensitive sensor will allow for safer workplaces for many people. A single, 3-atom bridge sensor will further examine the photophysical capabilities of carbazole-pyridine as an emitter/quencher pair. 1-Carbazole-1-methylpyridyl-2methyl sulfide SBCP will allow freedom of rotation as well as the bending of the bridge. These benefits will introduce conformers which …

Truth And Knowledge In A Literary Text And Beyond: Lydia Chukovskaya’S Sofia Petrovna At The Intersections Between Selves, Culture, And Paratext, Angelina Rubina

Theses and Dissertations

Although Lydia Chukovskaya’s novella Sofia Petrovna (1965) is not considered to be an autobiographical work, the life story of its protagonist, Sofia Petrovna, and the life of Lydia Chukovskaya herself have certain parallels. Chukovskaya’s very own fate, which she described in the foreword to the novella and in her other biographical works, is often viewed inseparably from the novella. However, among the many connections between the fictional fate of Sofia Petrovna and the real fate of Lydia Chukovskaya, one aspect that has not been properly explored by the critics is the “dialogue” between the author and the protagonist with respect …

The Role Of Insulin Signaling In Controlling Oogenesis In Drosophila Melanogaster, Tancia W. Bradshaw

Theses and Dissertations

Adult stem cell activity responds to organismal nutrient status to maintain and support tissue homeostasis. Despite the intricate relationship between dietary input, adipose tissue and peripheral organ function, we are at the tip of the iceberg regarding our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying adipose communication to other tissues. The Drosophila ovary receives nutritional signals from the fat body with multiple nutrient-sensing pathways functioning in adipocytes to control distinct stages of oogenesis. Insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) within adult adipocytes remotely controls oocyte production at distinct stages of oogenesis. The PI3K/Akt1 axis in adipocytes promotes germline stem cell …

My Journey Toward A Culturally Relevant Music Pedagogy, Adam Michael Steele

Theses and Dissertations

In this study I utilized critical autoethnography to examine my role as a White, male implementing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) in an early childhood music classrooms. Five research questions were posed: (a) In what ways does White supremacy appear in an elementary music school curriculum? (b) What curricular transformations occur when I, as a White teacher, seek to make my curriculum more relevant to students of Color? (c) What dispositional transformations occur when I, as a White teacher, seek to make my music curriculum more relevant to students of Color? (d) What happens when students of Color engage in a …

Neural Correlates Of Audiovisual Integration, Jonathan Conrady

Theses and Dissertations

Successfully integrating multiple streams of information is paired with a variety of behavioral enhancements. Multisensory research over the past few decades has demonstrated the criticality of spatial proximity and stimulus effectiveness. Here, we focused on the temporal aspects and underlying neural activity of frequency-varying, audiovisual stimuli using scalp recorded electroencephalography (EEG). Our set of stimuli was particularly chosen because humans are most sensitive to the auditory sound and visual spatial frequencies that make up speech. Recent work has shown that audiovisual integration effects of low-level, simple stimuli are largest when both modalities fall within, compared to outside of, their respective …

Beyond The Acronym Of Stem: Experiential Learning Professional Development For Integrative Stem Education, Christine Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

STEM education and integrative STEM education are increasingly popular in the K-12 domain. However, there is not a consensus on their definitions, nor a sufficient amount of instructional support to help teachers that are unfamiliar with these learning approaches. This study examined how an intentionally designed experiential professional development model impacted the application of integrative STEM practices and teachers’ perceptions of this student-centered approach. A qualitative approach allowed for an integration of various perspectives over multiple cycles of professional development, reflection, and application. Data was collected from a focus group discussion, pre- and post- classroom observations, teacher reflection journals, and …

Robustness Of Convolutional Neural Networks: Analysis And Applications, Xin Zhang

Theses and Dissertations

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have gained increasing popularity and versatility in recent decades, finding applications in diverse domains including image recognition, natural language processing, recommendation systems, as well as safety-critical areas like autonomous driving, medical diagnostics, and military fields. However, the widespread use of CNNs in safety-critical applications has also given rise to concerns regarding their robustness. The low robustness of CNNs may lead to erroneous predictions and even significant losses of human life and property, especially when dealing with corner cases or boundary cases in real-world problem-solving. Most existing methods for evaluating CNNs still heavily rely on their accuracy …

Counter-Stories From Former Foster Youth: College Graduates Disrupting The Dominant Narrative, Amanda May Moon

Theses and Dissertations

In the past decade, research on children in foster care or adults with foster care backgrounds has begun to explore factors that contributed to successful trajectories. Little work has been done, however, on factors that can be controlled, such as resources and support offered by K-12 schools, or for K-12 schooling. In this qualitative study, I explored the beliefs and perceptions of former foster youth college graduates about the impact of K-12 experiences on their academic and life trajectories. After surveying and interviewing five former foster youth college graduates, I used narrative analysis to understand the impact of their K-12 …