Digital Commons Network^™

A Data-Driven Koopman Framework For Station-Keeping On Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit, Anusha Sharma Malladi

Theses and Dissertations

Cislunar missions have gained significant attention in recent decades, motivating the need for efficient modeling and reliable control. In this work a Koopman operator based framework is developed for approximating the error dynamics around a reference Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) in the Earth-Moon Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP). A decoder free neural network is used to learn a lifted linear representation of the nonlinear CR3BP dynamics and a residual based approach is used to identify the corresponding control input matrix. The model is then implemented in a receding-horizon target point controller and compared with uncontrolled propagation and a State …

Comparative Performance Of Physiological Vital-Sign Forecasting Under Random And Patient-Wise Splitting Using Deep Learning, Lavanya Vasavi Chittem Reddy

Theses and Dissertations

Physiological vital-sign forecasting estimates future measurements based on recent temporal patterns and can support analysis of continuously recorded monitoring data. This study comparatively evaluated deep feedforward, recurrent, bidirectional recurrent, long short-term memory, and bidirectional long short-term memory architectures for one-step-ahead forecasting of peripheral oxygen saturation, heart rate, and pulse rate. Each model received consecutive observations of peripheral oxygen saturation, heart rate, pulse rate, respiratory rate, and age, while separate single-output models predicted the next value of the selected target.

Random and patient-wise data splitting were compared using identical input definitions, preprocessing procedures, model architectures, and training hyperparameters. The strongest architecture …

Developing Imitation Learning Policies By Exploring Diffusion Framework For Quadcopters, Likith Swamireddy

Theses and Dissertations

Imitation learning offers a promising approach in developing near-optimal onboard policies for nonlinear systems, by learning from computationally expensive trajectory planners during offline training. Existing State-of-the-art methods commonly learn deterministic mappings from observations to actions by training fast neural networks to mimic the expert demonstrations, which can limit their ability to capture the action distribution, when the policy is trained on multiple possible expert commands to reach the same target, and this may lead to unsafe scenarios in the obstacle environments. To address these challenges, this study explores Diffusion Models (DMs) as a feedback controller for quadcopters that learns the …

Examination Of Cleveland State Community College's Employee Professional Development Program: Leveraging Employee Learning And Relationship Building Amidst Significant Institutional Change, Ashley T. Raburn

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Within the last decade, Cleveland State Community College has gone through many changes, including transitioning between five different administrations from 2021 to 2025. With this change in administration, there have been many different philosophies of how professional development should be handled at the college. The priority of professional development has shifted between very high and very low, and the ownership of active initiatives was unclear. Recently, college administrators have implemented a program intended to allow PD at the college to have more structure and visibility within the employee community. Literature in both Higher education and other industries discusses the importance …

The Effect Of Organizational Change On Performance-Based Funding And Decision-Making At A State-Funded Historically Black College And University, Valerie G. Williams

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Performance-based funding (PBF) has become an increasingly common mechanism for allocating state resources to public higher education institutions; however, questions remain regarding its effectiveness and potential unintended consequences for historically underfunded institutions, particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This study examined the effect of organizational change on institutional performance and decision-making at a publicly funded land-grant HBCU in the southeastern United States operating within a PBF environment. Specifically, the study examined institutional changes associated with the implementation of the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA) and the Focus on College and University Success (FOCUS) Act and their relationship to student …

Arithmetic And Necessity: A Quasi-Concrete Modal Structuralist Account, Benjamin Faltesek

Mathematics, Philosophy and Physics (D.Sc.) Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the necessity of arithmetic by distinguishing two tasks that are often run together: the derivation task, which seeks to prove that mathematical truths are necessary, and the characterization task, which asks what kind of necessity arithmetic has and what grounds it. Setting the former aside for now, I focus on the latter, arguing that an adequate explanation of arithmetical necessity requires two sources: logical necessity and the necessary possibility that the right kind of structure exists. The second source makes mathematical modality distinctively mathematical, and the dissertation’s positive contribution emerges chiefly in that area. I survey and …

Utilizing The Invasive Fruitwood Pyrus Calleryana As Substrate For Mushroom Cultivation, An Experimental Study In Practical Sustainability, Matthew D. Helton

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study evaluated the feasibility of using woodchips from the invasive Pyrus calleryana (Callery pear) as substrate for mushroom cultivation. Pleurotus ostreatus, Hericium erinaceus, and Ganoderma lucidum were grown on a pear wood substrate and on a conventional oak substrate to compare, yield, sensory attributes, and metabolite production. P. ostreatus showed no significant differences in yield or biological efficiency (p > 0.05), only sweetness (p = 0.022) differed significantly. H. erinaceus yield and efficiency were similar (p > 0.05), with greater second-flush yields in oak controls (p = 0.034) but no sensory differences (p > 0.05). G. lucidum performance was comparable across treatments …

More Than Just Play: The Impact Of Campus Recreation On Retention In Modern Higher Education, Corbin D. Hedges

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Student retention remains a central concern in higher education, particularly as the demographic composition of college populations shifts toward a growing number of contemporary students. While extensive research has examined retention strategies for traditional students, there is a notable gap in understanding how institutional resources, such as Campus Recreation, support contemporary student success. This study explores the impact of Campus Recreation participation on student retention, with a specific focus on contemporary students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, this research investigates participation trends, perceived benefits, and barriers to engagement in Campus Recreation programs. Quantitative …

Stimuli-Responsive Proton Transfer: Photoacid Design, Co2 Sorbent Regeneration, And Polymer Applications, Melyse Ava Laud

Theses and Dissertations

Control over proton transfer enables the regulation of many pH-dependent chemical and material processes. Stimuli-responsive functional materials provide a means of achieving this control. Functional materials such as Metastable-state photoacids (mPAHs) reversibly release large amounts of protons when stimulated by light from a weakly acidic site within their structure. However, the dark acidities of previously reported mPAHs limit their use under basic conditions. To address this limitation, a benzimidazole-type mPAH was developed with an improved ground-state pKa of 11.9 and a metastable-state pKa of 9.8, enabling reversible proton transfer under mildly basic conditions. Additional mPAHs were examined to determine how …

Historical Piccolo Concerti And Works By Women Composers, Repertoire Catalogue, And A New Concerto For Piccolo And Orchestra, Mikaela Storm

Doctoral Scholarly Projects & Capstones

The following document is an overview of historical piccolo concerti with an emphasis on works by women, a repertoire catalogue of the piccolo concerti, and an analysis/performance guide for my own Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra: The Dreamer. The primary goal of this document and subsequent score is to provide a resource for future composers, music theorists, conductors, and performers. The piccolo has limited repertoire in comparison to many of the standard instruments in our modern Western musical canon, and the number of piccolo concertos (particularly by women) is even smaller. The concerto that I have written, subtitled “The Dreamer,” …

Unraveling Urban Inclusion: A Study On Accessibility To Place Types And Social Satisfaction For Individuals With Disabilities, Minoo Abrishami

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This research explored how access to everyday destinations influences neighborhood and social satisfaction among individuals with disabilities. It examined how factors such as sociodemographic characteristics, accessibility, and frequency of visits to places contribute to how people experience their neighborhoods and social lives. The study also investigated how satisfaction with one’s neighborhood can mediate the connection between accessibility and overall social satisfaction. First, the study compared different ways of measuring access to places and found that some simpler methods provide similar results to more complicated ones. Next, a survey of 262 Utah residents with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities showed that …

Pieces Solving A Puzzle: Emerging Roles And Cross-Field Analogies During A Distributed Epistemic Game, Jenna Matthews

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In an effort to describe why some problems can’t be solved, a character compared them to a cubic meter of platinum - a block so dense that all the people who could squeeze around it still couldn’t lift it off the ground. In the same way, these problems simply can’t have enough people gathered around and communicating about them - and so they remain unsolved.

This research looks at the first Polymath Project (2009) as an example of a distributed epistemic game to examine how groups engage with complex problems. and without a locally omniscient individual. In this setting of …

Scalable Quality Assessment Of Ground Motion Records Via Interpretable Deep Learning Architectures, Ali Montazeri Namin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Earthquake engineers rely on accurate recordings of ground shaking to design safe and resilient buildings. However, sorting through thousands of these recordings to find the reliable ones and throwing out those ruined by sensor errors or background noise is traditionally done by hand. Because modern seismic networks collect massive amounts of earthquake data every day, this manual checking process is much too slow. To fix this, researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to automatically check the quality of these recordings.

While artificial intelligence offers a fast solution, there are limitations. These computer models can become massive and expensive to run, …

The Willing And The Compelled: How Power And Place Shape Human-Bison Coexistence In Poland And The United States, Patrick Orville Kelly

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Wildlife recovery programs depend not just on animals, but on how people feel about living with them. The degree to which people accept the disruptions wildlife brings to their lives, known as social tolerance, can determine whether a recovery program succeeds or fails, yet it remains understudied and underapplied in management plans. This dissertation studies how people in Poland and the western United States feel about living with the two living species of bison, the largest land animals in Europe and North America. In Poland, we surveyed 242 residents living at different distances from European bison habitat. Surprisingly, the most …

Digital Act Intervention For Adults With Misophonia: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Trial, Emily M. Bowers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Misophonia is a condition where certain everyday sounds, such as chewing or breathing, can trigger intense emotional reactions and interfere with daily life. Although research on treatments for misophonia is growing, many people still have limited access to effective care. This study tested whether acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) could be helpful when delivered through a fully self-guided online program. A total of 102 adults with significant misophonia symptoms participated in the study. Half received access to an eight-session online ACT program, while the other half were asked to wait before starting the program. Participants completed questionnaires before, during, and …

Prioritizing Fuel Treatments To Reduce Post-Fire Debris Flow Risk In Utah, Kipling B. Klimas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Wildfire is a natural part of many forest ecosystems, but in the western United States, wildfires have become larger, more frequent, and more severe in recent decades. There are serious problems after severe wildfire, including erosion, flooding, and debris flows that threaten water quality, roads, and communities. Because of this, land managers need better ways to decide where fuel treatments, such as prescribed burning or thinning, can most effectively reduce wildfire damage and post-fire risks.

In this dissertation, I studied how fuel treatments might reduce wildfire severity and lower the risk of post-fire debris flows in Utah. First, I built …

Genomic Markers Of Performance Within An Organic Pasture-Based Dairy Heifer Development Program, Connor Douglas Waldron

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Pasture-based dairying is important to organic milk production, but young heifers differ in how well they eat, grow, and adapt to grazing. This study tested whether commercial genetic information could help identify which heifers would perform best on pasture. Genetic samples from 139 Holstein, Jersey, Holstein-Jersey, and ProCross heifers raised on organic pastures in northern Utah were analyzed with the Neogen Igenity Select test and compared with measurements of feed intake, growth, and grazing performance. Genetic scores clearly separated the breed groups, but they were not strong predictors of how individual heifers grew on pasture. Pasture quality, especially forage nutrient …

The Benefits And Barriers To Expanding Crna Programs In Michigan, Grace Van Zweden

Honors Theses

The demand for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and their delivery of safe, high-quality anesthesia care has increased significantly due to nationwide anesthesia provider shortages and the growing reliance on CRNAs to meet healthcare system needs. This demand underscores the importance of expanding nurse anesthesia programs in Michigan and across the United States to support nurses pursuing advanced education and to improve patient access to essential care within their communities. The CRNA profession has evolved over time to meet the changing needs of the healthcare system, and current CRNA programs require applicants to satisfy rigorous and highly specific admission criteria. …

When The Bridge Is Not At Sea : Investigating Transfer Of Learning From Full-Mission Bridge Simulator To Navigation Training Onboard, Thammawan Phanphichit

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

This dissertation explores, through a mixed-methods approach, how fullmission bridge simulators support transfer of learning to navigation training onboard, and under what conditions transfer can be trusted. Qualitative and quantitative components were integrated across the four articles. The first study explores how key onboard training stakeholders perceive its challenges, limitations, and the possibility of reducing required sea-time. Findings show broad agreement that OBT remains important, though openness to simulator use was conditional on credible evidence that simulator-developed competence can transfer onboard. The second and third studies examine this through transfer of learning theory. A systematic review identifies elements influencing transfer …

Caribou Migration And Non-Local Hunting In Northwest Alaska: A Gis Analysis Of Hunting Activity And Its Relationship With Caribou Migration Corridors, Brittney L. Jiménezszabo

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

Indigenous Alaskans rely on subsistence hunting for food, with Barren-ground caribou making up approximately 27% of their diet. It is believed by subsistence hunters that non-local hunting is forcing a change in caribou migration behavior. This study examined non-local harvesting records from 2013 – 2025 in the northwest and interior Game Management Units (GMU) and Alaksa’s Western Arctic Caribou Herd (WACH) migration range data to answer the question, is there a spatial relationship between non-local harvests and WACH migration behavior. Mixed methods included spatial autocorrelation and local statistics. Findings led to the rejection of the null hypothesis which will help …

We All Read: Adapting An Early Literacy Program For Children With Developmental Differences And Their Families, Rachel Podl

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Children with developmental differences face elevated risk for early literacy delays, while their caregivers experience significant difficulty accessing appropriate and supportive resources. This paper describes an adaptation of WeRead, an existing story-time and psychoeducation program through the University of Denver's Baby S.T.E.P.S. Lab, for children ages 0–7 with developmental differences and their caregivers. The program integrated a neurodiversity-affirming read-aloud, a strengths-based art activity, movement and music, caregiver psychoeducation on visual schedules, and collaboration with four community partners. The event drew approximately 65 attendees. A post-program survey, though limited by few responses, indicated that caregivers valued the program's accessibility, community partnerships, …

Shaping Policy Through Story: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Student Affairs Professionals Through Remote Work, Shana N. Alston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic had a tremendous impact on many industries and completely revolutionized how people lived and worked. This pandemic transformed higher education and spurred the emergence of remote work policies, which profoundly affected the lived experiences of student affairs professionals in higher education. Social distancing mandates and the need to maintain continuity of service in higher education advanced remote work policies. Yet, alongside the policies, remote work arrangements provided flexibility, enhanced well-being, and productivity across the workforce (Chan et al., 2023; Chatterjee et al., 2022; Dembicki, 2022; Tapani et al., 2022). Research supports the idea that student affairs professionals …

Lost In Chaos: The Battle Between Selfcare And Motherhood, Sarah Shahzad

MS Marketing Research Projects/Theses

Motherhood in collectivist societies such as Pakistan is deeply intertwined with caregiving, leaving limited space for women’s self-care or personal well-being. This study explores how young Pakistani mothers negotiate self-care within competing expectations of maternal sacrifice, cultural morality, and structural constraints. Guided by the Institutional Logics Perspective (ILP), it examines how familial norms, religious values, and market forces collectively shape women’s self-care practices, framing self-care not as an autonomous act but as a negotiated process embedded within social and institutional boundaries. This study adopts an interpretive phenomenological approach to explore how Pakistani mothers experience and negotiate self-care within cultural and …

Building Organizational Coherence In Rural Career And Technical Education: An Improvement Science Evaluation Of Leadership Structure, Structured Advising, And Workforce Alignment, Dustin Lyn Anderson

Education Theses and Dissertations

Fewer than half of students enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses in a rural Texas school district completed a full program of study, with disparities exceeding 20 percentage points among economically-disadvantaged students, emergent bilingual students, and students receiving special education services. This dissertation in practice examined these disparities as issues of system design rather than student readiness. The study was conducted in a district serving approximately 4,600 students, with a primary focus on its comprehensive high school of approximately 1,351 students.

Using an improvement science framework and a convergent embedded mixed-methods design, the study examined three baseline years …

Impact Of Exercise Snacks On Perceived Stress In Undergraduate Students, Austin Coulson

Doctorate in Kinesiology

Perceived stress can interfere with undergraduate students’ concentration, academic performance, and overall well-being. Although regular exercise may reduce perceived stress, demanding academic schedules often limit students’ ability to participate in traditional exercise programs. Exercise snacks—brief bouts of vigorous physical activity dispersed throughout the day—may provide a practical, time-efficient approach to stress management without requiring a prolonged workout. This randomized controlled trial examined whether a six-week exercise snack intervention reduced perceived stress among full-time undergraduate students. Seventy-six participants were randomized to an intervention or control group. The intervention prescribed three one-minute bouts of vigorous bodyweight exercise on three days per week, …

Improving Patient Referrals To Exercise Professionals Through Behavioral Change Stage Categorization To Address Barriers To Exercise, Jeffrey Young

Doctorate in Kinesiology

This action research study examined implementation of a clinician-led framework for identifying adults not participating in safe, structured, progressive resistance training; assessing readiness; addressing barriers; and referring appropriate patients to qualified medical fitness professionals. The intervention integrated the Transtheoretical Model, Motivational Interviewing, and COM-B and used a decision tree, barriers guide, referral procedures, logs, reflection meetings, and surveys. Ten clinicians, seven physicians and three nurse practitioners, implemented the framework across varied practice settings during a 12-week intervention with three action research cycles. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively, and qualitative data were examined using descriptive thematic analysis. Clinicians documented 338 patient …

Foundation Models In Healthcare: Pre-Training, Alignment, And Clinical Applications, Arvind Pillai

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Foundation models offer an impactful paradigm for healthcare by learning generalizable representations from vast amounts of unlabeled data that can efficiently adapt to a wide range of clinical tasks. This thesis presents five studies organized around three pillars crucial to advance foundation models in healthcare. Pillar I: Pre-training: Chapter I introduces PaPaGei, an open foundation model designed for photoplethysmography (PPG) signals. PaPaGei is pre-trained on large-scale continuous optical data using a morphology-aware self-supervised objective, outperforming general time-series models across diverse clinical tasks while remaining parameter-efficient and robust across skin tones. Pillar II: Alignment: To bridge continuous sensor data and language …

Trauma-Informed Education For Teachers As A Form Of Disaster Preparedness And Mitigation Across Cultural Contexts, Emma A. Aellen

Master of Arts in Human Services

Natural disasters are ecological events that cause mass casualties and physical destruction. They are also psychological and cultural happenings which shape the lives of the affected people well beyond the immediate crisis. Emergency response systems have historically prioritized the needs for material relief, such as food, shelter, and infrastructure repair, but all while neglecting mental health support. This review draws on disaster psychology, education, and community resilience research, including cross-cultural, organizational, and institutional theory, intervention programs, and disaster mental health policy. Sources were analyzed thematically to build a multi-actor framework linking teachers, schools, and communities in post-disaster recovery. The review …

Child Survivors Of Intimate Partner Homicide, Pang Lee

Master of Arts in Human Services

The purpose of this capstone paper was to educate and examine the impact of intimate partner homicide on child survivors, on traumatic losses that disrupt their emotional, social development, and educational well-being. Findings indicated that the mental health and long-term life trajectory for child survivors were varied by the developmental stage the child was affected, prior exposure to violence, placement stability, caregiver capacity, school advocacy, and access to specialized support services that were detrimental to children’s futures. Although coordinated family, school, and community-based care can promote stability, there is a lack of evidence limited by inconsistent identification of survivors and …

A Trauma-Informed And Collaborative Approach To Safe And Sustained Family Reunification, Alissa M. Cummins

Master of Arts in Human Services

Family reunification involves more than returning a child to the care of their biological family; it requires the sustained promotion of child safety, stability, and family well-being. This literature review examined how trauma-informed and collaborative approaches support safe, stable, and lasting reunification within the child welfare system. The review explored adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and developmental, psychological, family, and socioeconomic risk factors associated with child welfare involvement and permanency outcomes, as well as protective factors such as supportive relationships, caregiver well-being, resilience, and access to services and resources. Analysis of the literature identified three interconnected principles essential to successful reunification: …