Digital Commons Network^™

Having Our Say: A Sociological Examination Of English Instruction In Urban High Schools And Effects On Black And Latino Identities, Jena Marie Escareno

Dissertations

This interdisciplinary study integrates a macro‑sociological perspective on language bias with an examination of English language instructional policies and practices that shape the identities of Black and Latino former urban high school students. Its purpose is to apply a sociological framework capable of illuminating the intersections of language, race, and social justice. By bridging linguistic, sociological, and educational theories, the study seeks to explain why current approaches to language instruction remain ineffective for urban learners and may inadvertently harm minority cultural identities.

Persistent disparities in urban academic achievement often highlight race and ethnicity as explanatory factors without acknowledging how these …

How Presentation Shapes Multisensory Category Learning, Hooman Main Amiri

Master's Theses and Capstones

Category learning allows people to group complex sensory input into categories, helping them generalize knowledge from familiar exemplars to novel stimuli. In everyday life, categories are often learned from more than one sense, yet most prior work on category learning has focused on learning in a single sensory modality. Here, we asked whether the way category information is presented across modalities, simultaneously or separately, shapes multisensory category learning in adults. In Experiment 1, participants learned the categories with either simultaneous or separate presentation of auditory and visual information and then completed a test phase to assess not only whether they …

Characterizing Effects Of Basal Ganglia Dysfunction On Implicit-Statistical Learning: Evidence From Parkinson's Disease, Alyson Rose Brown

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study investigated implicit statistical learning (ISL) ability in individuals with Parkinson’sdisease (PD) to further characterize the influence of the basal ganglia degeneration on ISL. The first research aim looked to investigate ISL ability in individuals with PD in comparison to age- matched healthy controls. Additionally, the relationship between cognitive measures and ISL task performance was investigated to identify potential interactions between ISL and aspects of cognition considered to be necessary for it. In this study four participants with PD were administered an auditory ISL experimental task. In an exposure phase, participants were familiarized with a target grammar pattern. Then …

Designing Innovative Science Learning Activities: The Virtual Reality “Charge Playground” And Interdisciplinary Curriculum For Lightning Instrumentation Design, Gus Otto Eberlein

Master's Theses and Capstones

As the population of students learning introductory physics continues to grow and diversify, it becomes necessary to incorporate an equally diverse array of learning materials in these courses to suit the new dynamic of the physics classroom. In this thesis, I present my work designing, developing, evaluating, and refining instructional tools for science educators. First, I present the “Charge Playground,” an immersive Virtual Reality application for the Meta Quest VR headset. The Charge Playground abstractly visualizes the electric field, potential, and force generated by a configuration of electric charges in a novel, interactive way. I describe the motivation behind incorporating …

Mapping The Human Dimension: Spatially Informed Soundscape Management In Saguaro National Park, Anna S. Frisbie

Master's Theses and Capstones

As outdoor recreation surges in popularity, human-made sound reaches even the most protected places. In the United States, the National Park Service is mandated to preserve natural soundscapes, which are a key ecosystem service. Yet many aspects of soundscape management remain underexplored, including the integration of visitor perspectives into strategies to minimize human-made sound in national parks. In 2025, the non-profit organization Leave No Trace and the National Park Service Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division collaboratively outlined new Soundscape Guidelines, urging visitors to minimize their impact on natural soundscapes. Previous research suggests that educational signage can reduce human-made sound …

Have You Seen This? Impact Of Concussion And Memory On Narrative Retells Of Silent Animated Films, Lauren Kate Harrington

Master's Theses and Capstones

AbstractBackground: Concussions are mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) that are often associated with short- and long-term cognitive impacts. Two specific cognitive skills people with concussion exhibit deficits in are working memory- the ability to retain and manipulate newly presented information- and episodic memory- memory of scenes that have occurred, similar to recalling a television episode. Previous studies have revealed mixed results in differences of narrative length between speakers with and without concussion; however, more information is needed on the relationship between memory and narrative production in speakers with concussion. Aims: This study compares the total number of utterances and mean …

Optimal Robust Maximum Entropy Behavioral Cloning, Francesco Alessandro Stefano Mikulis-Borsoi

Master's Theses and Capstones

Behavioral Cloning (BC) is an imitation learning approach in which a policy is learned from demonstrations represented as sequences of state-action pairs. Standard BC treats all demonstrations as equally trustworthy; consequently, suboptimal or adversarially corrupted demonstrations can disproportionately influence the learned policy. Robust Maximum Entropy Behavioral Cloning (R-MaxEnt BC) addresses this limitation by learning per-demonstration trust weights M and fitting a maximum-entropy policy that is conditioned on these weights.

In this thesis, I propose OR-MaxEnt BC (Optimal Robust Maximum Entropy Behavioral Cloning), a Convex Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program (MINLP) with optimality guarantees for selecting which demonstrations to trust given the hyperparameter …

Economic Feasibility Of Aquaponics In The Cold-Climate Eastern United States: A Multi-Facility Monte Carlo Analysis, Ryan Nickerson

Master's Theses and Capstones

Most commercial aquaponics facilities fail to achieve profitability, and this challenge is exacerbated in cold climates, where heating, supplemental lighting, and insulated infrastructure inflate operating costs. Existing economic studies are dominated by warm-climate, single-facility cases, offering limited insight into whether cold-climate operators in the eastern United States can achieve profitability through design choices around scale, species selection, and labor optimization. This thesis evaluated the market feasibility of three research facilities (the University of New Hampshire, the University of Maryland, and Ohio State University) and one commercial facility in New Hampshire. The model used a discounted cash flow framework with parameters …

A Data-Driven Assessment Of Coastal Roadway Vulnerability Using Observed Storm Damage Locations, Jack Kearing

Master's Theses and Capstones

Coastal roadways are increasingly vulnerable to storm impacts and sea level rise. One common failure mode during these events is roadway washout, defined in this study as the physical loss or structural failure of roadway segments due to erosion, overtopping, or hydraulic failure. Washout events can disrupt transportation networks, restrict emergency access, and isolate coastal communities, highlighting the need for improved predictive methods that move beyond index-based assessments toward data-driven identification of vulnerable roadways.This study develops a data-driven framework for assessing roadway washout vulnerability using observed damage data and environmental predictors. Machine learning models, including random forest and decision tree …

Home-Level Flood Damage Assessment With Physics-Constrained Deep Learning, James Ojoawo

Master's Theses and Capstones

Flood damage to residential buildings is commonly estimated using depth-damage functions that treat buildings as interchangeable, ignoring differences in size and layout that influence damage outcomes. In this work, we present a physics-informed neural network that incorporates building characteristics (floor area, bedrooms, bathrooms, stories and garage spaces) and reduces physically implausible predictions in which damage decreases as flood depth rises. The model predicts both the mean and uncertainty of percent damage and is tuned to balance physical consistency and predictive accuracy. Model interpretation shows that building characteristics collectively account for nearly half of predicted damage variability, highlighting the importance of …

Wilderness Character Qualities And Visitor Typologies: Advancing Adaptive Visitor Use Management In Parks And Protected Areas, Ethan James O'Leary

Master's Theses and Capstones

Wilderness areas are managed to provide opportunities for solitude, primitive recreation, and the preservation of Wilderness Character Qualities (WCQs), yet visitor experiences within these landscapes are shaped by perceptions of crowding, environmental impacts, management conditions, and more. As visitation to protected areas increases, understanding how visitors perceive and respond to wilderness conditions is critical for sustaining experience quality and informing management. Despite advances in operationalizing WCQs as perceptual and motivational constructs, few studies have embedded WCQ perceptions within a visitor typology framework capable of capturing heterogeneity across wilderness contexts. This gap limits the ability to translate WCQ perceptions into targeted …

Evaluating The Long-Term Fracture Properties Of Asphalt Additives, Kelsey Page

Master's Theses and Capstones

Asphalt makes up about 94% of the pavements in the United States which are required to withstand traffic demands and environmental conditions throughout their service life. These pavements are susceptible to aging which leads to increased stiffness and brittleness making them prone to low and intermediate temperature cracking. Currently, Balanced Mix Design (BMD) sets performance targets aiming to mitigate cracking and rutting distresses. It also allows for the use of innovative materials such as additives, which may be used to modify the asphalt binder behavior to meet specific performance targets. Although numerous studies have examined several types of additives, few …

Scaling Of Thermal Conductivity In The Eliot Formation, Ryan Todd Siegel

Master's Theses and Capstones

Heat flow governs the performance of geothermal energy systems, and thermal conductivity is the primary material property controlling subsurface heat transfer. This study investigates heat flow through media with spatially variable thermal conductivity within the heterogeneous Eliot Formation, a metamorphic unit extending across the coastal region of northeast New England. The objective of this work is to develop an approach for scaling thermal conductivity from core-scale measurements to field-scale values representative of geothermal borefield systems.Divided bar thermal conductivity testing, petrographic analyses, geological observations, and existing literature were integrated to construct a MODFLOW model that captures the heterogeneous thermal behavior of …

Comparative Development Of Mof‑Based And Mof‑Free Agnp Functionalized Zno Nanorod–Cotton Fabric Composites For Photocatalytic Applications, Md Al Mamun

Master's Theses

Photocatalysis offers a cost‑effective and environmentally friendly strategy for degrading organic pollutants and addressing energy and environmental challenges. This study initially explored MOF‑based cotton‑fabric‑supported ZnO nanorod composites but found that the MOF component primarily acted as an adsorbent rather than an effective photocatalyst. Consequently, MOF‑free composites were developed by directly growing ZnO nanorods on cotton fabric and functionalizing them with silver nanoparticles. Photocatalytic testing revealed that AgNP‑modified ZnO nanorods, particularly at 10 mM AgNP, exhibited superior dye degradation efficiency, thereby demonstrating a scalable and effective photocatalytic platform.

Morphological Variation Of Lingual Glands In Wild American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) Populations, Benjamin Angalet

Master's Theses

American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) inhabit diverse aquatic ecosystems including freshwater wetlands, swamps, and estuarine rivers. As apex predators, their physiological resilience has implications for ecosystem stability and long-term conservation. With projected sea-level rise and increasing saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater habitats, understanding the osmoregulatory capacity of alligators is increasingly important. Unlike marine-tolerant crocodilians such as the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), which possess specialized salt-secreting lingual glands in addition to renal and cloacal mechanisms, the morphology and physiological significance of lingual glands in wild American alligators remain poorly understood. This study examined lingual gland morphology and plasma …

Performing The American Dream: Passing And Identity In The Great Gatsby (1925) And Passing (1929), Olivia O'Sullivan

Master's Theses

In this thesis, I explore how Jay Gatsby, protagonist in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Clare Kendry, protagonist in Nella Larsen’s Passing, pass in order to achieve their American Dream. Both characters rely on carefully crafted identities to gain social mobility and access to worlds that would otherwise be out of their reach through the people they surround themselves with, their clothing, their mannerism, and even their intimate relationships. Throughout my close reading and analysis, I determine that Jay Gatsby and Clare Kendry’s attempts to pass to achieve the American Dream are futile, which demonstrates the idea that …

Effectiveness Of Quiz-Based Interventions In Virtual Reality Lectures On Learning, Mason T. Prather

Master's Theses

This thesis examined whether quiz-based interventions affect learning during an immersive virtual reality (VR) lecture and whether quiz timing strategy matters when prompts are delivered on a fixed timer or through gaze/Region of Interest (ROI)-based attention timing. The study used an eye-tracking virtual reality headset and a game engine-based classroom application. The final completed cohort included 29 participants assigned to three between-subjects conditions: No Intervention (n = 10), Timer-Based Intervention (n = 9), and Attention-Based Intervention (n = 10). All participants viewed the same virtual reality lecture and completed the same 15-item post-lecture assessment. Mean learning scores were 44.00% for …

Behavioral Differences Among Couples With Depression, Couples With Gad, And Couples With Co-Occurring Depression And Gad, Alex Joseph Hietpas

Dissertations (1934 -)

Romantic relationship quality is central to people’s physical and mental health (Braithwaite and Holt-Lunstad, 2017; Proulx et al., 2007; Robles et al., 2014), and depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are negatively associated with the quality of couples’ relationships (Whisman et al., 2000). Using observational data coded using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior model (SASB; Benjamin, 1979, 1987, 2000), this study compared the interactions of couples with depression (n = 23), couples with GAD (n = 27), and couples with co-occurring depression and GAD (n = 12). Multilevel models examined the associations between diagnostic status and couples’ interpersonal behaviors …

Wildflower Season: A Semi-Somnolescent Retrospective, Connor Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I came to graduate school under the impression that I would be working on my own. I believed the process of playwriting to be an individualistic pursuit, where my plays came from my mind and my mind alone. Instead, through the process of writing my thesis play, Wildflower Season, and its subsequent production as part of the ArkType New Play Festival, I discovered that writing a play was a collective endeavor, and that one of the great pleasures the theatre has to offer is creating it with a group of other people.

Sensing Rna’S Conformation With A Solid-State Nanopore Device At Various Ph And Temperature, Haopeng Li

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study uses solid-state nanopore technology to investigate the stability and dynamics of RNA molecules under thermal stress and pH fluctuations. Two distinct mRNA samples were analyzed: (1) heat shock protein (HSP)-encoding mRNA extracted from Sulfolobus solfataricus P2, a thermophilic archaeon inhabiting extreme environments such as geothermal sulfuric hot springs (pH < 4, temperature range: 65–90°C), and (2) total RNA extracted from White Leghorn chickens, which thrive under standard physiological conditions. ΦX174 virion single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) were included as a comparative reference. Nanopores, fabricated in silicon nitride membranes, were used to electrically characterize the structural properties of individual RNA molecules in solution, close to their native environments. The nanopore membrane separates two chambers containing salt buffer solution, where ionic current is the primary measurement parameter. When a voltage bias is applied across the membrane, ion flow and an ionic current can be measured. Charged RNA molecules driven translocation through the nanopore induces pore resistance changes, resulting in detectable current blockade events. Variations in these events provide insights into RNA secondary structure and conformational dynamics. By systematically altering pH and temperature, this study elucidates the effects of environmental stressors on RNA stability and structural integrity. The findings reveal distinct responses between thermophilic HSP-encoding mRNA and mesophilic RNA, underscoring the adaptive mechanisms of thermophilic RNA under extreme conditions. These results contribute to a better understanding of RNA behavior under stress and establish a foundation for future applications in RNA-based diagnostics and biotechnology development.

Consumer Perceptions Of Fda Front-Of-Package Nutrition Labeling, Madison Price

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a front-of-package nutrition labeling (FOPL) rule in early 2025 to help consumers more quickly and easily compare the nutritional quality of packaged foods (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2025). FOPL is gaining attention as a way to encourage healthier eating habits and consumer choices, but there is still debate over which label format works best. The objective of this study was to examine consumer perceptions, understanding, and trust of FDA FOPL, and to determine how these labels impact purchasing behavior and nutritional decision-making. Data were collected via an online Qualtrics survey distributed …

Let The Mystery Be: Meditations On Process, Wildness, And Collaboration In The Creation Of The Play Camp Wyldwood, Basilton Parnell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a mix of personal reflection and examination of my time in graduate school and the creation, development, and subsequent production of my full-length play, Camp Wyldwood. Camp Wyldwood was performed as a part of the spring 2026 ArkType New Works Festival at the University of Arkansas.

An Experimental Study On Gendered Leadership Effects In Neighborhood Climate Protests, Farzana Fahmee

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leaders are at the frontline as they determine the attitude that audiences have towards social movements and the level of attention they are willing to give to those movements. This paper investigates the influence of a neighborhood environmental protest leader’s gender on perceived leadership and democratic participation. The study relies on self-categorization theory, social identity theory, and the concept of issue-fit to assert the possibility of women gaining from the cultural connection between environmental care and femininity, while also experiencing backlash due to the masculine coding of leadership. A post-test online experiment involving 189 university students was conducted in which …

Reframing Little Women: Renovating A Classic For Modern Audiences, Claire Wewers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis serves as the documentation of the director’s process in creating a production of Little Women: The Broadway Musical for the Main Stage season at the University of Arkansas in the fall semester of 2025. This thesis will serve as in-depth record from the initial reading of the script through the opening of the project using the metaphor of the building of a house. In Chapter 1 “Introduction,” the document will provide context for the thesis. It presents several of the materials used in the creation of the thesis, discusses the methodology of the study which is mostly historical …

The Oncoming Light: An Experiential Approach To Psychological Exposition Through Dialogue-Driven Narrative, Benjamin G. Dewitt

Honors Theses

Narrative is a lens through which we understand ourselves, our histories, our futures, and our ties to those around us. Narrative form has undergone vast transformations over time, and in the case of “postmodern” literature, pushes the boundaries of form into the experimental, questioning the truth of knowledge itself. While these experimental works can give rise to uniquely powerful emotional experiences, some components of narrative, when abandoned, may only hinder the immersion of the reader. This thesis evaluates several experimental, dialogue-driven narrative works against these components: linguistic, literal, emotional, and intellectual significance, in a hierarchy of importance as proposed by …

Synthesis Of Novel 1,2,3-Triarylnaphthalenes Via Intermolecular Dehydro-Diels-Alder Reaction, Ethan C. Dailey

Honors Theses

The photo-dehydro-Diels–Alder (PDDA) reaction is a useful method for the construction of substituted naphthalene derivatives from acyclic precursors. While intramolecular variants of this transformation are well established, intermolecular PDDA reactions remain rare due to challenges associated with controlling reactivity under photochemical conditions. Previous studies suggest that electron-withdrawing substituents can promote intermolecular cycloaddition by increasing alkyne polarization and stabilizing reactive intermediates. In this work, the effect of enhanced electron-withdrawing character on intermolecular PDDA reactivity was investigated through the incorporation of a 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoropyridinyl substituent. Corresponding alkyne substrates were synthesized and subjected to photochemical conditions, resulting in the formation of 1,2,3-triarylnaphthalene products. The …

Inequity In Education Through The Lens Of Social Studies Curriculum Using Studies Weekly, Emma Roy

Honors Theses

This study examines the representation of the Civil Rights Movement within the Studies Weekly elementary social studies curriculum and evaluates its alignment with culturally relevant pedagogy, critical race theory, and civic education frameworks. Through a qualitative content analysis of twelve assessment questions and accompanying lesson materials, the findings reveal consistent patterns of oversimplification, limited historical nuance, and an overreliance on factual recall. Key themes including systemic racism, collective activist, and diverse historical perspectives are minimized or omitted altogether. These omissions contribute to what scholars identify as curriculum bias, where dominant narratives are privileged while marginalized voices are unheard. The results …

Podcasting As A Marketing And Communication Modality: Exploring Its Impact On Potential New Members’ Satisfaction, Attitudes, And Decision-Making In Utc Sorority Recruitment, Britain Meyers

Honors Theses

This study explores podcasting as a marketing and communication modality within the context of sorority recruitment, specifically examining its impact on Potential New Members’ (PNMs) preparedness, satisfaction, attitudes, and decision-making. Centered around Scrappy’s Sorority Scoop, a four-episode podcast created by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 2025-2026 Panhellenic Council, this research investigates how podcast engagement influences the recruitment experience. Using qualitative interviews with eight participants who both joined a Panhellenic chapter and listened to the full podcast series prior to recruitment, the study identifies key themes related to the podcast’s effectiveness. Findings indicate that podcasting enhances PNMs’ understanding of the …

The Privacy Paradox: How Does Concern About Privacy Impact Actions In The Digital Age?, Julia Laduke

Honors Theses

The privacy paradox occurs when people claim to care about their digital privacy, but do not take actions to keep their data from being spread across the internet. This study examines college students, being primarily Generation Z, and their concerns and actions regarding digital privacy and security. A survey of 15 college students, 7 in humanities and 8 in STEM, was used to analyze their thoughts and concerns about their digital privacy. This survey also asked whether they took actions concerning their privacy, and if so, what tools they used to protect it. The results show that about 50% of …

Calibrating Human Trust In The Age Of Generative Ai: An Examination Of Ethical And Social Challenges, Abigail M. Mondido

Honors Theses

Generative AI (GenAI), a set of AI technologies with the ability to generate original, human-like outputs, is beginning to transform the way that information is distributed, composed, published, obtained, analyzed, and consumed. GenAI has seen massive adoption by internet users, businesses, and organizations in recent years despite the persistence of major ethical concerns and social implications. In particular, existing research has identified multiple critical trust-related issues associated with AI in general, including widespread mistrust and distrust, overreliance on AI, and a lack of trustworthiness of AI. There remains a need for a broader understanding of these issues as they relate …