Digital Commons Network^™

Plant Communities Of Arid Ephemeral Stream Streams, Biogeographic Filters, Climatic Sensitivity, Urban Impacts Across Spatial And Temporal Scales, Luis Miranda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Ephemeral stream networks, locally known as arroyos, are among the most ecologically significant yet least protected habitats in arid landscapes. Despite supporting a disproportionately high plant biodiversity compared to surrounding uplands, these riparian systems lack regulatory protection in most arid U.S. states and face increasing pressure from urban expansion and intensifying climate change. There is an urgent need to understand how these factors influence riparian plant communities and hinder their ability to recover, enabling effective conservation and management strategies. In this dissertation, I explored the interplay of biogeographic gradients, precipitation variability, and urbanization in shaping arroyo riparian plant communities across …

Additive Manufacturing Of Roman Concrete-Inspired Self-Healing Polyvinyl Alcohol-Polylactic Acid Blends: Influence Of Composition, Processing Temperature, And Raster Pattern On Print Quality And Mechanical Performance, Stephanie Moreno

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates development of Roman concrete-inspired self-healing polymer blends based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polylactic acid (PLA) for the additive manufacturing (AM) process of fused filament fabrication (FFF). The motivation for this work stems from the need to enhance durability and functionality of biodegradable polymers while addressing environmental concerns associated with plastic waste. Inspired by the multifunctional and hierarchical architecture of Roman concrete. PVA is integrated as a hydrophilic, sacrificial phase similar to lime clasts, embedded inside a PLA-rich structural matrix to promote physical interaction and water-activated self-healing behavior. Binary PVA:PLA blends with ratios of 5:95, 10:90, 20:80 …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience, And Adaptive Functioning Among Student Veterans With Disabilities. A Resilience Portfolio Model Perspective, Donyeill Mozer

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with long-term psychological, physical, and behavioral outcomes; however, limited research has examined their relationship with multidimensional college adjustment among student veterans with disabilities, particularly those attending Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Guided by the Resilience Portfolio Model, this study examined associations among ACEs, perceived resilience, and multidimensional college adjustment within an understudied population of student veterans with disabilities enrolled at an HSI. Using a cross-sectional secondary analysis of survey data, the analytic sample consisted of 129 student veterans. ACEs were measured using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, perceived resilience was measured using the Brief Resilience Scale, …

Dynamic Joint Stiffness Druing Jogging In Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability, David Saltiel Nava

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are common musculoskeletal injuries and may progress to chronic ankle instability (CAI), which is characterized by recurrent sprains, perceived "giving way," and altered ankle mechanics. Dynamic joint stiffness (DJS) quantifies a joint's resistance to angular displacement under external loading and may provide insight into ankle stability during dynamic tasks. Although prior CAI studies have examined DJS during walking or jumping, limited evidence exists during jogging. This study examined phase-specific ankle DJS and ankle work variables during jogging in individuals with and without CAI. Methods: Ninety participants were included (40 CAI, 50 uninjured controls). All participants …

Quantifying Spatiotemporal Ev In-Motion Load Dynamics For Flexible Distribution Grid Operations, Travis Newbolt

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The emergence of novel in-motion Electric Vehicle (EV) charging through Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) technology is enabling the transformation of traditional roadway infrastructures into fully integrated Electrified Transportation Networks (ETNs) by the direct coupling of roadways with electric power grids. This paradigm has the potential to improve charging safety, extend driving ranges, reduce EV manufacturing costs through smaller battery sizes, and shift EV charging demand to periods when Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are more readily available. In addition, the transition to ETNs can improve air quality and reduce noise pollution by displacing fossil fuel consumption from vehicles to centralized …

Three Essays On Workplace Ethics And Ai: Conceptualizing, Scale Development, And Validation Of Self-Value Actualization, And Ai-Enabled High-Performance Work Systems, Mansura Nusrat

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation advances understanding of workplace ethics and responsible AI integration across three interconnected essays unified by social cognitive theory. My first essay introduces self-value actualization (SVA), a novel construct defined as the dynamic, integrated psychological process through which individuals continually strive to align and fulfill their core moral values through observable professional behavior. Drawing on social cognitive theory and emotional intelligence theory, I conceptualize SVA as a higher-order self-regulatory orientation comprising three mutually reinforcing processes: value congruence, moral reflection, and adaptive morality. I developed and validated a 9-item SVA scale across four studies using expert panels, exploratory factor analysis, …

Deep Neural Network-Gaussian Process For Housing Price Analysis, Bismark Nyarko

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Neural networks have demonstrated remarkable predictive performance in complex, high-dimensional settings. However, their highly parameterized structure and nonlinear architecture often make them difficult to interpret, limiting formal statistical inference and principled uncertainty quantification. In contrast, Gaussian processes (GPs) provide a fully probabilistic framework with a relatively small number of hyperparameters, enabling coherent uncertainty quantification and seamless integration into hierarchical and structured statistical models. Despite their theoretical flexibility as nonparametric function approximators, standard GP formulations frequently exhibit weaker predictive performance than modern neural networks in large-scale applications.

In this work, we employ a Gaussian process covariance function designed to approximate the …

Efficient Solvers For Phase Field Models, Raymond Obeng

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Phase field models provide a versatile framework for describing phase transitions and pattern formation in materials, enabling the study of complex phenomena such as crystallization, grain growth, and defect dynamics. Among these models, the Phase Field Crystal (PFC) equation has gained significant attention due to its ability to capture atomic-scale structures while evolving on diffusive time scales. However, the numerical solution of the PFC equation presents substantial challenges arising from its high-order nature and the large-scale, coupled linear systems generated by discretization.

In particular, standard formulations of the discretized PFC system lead to non-symmetric and often ill-conditioned linear systems, which …

Implementing Mtss In Hispanic Serving Middle Schools From The Concept Of Rurality: A Qualitative Case Study On School Mental Health And The Role Of Social Work, Rosario Elena Olivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and the integration of mental health services within two middle schools in a suburban-rural mix, predominantly Hispanic school district in Southwest Texas, referred to as Desert View Independent School District. The study explored how educators and school-based mental health professionals perceive, interpret, and operationalize MTSS within their school contexts. Methods: The study employed a qualitative case study design grounded in implementation science and ecological systems theory. Data were collected through purposive sampling and included semi-structured interviews with teachers, counselors, and a district-level school …

Mapping The Lateral Hypothalamic Area: Chemoarchitecture, Connectivity, And Activation In Motivated Learning And Reward, Vanessa Inez Navarro

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) is a large and complex hypothalamic region with diverse functions across four main rostrocaudal divisions. Despite its size and diversity, disagreements over how to define LHA subdivisions (e.g., Swanson atlas lists 17 subdivisions) make it challenging to fully characterize its structure and function. Across these subregions, neuronal connectivity varies, indicating they serve different behavioral functions. Consistent with this, particular LHA neuronal pathways have been linked to reward-related responses, emphasizing the region's roles in motivation, feeding, and cognition. Current approaches to classifying the LHA have primarily relied on neurochemical markers or gene-directed manipulations, often without integrating …

The Creature From Space: A Science Fiction Musical, Monroe Nathaniel Oxley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My thesis examines how the musical The Creature from Space uses metatheatre, musical form, and science fiction to explore identity, conformity, and social control within a fictional 1950s Texas town. Centered on Lilly, a young woman struggling between loyalty to her hometown and the desire for personal freedom, the musical reimagines conventions of the Golden Age American musical while critiquing the ideological structures embedded within them. Drawing on works such as Oklahoma!, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Schmigadoon!, Little Shop of Horrors, and Ride the Cyclone, the project examines how musical theatre constructs and reinforces social roles through performance. The …

A Penalty-Free Runge-Kutta Discontinuous Galerkin Method For \\[12pt] Time-Dependent Fourth-Order Partial Differential Equations, Jose Armando Perez Becerra

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Time-dependent fourth-order partial differential equations arise in a wide range of applications in applied mathematics, physics, and engineering, including thin structure models, phase separation, and pattern formation. Their numerical approximation is challenging because the presence of fourth-order spatial derivatives typically requires high-regularity discretizations. A useful alternative is to reformulate the original problem as a coupled second-order system and approximate it by mixed discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods.

This thesis builds upon the penalty-free mixed DG framework developed by Liu and Yin for time-dependent fourth-order problems. That framework avoids the use of interior penalty parameters, preserves the symmetry of the associated bilinear …

Computational Studies Of Alpha-Lactalbumin Binding To Perfluorodecanoic Acid, Randhal Smith Ramirez Orozco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates the structural and thermodynamic interactions between Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and bovine alpha-lactalbumin (ALAC), a critical milk protein essential for infant nutrition. The primary objectives were to computationally determine the most probable binding sites of PFDA to ALAC and to quantify the strength of these interactions alongside the structural changes they induce. This study addresses a critical gap in understanding how persistent environmental contaminants like PFDA are recruited and transported by nutritional proteins within the milk matrix. The methodology integrated high-throughput molecular docking with long-range, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to provide a dynamic characterization of the ALAC-PFDA complex. …

Understanding Machine Learning Model Behavior Under Fairness And Privacy Constraints, David Anthony Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Machine learning systems deployed in high-stakes domains are increasingly expected to satisfy demands beyond predictive accuracy-including fairness across demographic groups, protection of sensitive information, and explanations that human stakeholders can inspect and trust. This thesis investigates how those demands can be met through learning frameworks that explicitly govern the relationship between data and models, arguing that trustworthiness is a design problem rather than a post hoc correction. The thesis is organized around three studies, each targeting a distinct point of data-facing control. The first develops CondFairGen, a fairness-aware conditional generator for tabular data that improves subgroup equity by dynamically reweighting …

Eocene To Oligocene Continental Arc Migration In Ecuador And The Origin Of Spatiotemporal Trends In Zircon Lu-Hf Radiogenic Isotopes, Muriel M. Sandoval Vazquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The modern continental arc system in Ecuador is well understood but less is known about arc systems in the past, hindering our understanding of the tectonic evolution of the northern Andes. The Macuchi arc, located in the Western Cordillera of Ecuador, was thought to be the main continental arc system during the Eocene, but new zircon U-Pb LA-ICPMS dates from intrusive arc rocks in central Ecuador indicate a more complex history. During the mid-Eocene, the footprint of arc magmatism broadened and expanded into the Inter-Andean Valley and Eastern Cordillera. During the late Eocene to Oligocene, the arc migrated back toward …

Breaking The Silence: Lifting The Voices Of Special Education Teachers In Co-Teaching Partnerships - A Study On The Impact Of Collaborative Practices And The Common Challenges Faced In An Inclusive Classroom, Marta Bronislawa Santiago

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Inclusive education increasingly positions co-teaching as a key model for supporting students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Although co-teaching is widely promoted as a way to improve access and participation, its effectiveness is shaped by how special education teachers experience collaboration, role clarity, and administrative support in practice. This qualitative study explored how special education teachers perceived their roles in co-teaching partnerships and the conditions that influenced their ability to collaborate effectively. Guided by a constructivist epistemological framework, this qualitative study explored the experiences of special education teachers working in co-teaching settings. Through semi-structured interviews, participants described how their …

The Transformation Of Mexican-American Fathers In Doctoral Studies, Harat Ridrigo Saucedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Fatherhood and minority are words that are not discussed enough in academia. While there has been an awakening in women enrolling and graduating in higher education, the same cannot be said about males, especially fathers of Mexican-American background. As the fastest-growing minority, Mexican-American fathers in doctoral studies are the most underrepresented. The current state of research in the field is minimal, focusing on Mexican-Americans in undergraduate courses, mothers in graduate courses, and males in graduate courses; little is found on Mexican-American fathers in doctoral studies. The research in this qualitative study was designed to address the limited knowledge about Mexican-American …

Retiro, Max Scoular

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A collection of ten short stories in fulfillment of requirements for Master's Degree in Creative Writing at University of Texas El Paso.

Understanding The Role Of The School Librarian: Insights From Principals And Librarians, Ruby Shivery

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how principals and school librarians understand and define the role of the school librarian with the K-12 school system. Guided by Role Conflict Theory, the study explores how differing expectations regarding instructional support, leadership, collaboration, and library management contribute to role ambiguity and professional tension. As the responsibilities of the school librarian continue to expand, inconsistencies in how the role is perceived may influence both professional relationships and the effectiveness of the library programs themselves. Using semi-structured interviews with both principals and school librarians, the study investigates areas of alignment and conflict in participants' perceptions of the …

Centering Latinx Perspectives And Cultural Identification In Music Listening: Examining Musical Consumption Behaviors And Choices Among Latinx Adults, Javier Alejandro Silerio

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Music is a critical cultural activity and resource for people all over the world, often used for communication, recreation, identity formation, social bonding, and many other aspects of our daily lives. Moreover, this has been reported across many cultures and is not unique to a single group. Despite this, there is currently limited information and research around Latinx American music consumption and this population's overall relationship with music. Because of this, the purpose of this study is to examine music consumption behaviors among Latinx Americans, as well as possible relationships between their Latinx cultural identification and said music consumption behaviors. …

Salience Network Circuit Dynamics In Distress Tolerance And Drug-Seeking Vulnerability, Marina Alicia Smoak

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The psychological distress experienced during drug withdrawal can lead individuals with substance use disorder to abandon their goal of abstinence. Numerous human studies demonstrate that an inability to persist in challenging, goal-directed behavior while experiencing psychological distress is associated with multiple stages of substance use, including relapse. This behavioral construct is referred to as low distress tolerance (DT). Rodent models of DT similarly show that low DT predicts elevated cocaine relapse, particularly when DT is assessed following extended abstinence. This abstinence period corresponds with the incubation of craving, a phenomenon characterized by progressively increased cocaine-seeking over time. Importantly, relapse vulnerability …

A Numerical Method For The Phase Field Crystal Model, Patrick Ameyaw Tabiri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Phase Field Crystal (PFC) model is a continuum-based framework used to study theevolution of crystalline materials while preserving microscopic structural features over diffusive time scales. It captures complex phenomena such as phase transitions, defect dynamics, and microstructure formation via a nonlinear sixth-order partial differential equation derived from a free-energy functional. In this context, the phrase "sixth-order" indicates that the highest spatial derivative appearing in the equation is of order six. In this work, we study the mathematical formulation and numerical approximation of solutions to the PFC model. Due to the high-order spatial derivatives and nonlinearity in the governing partial …

Fluoxetine Exposure During Adolescence Alters Prefrontal Cortex Signaling And Nociceptive-Related Behavior In Adulthood, Anapaula Themann

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The long-term neurobiological consequences of adolescent antidepressant exposure remain poorly understood, despite the substantial increase in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription rates in youth. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation was to determine whether adolescent exposure to the SSRI fluoxetine (FLX) produces lasting molecular and behavioral adaptations, using rodents as a model system. To do this, in Chapter 2, I assessed whether adolescent FLX exposure (postnatal day [PD] 35-49) alters signaling molecules associated with survival and synaptic plasticity (extracellular signa- regulated kinase [ERK]) within the adult prefrontal cortex (PFC) - a brain region that plays a central role in …

High-Resolution Mapping Of Brainstem Feeding Circuits: A Framework For Targeted Neuroscience Tools, Geronimo Tapia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The neural control of energy balance is mediated in part by distributed brainstem circuits that integrate metabolic, visceral, and hormonal signals to coordinate appropriate motivated behaviors and autonomic responses. Despite extensive study, the precise neuroanatomical architecture regulating metabolism remains incompletely defined within standardized atlas frameworks. This work addresses that gap through complementary studies examining an acute glycemic challenge methodology known to stimulate feeding, the acute delivery of an anorexigenic-associated neurohormone, and the chemoarchitecture of a major feeding-related region, the parabrachial nucleus. First, utilizing 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) induced glucoprivation, we map the rapid response of dorsal medullary neuronal populations with high spatial …

Lay Perceptions Of Alternative Dispute Resolution In Civil Legal Disputes, Ashley Gale Vaughan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examined how laypeople evaluate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures in civil legal disputes, focusing on outcome favorability, procedural format, and procedural choice. Drawing on procedural justice theory, two vignette-based studies tested whether mediation would be evaluated more favorably than arbitration and whether allowing participants to choose the ADR process would improve satisfaction and perceptions of procedural justice. Study 1 used a 2 x 2 between-subjects design with undergraduate participants (N = 140) and manipulated ADR process (mediation vs. arbitration) and outcome (favorable vs. unfavorable). Study 2 extended this design by adding a choice condition in a community adult …

Asunto Familiar, Paolo Velazquez Angeles

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Asunto Familiar is a project told through short stories. Set in the El Paso/Ciudad Juarez community, it tells the story of one family and their ever-changing lives after a death derails their entire trajectory. Informed by queer perseverance in the bilingual communities of the Chihuahuan Desert, Asunto Familiar aims at exploring the subtle ways family can inflict violence on each other, specifically on their queer members. This in turn, revealing the transitional power of queerness, allowing the characters to uphold love and move away from their predetermined societal roles.

The Moderating Role Of Cannabis Use Motives On The Relationship Between Intragroup Marginalization And Cannabis Use In Hispanic Emerging Adults, Austin Ray Vernon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cannabis use has become increasingly normalized among emerging adults, yet associated risks to health remain a growing concern. Cannabis use among Hispanic populations has risen over the past decade, underscoring the need to examine culturally relevant factors that may influence use patterns and related harm. Intragroup marginalization, a culturally specific form of identity-based rejection from one's own ethnic group, may represent one such factor. The present study examined whether intragroup marginalization is associated with cannabis use outcomes and whether cannabis use motives moderate these associations. Participants were 358 Hispanic college students recruited from a U.S.-Mexico border university. Following informed consent, …

Bead-Weaved Layered Prints For Improved Interlayer Adhesion In Additive Manufacturing, Arianna Isabel Villegas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Additive manufacturing (AM) with polymer materials has widespread adoption across industries due to its numerous benefits: rapid prototyping, material variety, cost efficiency, manufacturing complexity, on-demand production, and sustainability. AM enables fast prototyping, diverse material choices, and cost savings by eliminating tooling and reducing waste. It excels at producing intricate, lightweight designs. On-demand production reduces inventory and lead times. Polymer AM contributes to sustainability by minimizing material waste. These advantages make polymer AM popular in aerospace, automotive, healthcare, and consumer products industries. Despite these advantages, interlayer adhesion has been a reoccurring issue with AM of polymer materials. With polymer printing, there …

Soil Microbial Responses To Artifical Light At Night, Randall L. Walker

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global change, driven by both natural processes and human activities, has significantly transformed ecosystems. Urbanization and artificial light at night (ALAN) are key contributors, disrupting natural light cycles and influencing biological rhythms, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions. Thus far, there remains a gap in knowledge of how soil ecosystems are impacted by ALAN. This study uses a laboratory incubation to investigate the effects of ALAN on soil microbial communities and functions across urban and natural ecosystems. Briefly, soil was collected from eight sites around El Paso, Texas and neighboring New Mexico representing urban and rural light exposure. Soil was then subjected …

Overcoming Glioblastoma Resistance To Temozolomide With New Derivatives: Design, Synthesis, And Mechanistic Studies, Hualin Zhang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor with rapid progression and poor prognosis. Although temozolomide (TMZ) remains a central component of standard therapy, its clinical benefit is limited and resistance frequently emerges through DNA repair pathways, particularly O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT). Because DNA cross-links are generally more difficult to repair than monoalkylated lesions, we hypothesized that TMZ derivatives bearing protein-reactive functionality might generate damage that is less susceptible to MGMT-mediated resistance. Guided by this rationale, we designed a new class of N3-modified TMZ derivatives containing covalent warheads, developed a synthetic route compatible with the chemical instability of the TMZ scaffold, …