A Loud, Fearless Voice: Louise Thompson Patterson, Triple Exploitation, And Intersectionality, Bethany Brooke Champlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Louise Thompson Patterson, in her life as an activist, represented an extraordinary few who found the world she existed in lacking, and spent her life trying to change it, not only to better her own life, but to focus on the lives and problems of those who were seemingly disconnected from her. By following Louise Thompson Patterson’s political development, and examining her work as an activist of class, race, and gendered issues, her own development of the idea of “triple exploitation” or “triple oppression” is clear not only in her actions but in her writing. Through her experiences in the …

Modeling Water Quality And Cyanobacteria Blooms In St. Lucie Estuary, Florida, Mohmmad Masudur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

The St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) on Florida’s east coast is vital for diverse aquatic life and provides essential services to local communities. However, the estuary’s health is threatened by water quality deterioration due to nutrient-driven phytoplankton blooms, particularly cyanobacteria, which have increased in frequency over recent decades. These blooms may worsen water quality by reducing dissolved oxygen, altering pH, and increasing turbidity. Moreover, some phytoplankton species, including Microcystis aeruginosa, a freshwater cyanobacteria species, produce harmful toxins, posing risks to both marine aquatic life and human health in this area. Primary nutrient sources in this estuary include watershed freshwater discharges, …

An Economic Analysis Of Sustainability Efforts In The Personal Care And Cosmetics Industry, Anna Briscoe

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Sustainability has become a topic of interest in the personal care and cosmetic industry due to current climate crises and increased consumer awareness. While many definitions of sustainability exist, this paper focuses on sustainability from economic, environmental, and societal perspectives. In recent years, interest in understanding how sustainability efforts impact consumer’s willingness to pay and a firm’s long term success has grown. This research paper examines current sustainability efforts from top firms in the industry, changes in consumer behavior, and the potential economic long term benefits and drawbacks of these efforts. iv

Wave Energy Converter Optimization: Hardware Integration, System Reliability, And Hydrodynamic Analysis Of An Oscillating Body Wave Energy Converter At Florida Atlantic University Treatment In Major Depressive Disorder, Marcos Lopez Correa

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

This thesis investigates the potential of renewable wave energy through the design, modeling, and optimization of a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) developed at Florida Atlantic University. To characterize the motion of the device under varying sea conditions, wave–structure interactions are analyzed in detail. Performance is evaluated through numerical wave field modeling using WEC-Sim, which enables the simulation of realistic ocean conditions and the estimation of energy that could be extracted at a selected deployment site. In addition to modeling, this study addresses practical engineering challenges associated with the device, with particular emphasis on hardware optimization to mitigate water ingress – …

Influence Of Asd On Morality, Spencer Brown

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2020 - Present

Autism is known as a developmental disorder that incurs a social skills deficit on those that have it. This social skills deficit has been proposed to affect further aspects of autistic people’s psychology such as empathy and morality. Studies using the moral stages theory of development have found that those with autism are deficient in these proposed social skills. However, further research into how morality and empathy, as well as the results of experiments looking into morality in autistic populations, have brought the accuracy of moral reasoning into doubt. In the present paper, we review the literature on how empathy, …

Predicting Flight Fares With Machine Learning: Enhancing Aviation Industry Pricing Forecasting, Reem Almulla

Theses

This research investigates the increasing challenge of accurate flight fare prediction for travel agencies that are functioning and working in the post-pandemic aviation market. As the prices fluctuate while demand is unstable and competition pressure increases, therefore it influences decision-making and profitability. In most cases, traditional ticket pricing methods often can be ineffective when capturing complex and non-linear relationships within factors that influence the ticket fare dynamics. As a result, highlighting the urge of more adaptive pricing and data-driven predictive machine learning models. In response to this challenge, the research examines the effectiveness of machine learning techniques for enhancing flight …

Genui: Customizing And Improving User Interfaces In Real-Time With Generative Ai, Ursula Parker

Theses

MOTIVATION: Users must conform to the interfaces they are given, which are designed for a generalized user base rather than individual workflows or preferences. Existing UI customizations are often limited to fixed options predetermined by developers, restricting meaningful user control. Advances in generative AI introduce the possibility of modifying the underlying code of a production system that defines interfaces, enabling more flexible and targeted adaptations. However, the feasibility, scalability, and usability of such user-driven customization remain open questions. GOAL: The goal of this work is to help people customize their user interfaces, by investigating how they can linguistically specify the …

Yes, I Think So?, Madeeha Ahmad

Theses

Yes, I Think So? is a body of work that explores memory as something unstable and alterable by emotion, time, and lived experience. Influenced by my experience with epilepsy, the show meditates on how dreams, seizures, and waking life can blur together, fracturing a sense of consistency and continuity. Rather than thinking of memory as a definitive record of the past, I encounter it as a process of reconstruction. Wood serves as both a material and a metaphor. It records time visibly with its growth yet remains unpredictable in its resistance to complete control. Indigo dye moves the work farther …

Tala: A Physicalized Syntax For Early Language Acquisition And Family Connection, Aaron Powell

Theses

Families and clinicians face a persistent challenge: translating speech therapy from the clinical environment into meaningful, playful learning at home. While research confirms that parental involvement is the primary driver of successful intervention, a significant “implementation gap” exists between clinical benchmarks and everyday domestic life. This is not a failure of caregiver engagement or clinical expertise, but rather a failure of design; existing tools are often either commercial toys that lack therapeutic scaffolding or clinical ones that feel too sterile for the home environment. This thesis proposes a design framework for supporting flexible, family-centered participation in Early Intervention through Tala, …

Existing Buildings Against Climate Zone Shifts: Analysis Of The Resilience Of Existing Buildings In Changing Climate Zones, Adriana Rodriguez

Theses

This thesis investigates how climate zone shifts affect the hygrothermal performance and durability of existing building wall assemblies designed under previous International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) requirements. As global climate change continues to alter temperature, humidity, and extreme weather patterns, building codes and climate classifications are increasingly challenged to keep pace with current and future environmental conditions. The research focuses on whether 2×6 wood-framed wall assemblies designed under the 2018 IECC remain resilient under updated climate zone classifications and future climate scenarios. A comparative analysis of four U.S. counties—Davidson (TN), Garfield (OK), Allegany (MD), and Marion (IN)—was conducted based on …

Energy And Cost In Cold Climates: Comparing Passive And Active Solar Design Upgrades For Homes And Their Ability To Reduce Energy Bills In Western New York, Gillespie Merod

Theses

This study examines the comparative effectiveness of passive solar design strategies and active solar systems for reducing residential energy expenditures while maintaining thermal comfort in Climate Zone 6A/B, with a focus on Western New York. A baseline single-family residence was created in Autodesk Revit and analyzed with Autodesk Insight (EnergyPlus) to assess energy performance across multiple upgrade scenarios. These scenarios encompassed targeted envelope enhancements, passive solar design strategies, deep energy retrofits, and photovoltaic (PV) system integrations. Results indicate passive measures, especially air sealing and insulation, can cut energy use by up to 76% with deep retrofits, though upfront costs and …

Dark Current And Persistence In Hgcdte-On-Si Infrared Detectors, Lazar Buntic

Theses

This thesis investigates the performance of Raytheon’s mercury-cadmium-telluride-on-silicon (MCT-on-Si) infrared detector arrays, with particular emphasis on the impact of the heteroepitaxial silicon growth process on dark current and persistence characteristics. Infrared detectors have been the cornerstone of astronomical discovery for the past four decades and remain essential for current and future flagship observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Traditionally, the highest-performance HgCdTe (MCT) arrays are grown on lattice-matched cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) substrates, which are costly and limited in size. To enable low-cost, large-format arrays, Raytheon developed a process for growth of MCT on …

Long Run Effect Of Industrial Place-Based Policy On County Level Complexity, An Investigation Of The Tennessee Valley Authority, Anita Ifeyinwa Umunnah

Master's Theses

This paper studies the long-term effects of large federal investments in place-based industrial policies on regional economic development, contributing new evidence on how industrial policies shape regional local productive capabilities over time. While extensive research show that industrial policies impact regional development by advancing productive technology (capabilities), the fundamental question remains how to measure this technological transformation. The study employs the use of Economic Complexity Index (ECI) as a measure of “technological advancements” resulting from large federal investments in place-based industrial policies. Previous evaluations of such investment were based on livelihood, employment and income outcomes, with productive capability of receiving …

The Quality Assurance Machine – A Software Quality Assurance Architecture For Ml-Enabled Systems, Shane E. Downing

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates whether a reusable assurance architecture, the Quality Assurance Machine (QAM), can provide effective product and process quality assurance for ML-enabled software platforms. The QAM is a system-level SQA architecture that turns plans and policies into versioned configurations, executes them in controlled environments, and produces preserved run evidence that supports traceability, auditability, and controlled change. The study follows Design Science Research and evaluates the instantiated artifact using eight assurance requirements (AR1–AR8) synthesized from standards-based guidance, including IEEE 730 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 15026. A four-year longitudinal evaluation combines two methods. First, operational evidence from routine regression and release-validation runs, defect …

Analysis Of Volumetric Reconstruction Methods In Archaeology, Cade O'Fallon

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry in archaeological projects is entering a period of transition; a method of producing 3D data that is traditionally embraced as tool for documentation is being explored for its analytic potential. One such way SfM photogrammetry can be used analytically is through the calculation of volumes using photogrammetric data. The tools exist for archaeologists to be able to create and quantify volumetric models; however, the discourse on these methods is still so new there is no consensus on the best method for conducting volumetric work. Different methods of creating and isolating volumetric space …

Microplastic Composition And Exposure Pathways In Freshwater Systems: A Multi-Matrix Comparison Between Streams And Retention Ponds In Hamilton County, In, Mya Whaley

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1900s, the use of plastics has increased exponentially. The breakdown of plastic materials has exposed all ecosystems to microplastics (small particles of plastic < 5 mm), which are now ubiquitous in natural settings. Microplastics have a relatively large surface area, and many chemicals adsorb to these small particles, impacting their fate and transport of pollution. While microplastics have been found in virtually every setting on Earth, research is necessary to understand their impact on freshwater ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The focus of this research was to investigate microplastic compositions in crayfish, sediments, and water samples collected in streams and retention ponds. We analyzed trends in microplastic counts across different land-cover classes, waterbody types, and species, and compared concentrations among matrices to improve our understanding of microplastic exposure pathways in freshwater ecosystems. As a secondary objective, lead and arsenic concentrations were analyzed from sediment samples to investigate metal burdens and compare them to microplastic concentrations. Our findings revealed that, in general, urban streams had the highest microplastic concentrations within land cover categories, and retention ponds had higher microplastic counts than streams. Crayfish, such as F. rusticus had higher microplastic concentrations than F. virilis and F. propinquus, although these results may be influenced by study design. The most common microplastic type was fibers, and most common color was transparent. There was no significant correlation between microplastic and metal concentrations in sediments. We found crayfish to be adequate bioindicators of microplastic pollution, because they were less impacted by environmental variability than sediment and water samples. This research presents the first evidence of microplastics in our study species, F. propinquus, F. rusticus, and F. virlis. This work presents new evidence of microplastic accumulation in crayfish, sediments, and water from freshwater systems in the Midwestern United States. Microplastics were found in every sample type—crayfish, water, and sediment—across urban, rural, and forested landscapes, highlighting their pervasive distribution. The findings provide foundational data for assessing emerging ecological and human-health risks and emphasize the importance of sustained monitoring and research on MP contamination in freshwater environments.

Personality Characteristics Of Emergency Nurses And Their Subjective Fit In The Emergency Department, Jose Michael Maria

Theses & Dissertations

Nursing workforce challenges in the United States persist despite widespread recruitment and retention efforts, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated shortages, turnover, and workforce instability. Despite interventions such as residency programs, financial incentives, and organizational initiatives, long-term retention remains inconsistent, particularly in high-demand settings like emergency departments. Ongoing issues such as overcrowding, rising patient acuity, and workforce attrition contribute to burnout, compassion fatigue, and compromised patient outcomes, perpetuating a cycle of staffing strain. Grounded in Person–Environment Fit theory, this research proposes that aligning emergency nurses’ personality traits with the specialty practice environment, the emergency department, may offer a more …

Caring For Transgender People In Healthcare: A Qualitative Descriptive Study With Nurses Working In An Acute Healthcare Setting, Gabriela Roxana Matson

Theses & Dissertations

Transgender individuals frequently encounter numerous obstacles when accessing healthcare services, including stigma, discrimination, and inadequate understanding from healthcare providers. Structural, interpersonal, and anticipation barriers significantly hinder transgender patients' access to care. Structural barriers include a lack of healthcare providers knowledgeable in transgender health and financial constraints. Interpersonal barriers involve discrimination, such as refusal to use correct pronouns or provide gender-affirming care. Anticipation barriers stem from fear of mistreatment, causing many to avoid seeking medical care altogether. Nurses play a vital role in upholding inclusive and affirming healthcare This qualitative descriptive study explored the subjective experiences of registered nurses who provided …

Bridge Building In Professional Development For Educators Working With Latinx Families: An Action Research Approach Leading To Equitable Family Engagement, Nicole Deanna Bell

Theses & Dissertations

Latinx students represent a growing population in public schools, and research highlights the importance of focusing on collectivist family engagement strategies to align with their cultural ideals. However, there is limited research on how school systems, beginning with teachers and administrators, can shift their definitions and practices to embed more collectivist-oriented strategies that foster more welcoming and inclusive spaces for Latinx families. This action-research study explored whether an asset-based lens introduced through a one-day professional development workshop could serve as a catalyst for such change. The workshop centered on participants’ storytelling, building understanding of the collectivist-individualist dichotomy, and presenting strategies …

Alcohol Awareness, Prevention, And Education In Greek Life, Vivian J. Mcmechen, Kara Ann Lasater, Page Dobbs

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Alcohol consumption is normalized in Greek Life culture, and this social standard can lead to risky health behaviors and overconsumption. At the University of Arkansas, approximately one-third of students are members of Greek Life; there is a need for prevention methods that understand students’ lived experiences. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine students’ experiences with alcohol prevention, awareness, and education as current members of Greek Life at the University of Arkansas. Through student interviews and surveys, this project aims to inform and provide recommendations for relatable and student-centered alcohol prevention and education efforts. Methodology: This study …

Adolescent Social Media Use And Associations With Parental Screen Time Practices, Joseph A. Simon, Josiah Leong

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The rise of electronic use among younger generations has raised concerns surrounding  the developmental and behavioral effects of increasing usage. While past research has found some associations between screen time and mental health, there is less knowledge about how parenting practices influence these developmental and behavioral patterns of social media use. Our study examined longitudinal trajectories of social media use from ages 9 to 13 among 9,211 subjects at baseline, year 1, year 2 and later a complete 3-year parent questionnaire on screen time reward, limiting, and monitoring to then examine whether parenting behaviors were associated with previous social media …

Antidistillation Sampling For Classification Models, Khawaja Abaid Ullah

Theses

Knowledge distillation enables adversaries to replicate the functionality of proprietary machine learning models by querying their APIs and training surrogate student models on the returned soft-label distributions. Antidistillation Sampling (ADS), recently proposed for large language models, perturbs the output distribution of a teacher model at inference time to degrade the quality of the resulting distilled model while preserving utility for legitimate users. We adapt ADS to the supervised classification setting and identify a structural obstacle to its direct transfer: the high-confidence, near-one-hot output distributions characteristic of well-trained classifiers leave insufficient probability mass on non-target classes for the additive penalty to …

Atmospheric Noise Analysis In Observations From The Tomographic Ionized-Carbon Mapping Experiment, Audrey Dunn

Theses

The Tomographic Ionized-carbon Mapping Experiment (TIME) instrument is a ground-based millimeter-wavelength grating spectrometer that illuminates a cryogenically cooled array of 1920 transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers. The goal of TIME is to generate line intensity maps of singly ionized carbon ([CII]) during the Epoch of Reionization, when hydrogen became reionized by stellar radiation and the first galaxies were forming. This measurement requires a detailed understanding of the noise, most notably the 1/f noise from the time-varying atmosphere. In my thesis work, I performed an analysis of the power spectral density (PSD) and a traditional principal component analysis (PCA) on TIME data …

Like A Rolling Lychee, George Meng

Theses

I grew up in Shanghai, China—a megacity with over 25 million people. I was privileged enough to avoid the grueling fate of taking the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao). At 16, I moved to Sewanee, a small college town in rural Appalachia with a population of only 3,000. Overshadowed by that curiosity was the collision of two worlds and my sense of belonging and identity. I wasn’t fully aware of how I watched and copied others’ behaviors and mannerisms to blend in as an adolescent. Being a minority in the middle of nowhere Tennessee meant I was conditioned into fitting …

Can Climate-Responsive Infrastructure Enable Dubai’S 20-Minute City Vision By 2040?, Shoug Ahmed Al Ali

Theses

Urban mobility in the context of climate change has become a challenge in cities characterized by extreme heat conditions, where high temperatures and urban heat island effects reduce pedestrian activity and increase reliance on private vehicles. This study examines the key factors influencing walkability in Dubai using a strategic foresight framework. The research begins with environmental scanning through PESTEL analyses, followed by a strategic assessment using SWOT. Systems thinking is applied through causal loop diagram. Future-oriented foresight methods, including scenario planning, wild card analysis, and backcasting, are then applied to explore potential mobility futures. The findings indicate that extreme heat …

The Role Of Mother Tongues In Foreign Language Acquisition: Teachers’ Perception Of Multilingual Learners, Sean Aval

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study, rooted in phenomenological inquiry, explored the extent to which an understanding of language transfer informs the pedagogical decisions of foreign language teachers, most notably in how they approach the teaching of sentence construction, apply the Grammar Translation Method (GTM), and understand the errors of their foreign language students produce. The research was implemented at an Undergraduate Foreign Language School of a government-operated language institute, and drew on two complementary data sources: in-depth interviews with four experienced foreign language instructors, each of whom responded to twelve open-ended questions, and a written survey was administered to twenty-three additional foreign …

Enhancing Traffic Safety Through Ai-Driven, Privacy-Preserving, And Secure Impaired Driving Detection Systems, Razan Alsulieman

Dissertations

Drunk driving remains a major threat to road safety worldwide, contributing significantly to traffic injuries and fatalities each year. Traditional detection approaches are largely reactive and vehicle-centric, relying on in-vehicle sensors, breathalyzers, or post-incident enforcement. These methods often depend on driver cooperation, intrusive hardware installations, or limited monitoring environments, restricting their scalability and effectiveness in large transportation systems. At the same time, modern cities increasingly deploy roadside cameras, surveillance networks, and drone- based monitoring systems, creating new opportunities for proactive intoxication detection at the infrastructure level. However, leveraging such external monitoring introduces challenges related to secure data collection, reliable AI-based …

The Effects Of Self-Management On Portion Control Consumption In A Natural Setting, Amber Nicole Lampert

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a significant public health concern, with overeating as a primary contributor. Despite national nutrition initiatives, most Americans consume inadequate amounts of fruits and vegetables while exceeding recommended portions of calorie-dense foods. Understanding food groups and recommended portion sizes of each may be a prerequisite skill for a health initiative aimed at weight loss. Given that environmental and behavioral factors influence eating behaviors, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) offers an evidence-based framework for improving nutritional habits through self-management interventions. This study examined the effects of self-management components on portion control within a natural eating environment. Four adult participants, one male …

A Comparative Analysis Of Macro-Scale And Micro-Scale Pcswmm Models For Urban Flood Simulation In The Ormond Drainage System, Binit Gautam

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research utilized an existing SWMM modeling framework of the Ormond area within St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. A micro scale PCSWMM model was updated using GIS Derived values for CN, percent imperviousness, and subcatchment slope and compared to an macro-scale model. Models were compared under several storm events, which included the recent May 14, 2020 storm as well as 2-, 10-, and 100-year design storms. Peak flow, total inflow volume, and hydrograph characteristics were analyzed to assess response of each model.

The results show that the macro-scale model generally produces higher peak flows and total volumes, while the micro-scale model …

Using Picturebooks In Elementary School To Support Discussion, Connection, And Community Action, Polly Parkinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Children are in school to acquire knowledge, so the books they read are a significant influence on how they see themselves and others. School curricula often lack diverse voices, which may limit students’ views of themselves and how they relate to their communities. The research objective of this study was to examine the potential for fostering empathy in students, to encourage societal benefits of positive community behaviors, deepen understanding of history, and future contributions to an engaged democratic society.

The problem identified was that although much research exists discussing children’s literature and empathy, little explores whether that empathy leads to …