Digital Commons Network^™

Impact Of Interface Condition On Performance Of Thin Asphalt Overlays, Cheng Zhu

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Asphalt overlay has been widely used in the United States as a cost-effective maintenance approach to keep the pavement in a satisfactory condition. In recent years, many studies have been conducted to investigate the overlay asphalt mix design, overlay pavement design, and quality control/quality assurance for the asphalt overlay pavement. In Texas, thin overlays (lift thickness less than 2 in.) and ultra-thin overlays (lift thickness of 0.5 in. to 0.75 in.) seem to be more beneficial than conventional asphalt overlays. For this type of overlay, the bonding condition between the overlay and existing AC layer is crucial for the pavement …

The Development Of A Principal's Conceptual Framework Within An Early College High School, Edmond Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Educational leadership literature and research are dominated by linear, evidence-based methodologies to describe and guide decisions made by the school principal. These methodologies and conclusions do not examine the conceptualizations made by the principal to form the professional knowledge that makes up the framework that the principal might use to define problems, understand the problem in context and create a response. How principals form these conceptualizations by using experiences, multiple perspectives, and theories might explain how principals understand the school to address needs that are specific to the nature of the campus.

An early college high school is the setting …

Development Of A Mems Fabrication Process On Soi To Study High Strain In Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides, Edgar Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over the recent years there has been an increasing demand of better performing electronics. However, as the semiconductor industry keeps on improving and scaling the technology to the nanometer regime, the passive power density has overcome the overall power consumption of transistors. The inability to reduce the power alongside the scaling of transistors has led the scientific community in the search for alternatives or different solutions to overcome this power crisis. The use of two-dimensional Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDCS) and Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) actuators, in conjunction, has been proposed as an alternative solution [1]. Recent studies of TMDCS have shown a …

Density Functional Calculations On Single Molecular (1d) And Van Der Waals Bi -Layered (2d) Magnets., Md Shamsul Alam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Low-dimensional magnetic materials show novel properties that is not seen in bulk magnets. The weak interactions such as spin-orbit interactions, electron correlation, van der Waals interaction in case magnetic bi-layers, play an important role in determining the properties of the system. Using density functional theory, we computationally investigated two categories of magnetic material- 1: Single Molecular Magnets (SMM) 2: Van der Waals layered Cr-Halide magnets. We used different classes of density functionals to examine the spin ordering and magnetic anisotropy barriers in several single molecule magnets - Mn12, Co4, Ni4, V15. We find that the magnetic anisotropy barrier significantly depends …

Robust Estimation And Inference For Multivariate Financial Data, Afua Kwakyewaa Amoako Dadey

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Predicting and forecasting are routine day-to-day activities that guide us in making the best possible choices. They play an integral role in financial analysis. A lot of work has been done on one dimensional geometric Brownian motion (GBM) in stock price prediction. In this line of work, we focus mainly on how to use the one dimensional geometric Brownian motion and the multidimensional geometric Brownian motion in predicting future stock prices. There are several stock prices in the financial market and the multidimensional geometric Brownian motion gives a more realistic prediction compared to the one dimensional GBM. The reason being …

Tram System Automation For Environmental Spectroscopy And Vegetation Monitoring, Enrique Anguiano Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Spectroscopy is the science of studying the interactions of matter and electromagnetic radiation (EMR). In particular, field spectroscopy takes place in a natural environment with a natural source of EMR. The paper presents progress towards the development and automation of a tram cart system. The new system in development collects high resolution, hyperspectral images and data from a spectrometer. Alternatives for a sensor cover mechanism to provide cover for the sensors mounted while the system is not operating are discussed, analyzing and comparing the benefits and disadvantages. An implementation for a charging station in an environment isolated from the electric …

General Penalized Logistic Regression For Gene Selection In High-Dimensional Microarray Data Classification, Derrick Kwesi Bonney

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

High-dimensional data has become a major research area in the field of genetics, bioinformatics and bio-statistics due to advancement of technologies. Some common issues of modeling high-dimensional gene expression data are that many of the genes may not be relevant. Also, reducing the dimensions of the data using penalized logistic regression is one of the major challenges when there exists a high correlation among genes. High-dimension data correspond to the situation where the number of variables is greater or larger than the number of observations. Gene selection proved to be an effective way to improve the results of many classification …

Comparing Predictive Performance Of Statistical Learning Models On Medical Data, Francis Biney

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This work investigates the predictive performance of 10 Machine learning models on three medical data including Breast cancer, Heart disease and Prostate cancer. Furthermore, we use the models to identify risk factors that contribute significantly to these diseases.

The models considered include; Logistic regression with L1 and L_2 penalties, Principal component logistic regression(PCR-LR), Partial least squares logistic regression(PLS-LR), Multivariate adaptive regression splines(MARS), Support vector machine with Radial Basis Kernel (SVM-RBK), Random Forest(RF), Gradient Boosting Machines(GBM), Elastic Net (Enet) and Feedforward Neural Network(FFNN). The models were grouped according to their similarities and learning style; i) Linear regularized models: LR-Lasso, LR-Ridge and …

Towards A New Cholx Consciousness: The Visual Rhetorics Of Cholx Artistas As A Method For Social Justice Movements, Elvira Carrizal-Dukes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My dissertation study examines the Cholx subculture through the artwork of Chola artistas Paola Rascón and Vicko Alvarez Vega. Growing up, I interacted easily with Cholos and Cholas, but I also knew that in society there was an overall negative idea of Cholos and Cholas. My research advances Cholx consciousness as a method for social movements through the examination of the visual and written rhetorics by Chola artistas. For my dissertation study, I have drawn on theoretical frameworks from Chicana Feminism, Latino Critical Theory, and Social Justice Rhetorics as discussed by Dolores Delgado Bernal, Kendall Leon, Tara Yosso, Daniel Solórzano, …

A Performance-Based Analysis Of Balanced Mix Designs, Elias Aaron Castillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Superpave design procedure was established to provide a more representative design methodology and to minimize typical pavement distresses such as fatigue cracking and permanent deformation. This Superpave design methodology was developed on the premise that the voids in mineral aggregate can evaluate the quality and constructability of asphalt mixture during the design and production phases. With the increased use of recycled materials, recycling agents, modified binders and warm mix asphalt additives, several highway agencies including the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), have investigated whether the Superpave volumetric-based design method is enough to ensure appropriate performance of the final product. …

The Influence Of Over-Ground Versus Treadmill Walking On Gait Mechanics In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Emily Ann Chavez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Treadmill (TM) walking may be a way to combat obesity and socio-behavioral barriers associated with children with Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD), though tripping-risk has not yet been assessed for this population through use of spatial-temporal gait analysis. The aim of this project/study was to examine spatial-temporal walking mechanics and lower extremity tripping descriptors between over ground (OG) and TM gait conditions in children with ASD compared to children with neurotypical development (NT). Kinematics data were obtained through tridimensional motion analysis where participants, 10 children with ASD and 9 age- and sexmatched NT controls, were outfitted with retroreflective markers on their …

Attainment Of Rigorous Thermodynamic Consistency And Surface Tension In Single-Component Pseudopotential Lattice Boltzmann Models Via A Customized Equation Of State, Cheng Peng, Luis F. Ayala, Zhicheng Wang, Orlando M. Ayala

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The lack of thermodynamic consistency is a well-recognized problem in the single-component pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann models which prevents them from replicating accurate liquid and vapor phase densities; i.e., current models remain unable to exactly match coexisting density values predicted by the associated thermodynamic model. Most of the previous efforts had attempted to solve this problem by introducing tuning parameters, whose determination required empirical trial and error until acceptable thermodynamic consistency was achieved. In this study, we show that the problem can be alternatively solved by properly designing customized equations of state (EOSs) that replace any cubic EOS of choice during …

Sensing And Measuring The Environment Workshop As Exposure To Engineering Technology For High School Students In A Summer Residential Camp, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Otilia Popescu, Murat Kuzlu, Mujde Erten-Unal, Balŝa Terzić, George Mcleod, Tysha Batts, Cynthia Tomovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Summer programs are the latest trend in extracurricular STEM education programs offered by universities. Efforts are made towards residential summer programs, which have the ability to expose students not only to specially designed STEM activities but to the university campus environment and student life, as well. These types of programs are expected to have better success in getting students engaged and to capture their interest in STEM fields. This paper presents one example of designing and implementing a summer residential workshop in order to expose high school students to the field of engineering technology, specifically to electrical circuits, electrical prototyping, …

Pathways To Success In Anatomy And Physiology At The Community College: The Role Of Prerequisite Courses, Staci B. Forgey, Mitchell R. Williams, Shana Pribesh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Gatekeeper courses such as Anatomy and Physiology are often referenced in discussions regarding the national shortage of persons in allied health professions. In an attempt to bolster access to STEM professions, some community colleges are mandating prerequisite courses such as Natural Sciences and/or General Biology for STEM gatekeeping courses. In this study, we examined which of these prerequisite courses helped students to pass Anatomy and Physiology and whether the courses are an additional barrier to STEM field completion. This was the first study to evaluate whether a prerequisite course was predictive of success in Anatomy and Physiology, and it contributes …

An Exploration Of Pharmacy Education Researchers' Perceptions And Experiences Conducting Qualitative Research, Antonio A. Bush, Mauriell Amechi, Adam Persky

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Objective. To investigate pharmacy education researchers' experiences in conducting qualitative research and their perceptions of qualitative research in pharmacy education

Methods. A phenomenological approach was used to conduct one-time, in-depth interviews with 19 participants from 12 schools and colleges of pharmacy. Interview transcripts were coded and themes were identified using a modified form of the Sort and Sift, Think and Shift method of data analysis.

Results. Faculty members were the largest subgroup in the sample, followed by graduate students, postdoctoral fellows/scholars, and residents. Pharmacy education researchers had varying levels of training in conducting qualitative research and some had none at …

Qualitative Research In Pharmacy Education: An Exploration Of Pharmacy Education Researchers' Perceptions And Experiences Conducting Qualitative Research, Antonio A. Bush, Mauriell Amechi, Adam Persky

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Objective. To investigate pharmacy education researchers’ experiences in conducting qualitative research and their perceptions of qualitative research in pharmacy education

Methods. A phenomenological approach was used to conduct one-time, in-depth interviews with 19 participants from 12 schools and colleges of pharmacy. Interview transcripts were coded and themes were identified using a modified form of the Sort and Sift, Think and Shift method of data analysis.

Results. Faculty members were the largest subgroup in the sample, followed by graduate students, postdoctoral fellows/scholars, and residents. Pharmacy education researchers had varying levels of training in conducting qualitative research and some had none at …

Are (We) Going Deep Enough?: A Narrative Literature Review Addressing Critical Race Theory, Radical Space Theory, And Black Identity Development, Kala Burrell-Craft

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

A narrative literature review was conducted to examine how researchers address the concept of intersectionality using critical race theory, racial space theory, and Black identity development. A Boolean search revealed 18 articles met criteria for consideration. Multiple reviews occurred to isolate the articles that contained all the search criteria and multiple reviews occurred that selected the Boolean phrase or phrases that the researcher was searching for. Thirteen of the 18 articles met one or more search criteria and were included in the review, however, no articles matched 100 percent for inclusion. Thus, indicating we are not going deep enough in …

Reconceptualizing College Impact Studies Through A Fractal Assemblage Theory, Laura Elizabeth Smithers

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

College impact studies have formed the common sense of understanding institutional relationships to student growth and change for decades. In this time, they have become entangled with the production of the neoliberal university. This paper¹ presents an alternative theorization of student change on campus, a fractal assemblage theory. Assemblage theory is discussed through a single common language of major assemblage theory concepts across four authors. After exploring these concepts in depth, this paper returns to the stakes of assemblage theory: higher education research not to channel student to predetermined outcomes, but to create student futures in excess of our …

Family Structure Stability And Transitions, Parental Involvement, And Educational Outcomes, Shana L. Pribesh, Jane Smith Carson, Mikaela J. Dufur, Yuanyuan Yue, Kathy Morgan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The family environments children live in have profound effects on the skills, resources, and attitudes those children bring to school. Researchers studying family structure have found that children who live with two married, opposite-sex, biological parents, on average, have better educational outcomes than children living in alternate family structures, perhaps due to higher resources, lower stressors, or different selectivity patterns. Socioeconomic stratification plays a major role in family structure, with low-income families seeing more instability. We argue that the impact of family structure is attenuated by transitions in and out of family structures that may decrease a specific resource important …

Status Of The Western Australian Pastoral Rangelands 2020: Condition, Trend And Risk, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources published reports

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) reports annually on the condition, trend and risk of decline in vegetation condition of pastoral rangelands in Western Australia (WA). This report is based on the information available to the end of September 2020.

Vegetation condition reflects the effects of 3 main drivers: seasonal quality (the timeliness and amount of rainfall), grazing pressure and fire. Reported trend in vegetation condition was based on remotely sensed vegetation cover for the 3 or 4 most productive pasture types in each region and greenness data (how much vegetation grew). Based on these trend data, …

Effects Of Spatial Location Of Auditory Tones On Pitch Discrimination, Ashley G. Flagge, Julie M. Estis, Robert E. Moore

Ashley Flagge Publications

Pitch discrimination accuracy has been found to be affected by many factors, including handedness, musical training, interfering stimuli, and spatial location of the auditory stimulus. Separating the stimulus input location of interference tones from initial (reference) and final (comparison) tones leads to more accurate pitch discrimination, but the effects of spatial location relationships between the reference, interference, and comparison tones have not been fully explored. This study examined the impact of stimulus spatial location in 24 young, non-musician females. Participants determined whether the pitch of reference and comparison tones was the same or different in 20 pitch discrimination conditions with …

The Contribution Of Frequency Discrimination Ability To Auditory Temporal Patterning Tests In Children, Ashley G. Flagge, Tara M. Davis, Victoria Henbest

Ashley Flagge Publications

Purpose: The Pitch Patterns Test (PPT) and Duration Patterns Test (DPT) are clinical auditory processing tests that evaluate temporal patterning skills based on pitch (PPT) or duration (DPT) aspects of sound. Although temporal patterning tests are categorized under the temporal processing domain, successful performance on the PPT also relies on accurate pitch discrimination. However, the relationship between pitch discrimination ability and temporal patterning skills have not been thoroughly evaluated. This study examined the contribution of pitch discrimination ability to performance on temporal patterning in children through the use of a pitch discrimination task and the PPT …

Examining The Complex Relationship Between Innovation And Regulation Through A Survey Of Wastewater Utility Managers, Luke Sherman, Alida Cantor, Anita Milman, Michael Kiparsky

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite pressures to increase performance and decrease costs, innovation has been slow to emerge in the municipal wastewater sector. The relationship between regulation and innovation in this sector is a particularly interesting aspect of this conundrum, given the degree to which public utility decision-making is influenced by regulation. Using a national survey, this paper examines US wastewater utility managers’ perceptions of how regulation influences the adoption of new technologies. Recognizing that the relationship between innovation and regulation is complex, we develop the concept of regulation as multifaceted and examine three interrelated aspects of regulation: (1) regulatory requirements, (2) regulators and …

The Fire And Tree Mortality Database, For Empirical Modeling Of Individual Tree Mortality After Fire, C. Alina Cansler, Sharon M. Hood, J. Morgan Varner, Phillip J. Van Mantgem, Michelle C. Agne, Matthew Ayres, Robert A. Andrus, Jonathon D. Bakker, Michael A. Battaglia, Shelby A. Weiss, Multiple Additional Authors

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires in the United States. The Fire and Tree Mortality (FTM) database includes records from 164,293 individual trees with records of fire injury (crown scorch, bole char, etc.), tree diameter, and either mortality or top-kill up to ten years post-fire. Data span 142 species and 62 genera, from 409 fires occurring …

Evaluating Cmip6 Model Fidelity At Simulating Non-Gaussian Temperature Distribution Tails, Arielle J. Catalano, Paul Loikith, J. David Neelin

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Under global warming, changes in extreme temperatures will manifest in more complex ways in locations where temperature distribution tails deviate from Gaussian. Confidence in global climate model (GCM) projections of temperature extremes and associated impacts therefore relies on the realism of simulated temperature distribution tail behavior under current climate conditions. This study evaluates the ability of the latest state-of-the-art ensemble of GCMs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase six (CMIP6), to capture historical global surface temperature distribution tail shape in hemispheric winter and summer seasons. Comparisons with a global reanalysis product reveal strong agreement on coherent spatial patterns of …

Associations Of Built Environment Attributes With Bicycle Use For Transport, Mohammad Javad Koohsari, Rachel Cole, Koichiro Oka, Ai Shibata, Akitomo Yasunaga, Tomoya Hanibuchi, Neville Owen, Takemi Sugiyama

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

An increasing number of studies have examined neighbourhood built environment attributes associated with cycling. Some of them suggest non-linear relationships between built environment attributes and cycling. This study examined the strength and shape of associations of cycling for transport with objectively measured built environment attributes. Data were from 9146 Australian adults who took part in the 2009 South-East Queensland Travel Survey. Participants (aged 18–64 years) completed a 24-hour travel survey, in which they reported modes of travel. Residential density, Walk Score and a Space Syntax measure of street integration were calculated at a neighbourhood level using geographic information systems. Multilevel …

Central Tokyo’S Low Response Rate To The 2015 Population Census And Its Related Factors, Tomoya Hanibuchi, Masakazu Yamauchi

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of “unreported” cases in the Population Census of Japan caused by nonresponses to the survey. Subsequently, this has led to data reliability challenges. In light of this problem, the factors related to the low response rate of the 2015 Population Census in the central Tokyo area are examined in the present study. An online survey was conducted among individuals residing in the three Special Wards of Tokyo to inquire about their responses (submitted or not submitted) to the previous census. The statistical analyses demonstrated that particularly in central Tokyo, middle-aged (35–49 …

Auditory Consonant Trigrams: Construct And Criterion Validity Update, Katharine Elizabeth Lindberg

Theses and Dissertations

The Auditory Consonant Trigrams (ACT) has historically been used in research and clinical settings as a measure of working memory ability, though previous research has failed to identify the precise cognitive processes and abilities measured by the task. The ACT total score (ACT T) has been shown to be sensitive to numerous clinical neurological and psychological populations (i.e., TBI, ADHD, MS, MDD). Alternatively, little is known about the ACT perseveration score (ACT P), the current study aimed to identity the ACT T and ACT P’s relationships to other neuropsychological measures and their clinical utility within diverse clinical/neurological presentations. In a …

Masculine Honor Ideology: An Unrecognized Risk Factor For Aggressive Behavior, Mara Norton-Baker

Theses and Dissertations

The societal and personal costs of aggressive and violent behavior have reached alarming levels within the United States. In the literature, several personality and personal factors have been uncovered as valuable predictors of aggressive and violent behavior. However, it may be the case another variable has been unduly discounted in its link to aggression. Masculine Honor Ideology (MHI) refers to a set of beliefs that dictate men must respond aggressively to threat or insult in order to maintain their ideal masculine reputation. The intent of the current study is to demonstrate the robust relationship that exists between MHI and lifetime …

Effects Of Choice Orientation And Consensual Non-Monogamy On Relationship Quality, Meara Thombre

Theses and Dissertations

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) is a style of sexual or romantic relationship that consensually includes more than two people. Despite a notable prevalence of CNM relationships in the United States, there is relatively little research on this population. While previous research generally finds similar levels of relationship quality to that of monogamist relationships, those in CNM relationships experience notable stigma and are an understudied population. The current study used the Maximization Paradox (Dar-Nimrod, Rawn, Lehman, & Schwartz, 2009) to investigate whether individual differences in choice orientation might impact relationship quality differently in CNM and monogamist relationships. Specifically, it investigated whether maximizers, …