Digital Commons Network^™

From Sparks To Insights: An Aggregate Analysis On Arson And Explosive Data Reporting Published By The Atf (2014-2024), Zahra A. Khan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This thesis provides an aggregate assessment of arson and explosives incidents reported by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco, from 2014 to 2024. This thesis is written to highlight trends, investigative outcomes, and evolving patterns of criminal activity. Analysis of the data reveals notable shifts in incident frequencies, data distributions, and case resolution rates. This suggests both emerging technologies and changing operational dynamics that have affected long-term trends in arson and explosive incidents. Variations in incident types and investigative outcomes underscore the interplay between law enforcement priorities, resource allocation, and reporting practices over the ten-year period. The study also …

Graph-Based And Graph-Transformer Representation Learning For Healthcare Data, Rui Wang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Healthcare data exhibit complex structures, including heterogeneous clinical entities, sparse observations, and longitudinal patient trajectories. Effectively modeling such data remains a fundamental challenge in computational healthcare research. Traditional machine learning approaches often rely on flat feature representations that fail to capture relationships among clinical events, limiting their ability to model complex healthcare processes. These challenges motivate structured learning frameworks that capture both relational structure and temporal dynamics in healthcare data. This dissertation develops a series of graph-based representation learning approaches, extended through graph-transformer architectures for modeling complex healthcare data. Such data can be represented as graphs, where nodes correspond to …

Channel-Opening Kinetics Of Complex Kainate Receptors, Noah S. Saunders

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are found both pre- and postsynaptically in neuronal membranes, and mediate the majority of fast excitatory synaptic transmission in response to the binding of glutamate, a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). Ionotropic glutamate receptors are divided into three distinct subtypes: kainate, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors. Auxiliary proteins specific to each receptor subtype also play a role in tuning both receptor expression and gating properties, such as neuropilin and tolloid-like (NETO) proteins that modulate kainate receptors, and transmembrane AMPA receptor regulatory proteins (TARPs) that regulate AMPA receptors. Like …

Recent Climatology And Changes In Precipitating Storm Characteristics Over Conus, Tyler Landsparger

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

As anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions continue to warm the global climate system, improving our understanding of how precipitating storms are responding in the real world has become increasingly important.  This study leverages 22 years of high-resolution hourly precipitation data from the NCEP Stage IV dataset to produce a seasonal climatology and long-term trend analysis of precipitating storm frequency, duration, area, and intensity across the Contiguous United States (CONUS) from March 2002 through February 2024.  Storms were identified and tracked using an object-tracking algorithm and their characteristics were computed for each season, from which 22-year climatology and trends were derived.  The …

The Relationship Between State-Level Career And Technical Education (Cte) Policies And Secondary Student Enrollment In Construction, Manufacturing, And Health Sciences Cte Programs, Brittany A. Kitterman

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Across the United States, employers in construction, manufacturing, and healthcare report ongoing difficulty filling positions. These shortages have been driven by an aging workforce, increased demand, and high rates of retirement. Compounding these shortages, Federal investments such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the CHIPS Act have further increased demand. Career and Technical Education programs are well positioned to support workforce development and help close workforce shortages, but access and participation remain limited. Supported by Federal Perkins funding, states have enacted CTE policies to increase access and enrollment in CTE programs aligned with high-demand industries such as construction, …

Excavating Miranda, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Sixty years after it was decided, Miranda v. Arizona remains one of the most significant and renowned cases—as well as, arguably, one of the most controversial cases—in the history of the United States. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s majority opinion, establishing the eponymous Miranda warnings for custodial interrogation of criminal suspects, has prompted voluminous and continuing commentary, among both critics and supporters. This Article is part of an ongoing project exploring a particular aspect of Chief Justice Warren’s majority opinion: a footnote referencing Jewish legal sources, documenting an important passage at the start of a pivotal section of the opinion.

Building …

Conventional Versus Advanced Imaging Selection For Endovascular Treatment Of Basilar Artery Occlusion Strokes., Huanwen Chen, Marco Colasurdo, Hidetoshi Matsukawa, Conor Cunningham, Ilko Maier, Sami Al Kasab, Pascal Jabbour, Joon-Tae Kim, Stacey Quintero Wolfe, Ansaar Rai, Robert M. Starke, Marios-Nikos Psychogios, Edgar A. Samaniego, Nitin Goyal, Shinichi Yoshimura, Hugo Cuellar, Jonathan A. Grossberg, Ali Alawieh, Ali Alaraj, Mohamad Ezzeldin, Daniele G. Romano, Omar Tanweer, Justin Mascitelli, Isabel Fragata, Adam Polifka, Fazeel Siddiqui, Joshua Osbun, Roberto Crosa, Charles Matouk, Min S. Park, Michael R. Levitt, Waleed Brinjikji, Mark Moss, Travis Dumont, Ergun Daglioglu, Richard Williamson, Pedro Navia, Reade De Leacy, Shakeel Chowdhry, David J. Altschul, Alejandro M. Spiotta, Peter Kan

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is an effective treatment for basilar artery occlusion (BAO) stroke in select patients. While there is a growing body of literature suggesting that advanced imaging modalities such as computed tomography perfusion (CTP) and magnetic resonance (MR) may not be necessary for selecting anterior circulation large vessel occlusion stroke patients for EVT, whether advanced imaging may be superior to conventional imaging (non-contrast CT and CT angiography) in identifying good treatment candidates among BAO patients is less clear.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of BAO EVT patients treated from 2013 to 2022 in …

Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Education For Chronic Pain In Adults With Sickle Cell Disease: 12-Month Randomized Trial Results, Olubusola B. Oluwole, Yi-Fan Yi-Fan Chen, Christina M. Lalama, Julia A. O’Brien, Laura M. De Castro, Charles Patrick Carroll, Darla Liles, Nirmish Shah, Santosh L. Saraf, Victor R. Gordeuk, Leshana Saint Jean, Michael Debaun, Robert M. Cronin, Tonya M. Palermo, Sherif M. Badawy, Megan E. Hamm, Jennifer N. Stinson, Chitra Lalloo, Sophie Lanzkron, Cassandra Trimnell, Lakiea Bailey, Raymona H. Lawrence, Kaleab Z. Abebe, Charles R. Jonassaint

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

Background: Chronic pain affects up to 40% of adults with sickle cell disease (SCD), yet treatment options remain limited. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective in other chronic pain conditions, it is underutilized for SCD pain, and its effectiveness remains unclear. Purpose: The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Real-time Pain Management Intervention for Sickle Cell via Mobile Applications (CaRISMA) compared digital CBT to Education for chronic SCD pain in adults. At 6 months, the primary outcome (pain interference) showed no between-group difference but both groups improved (CBT: −2.13; Education: −2.66). This report presents 12-month outcomes. Methods: A total of 359 …

Hidden Markov Models For Stock Market Regime Prediction, Meghan Blanch

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are a powerful mathematical system used for analyzing time sequences in which the underlying states are unable to be directly observed. This project strives to develop the theory and computation of such models, including deriving the forward and backward variables, the Baum-Welch algorithm, and the Viterbi algorithm. Each of these HMM components are derived and explained to demonstrate the probabilistic principles that allow HMMs to be effective for modeling sequential data.

To demonstrate its practical relevance, the HMM is applied to financial time series. The observable stock market returns tend to be influenced by market regimes …

The Role Of The Coach In Student-Athlete Engagement, Christina Cobb

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Student engagement has long been recognized as a key indicator of student success in higher education, but limited research has examined engagement within the context of intercollegiate athletics. This qualitative case study explored how college coaches influence student-athlete engagement and how student-athletes utilize athletic department support services designed to promote engagement practices. Guided by Kuh et al.’s (2006) theory of student engagement, this study examined engagement through the lens of time and effort invested in educationally purposeful activities and the institutional environments that support or constrain participation.

Participants included six student-athletes, four coaches, and two athletic department administrators at a …

The Global Orbit ∞-Category And Applications To Assembly Maps, Zoë Pope

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

We reformulate the foundations of assembly maps in the context of the global orbit ∞-category of all discrete groups. We first show that the ∞-categorical slice of the global orbit ∞-category over any fixed group G is equivalent to the orbit 1-category of G, and we also frame the subgroup 1-category of G in this global context. We then use the afore-mentioned equivalence to redefine assembly maps as counits of the adjunction between left Kan extension and restriction, and give purely ∞-categorical and conceptual proofs of known results, such as the Transitivity Principle. Additionally, we give equivalent formulations for what …

Investigating The Effects Of Values Clarification And Self-Compassion On Mental Health Self-Stigma And Willingness To Seek Psychological Help, Sara V. White

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Mental health self-stigma, or the harmful beliefs that one holds about his or her mental illness, is associated with psychological distress and acts as a significant barrier to help-seeking. Yet, self-stigma is notoriously resistant to change when targeted directly. To address such concerns, the present study examined the effects of two brief writing interventions, self-compassion and values clarification relative to a control condition, in reducing self-stigma and improving willingness and intentionality to seek psychological help. Additionally, the present study also explored the contributions of two theoretically relevant mechanisms—state self-compassion and psychological (in)flexibility—on self-stigma, and whether resistance to self-compassion negatively impacted …

The Chemistry Of Red Lipstick: The Impact Red Lipstick Has On Society, Lilliana Weldeslassie

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Cosmetic chemistry is deeply embedded in everyday life, shaping the products people use from morning to night. Among these, red lipstick stands out as a formulation that blends complex chemistry with a cultural meaning. This thesis examines the scientific foundations of red lipstick through its chemical composition, pigment structure, toxicological history, analytical methods, and evolving sustainability practices. Historically, red lipsticks relied on high-risk ingredients such as lead, mercury, and other toxic metals, reflecting an era before chemical safety and regulatory oversight were incorporated.²¹ Modern formulations have established safer synthetic dyes, natural waxes, plant-based oils, and stabilizers created to optimize …

Understanding The Intergenerational Transmission Of Risk And Resilience In Black Birthing Parent-Infant Dyads: Physiological Coregulation & Cultural-Contextual Factors, Annabelle Armah

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) are common, particularly for Black birthing parents who may face increased psychosocial risk during the perinatal period. Previous work has demonstrated that PPD can have significant ramifications not only for maternal wellbeing but for infants’ regulatory development. PPD may influence the concordance or mutual influence of biological states between parents and children (i.e., physiological synchrony). Physiological synchrony is thought to be implicated in the development of self-regulation and may be a mechanism through which PPD undermines infants’ emerging regulatory capacities. In Black families, cultural-contextual factors, like racism or cultural practices, may additionally shape birthing parent …

Academic Satisfaction Of Graduate Students In Mental Health Professions: Mediating Roles Of Burnout And Engagement, Yu Ying Li

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Academic satisfaction for students is as critical to their retention and well-being as job satisfaction for working adults; however, it has received limited empirical attention particularly among graduate students in mental health-related programs. One of the barriers to mental health trainees’ satisfaction with their academic training is burnout. The current study evaluated the applicability of Study Demands-Resources (SD-R) framework (Lesener et al., 2020) to trainees. Specifically, this study examined the relations between study demands (i.e., perceived stress), study resources (i.e., supervisory alliance and social support), student burnout, student engagement, and academic satisfaction. It also tested if student burnout and engagement …

Development And Analysis Of An Embedded Hardware Platform For Low-Power Rram–Based In-Memory Computing And Neural Network Applications, Jeelka Solanki

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Conventional computing architectures are based on repeated data transfer between memory and the compute unit; however, artificial neural network applications rely on data-intensive vector-matrix multiplication as a mathematical operation, where data movement from memory to compute processor results in increased power consumption and reduced performance. Possible solutions to this problem include in-memory computing, which addresses the data transfer bottleneck by computing directly within the memory. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, our research group fabricated hafnium oxide-based resistive random-access memory (RRAM) arrays using a 65nm CMOS technology for in-memory compute operations. This work demonstrates the design and development of …

Rethinking Theories Of Political Discourse: The Limitations Of The Deliberative-Agonistic Split, Connor Moran

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

What are “theories of political discourse,” why do they matter to political theory, and where do current ones fall short? This dissertation mines the existing resources availed by contemporary democratic theory in order to respond to the discursive challenge of “pernicious polarization,” particularly in the United States. The most comprehensive and influential theories of political discourse today have been furnished by the almost 40-year debate between deliberative democracy and agonism, both of which offer normative models centered on ameliorating the quality of political discourse.

The key finding of the dissertation is that the foundational works of the deliberative-agonistic split lack …

Classification, Service Provision, And Early Academic Skills Of Early Elementary School Students Who Received Services As A Preschool Student With A Disability, Meghan Conboy

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Youth with disabilities benefit from coordinated supports and services, particularly during early childhood when they are developing foundational abilities that will influence their developmental trajectory (Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center, 2015; Sandall et al., 2005). Preschool-aged students who enter kindergarten with adequately developed pre-academic skills are more likely demonstrate high performance levels in academic domains throughout compulsory education compared to peers with low pre-academic skills (Christensen et al., 2020; Fitzpatrick, 2017; Hair et al., 2006; Tavassolie et al., 2022). However, despite the knowledge that both preschool programs and high-quality and effective early intervention benefit children across their lifetime, limited research …

Historical Changes In The Seasonality And Variability Of Daily Surface Air Temperature In Era5 And Cmip6 Models, Zirui Wan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This thesis investigates historical changes in the seasonality and daily variability of near-surface air temperature (Tas) during 1950–2024 using ERA5 reanalysis and simulations from 21 CMIP6 models. ERA5 and CMIP6 show broadly similar climatological structures of the Tas seasonal cycle and variability, with considerable inter-model discrepancies. Both ERA5 and CMIP6 show decreasing Tas variability over northern mid-high latitudes, while Tas variability increases in the low latitudes in ERA5 but changes little in CMIP6 multi-model mean (MMM) due to different change patterns among the models. To investigate the mechanisms of historical Tas variability changes, I analyzed the relationships between Tas variability …

School Leaders’ And Teachers’ Sensemaking Of Performance-Based Learning And Assessment Reform Initiatives, Kate Jarrard

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Educational leaders occupy a difficult position in the landscape of reform, as they are at times charged with initiatives that conflict with existing guidance and core instructional work. Effective change requires more than program redesign; it demands shifts in people’s behavior. For school leaders, the challenge is not simply understanding a new initiative, but making personal sense of it and then communicating it coherently to staff in ways that generate genuine commitment, all while navigating the gap between standard and innovative practice, bridging from policy intent to classroom-level implementation.

In the case of school performance, standardized testing has long anchored …

Understanding Support And Success: A Cross-Group Analysis Of Student Support Services And Nontraditional Graduate Student Experience, Erica Shudt

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This study explored how nontraditional graduate students perceive their experiences with student support services within a Research 1, public university. The purpose of this study was to understand how these services impact their overall academic experience. Findings from semi-structured interviews with nontraditional graduate students and student support staff using a qualitative approach revealed four themes. These themes included (1) a shared emphasis on connection and belonging, (2) flexibility as a foundation for support and success, (3) individualized student-centered support, and (4) the acknowledgement of nontraditional student support identity. Both groups identify that meaningful support is within relationships with faculty and …

Bioinformatic Identification And Analysis Of Shared Splicing Errors In Myotonic Dystrophy Type (Dm1) And Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (Fecd), Carter I. Wilkins

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is an autosomal dominant form of muscular dystrophy, and it is the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy. The disease is the result of CTG trinucleotide repeats (TNR) in the 3’UTR of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase (DMPK) gene. This produces toxic RNA hairpin structures by CUG repeat expansions that sequester proteins–most relevantly muscleblind-like 1 (MBNL)–that regulate alternative RNA splicing. The missplicing of a wide variety of genes results in the symptoms such as myotonia (rigidity of the muscles), atrophy, and cardiac failure.

Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD) is characterized by progressive loss and …

Corannulene: Optimized Synthesis And Four-Fold Reduction, Guy Rozenman

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Corannulene is a bowl-shaped π-conjugated fragment of the ball-shaped C₆₀-fullerene that undergoes stepwise multielectron reduction and can accept four electrons to form the aromatic tetraanion, C₂₀H₁₀⁴⁻. Prior literature has established this charge state in donor-solvated alkali-metal assemblies: early solution studies identified the formation of the tetraanion under lithium reduction in THF, and later X-ray diffraction crystallography demonstrated a triple-decker lithium sandwich in which two corannulene tetraanion decks encapsulate five Li⁺ ions. The central objective of this thesis is to determine whether the corannulene tetraanion can instead be isolated as a bulk solvent-free alkali-metal salt containing only corannulene and …

Reviving Southern Divides: Multilevel Explorations Of Gentrification’S Role In School Resegregation In Tallahassee, Florida From 1999 – 2015, Ola U. Kalu

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation examines whether neighborhood gentrification in Tallahassee reshaped Title I elementary schools by improving academic outcomes, changing who enrolled, or both, from 1999 to 2015. Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model as a conceptual scaffold, the study situates schools within their neighborhood and district contexts across three nested analytical levels. A two-wave panel design using 2010 and 2015 school-year observations is linked to a 2000 Census baseline to connect school data with spatially weighted neighborhood change indicators. Mixed-effects multilevel models and fixed-effects robustness checks estimate the associations between neighborhood change indicators and two continuous dependent variables: standardized ELA achievement and …

The Effect Of Education On Green Growth And Carbon Emissions, 1990–2022, Soojeong Ahn

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The question of whether education promotes economic growth has long been a central topic in development research, and education has been linked to economic outcomes through macro-level pathways such as human capital accumulation, productivity growth, and technological diffusion. More recently, this discussion has expanded beyond economic growth to consider whether education contributes to environmentally sustainable development, particularly green growth. Green growth emphasizes the possibility of sustaining economic expansion while reducing environmental pressure (OECD, 2011; UNEP, 2011), and this study therefore examines how education is related to green growth and carbon emissions at the macro level.

At the macro level, existing …

Systematic Literature Review: Elevating Black Voices Through Universal Social-Emotional Learning Interventions, Natasha J. Hogg

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This systematic literature review examined the outcomes of culturally responsive universal Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions for Black students in K-12 school settings addressing mental health, racial trauma, and racial disparities. Following the PRISMA protocol, a comprehensive search was conducted across PsycINFO, EBSCO, and five academic journals by April 2025. Results yielded 11 peer-reviewed articles with 2,246 Black participants published between 1994 and 2024. Exclusion criteria included sole focus of Tier 2 or 3 interventions, lacking Black student populations, or lacking outcomes aggregated by race. Seven SEL interventions were identified with risk of bias assessed by a secondary reviewer. Thematic analysis …

Bonny And Read: Navigating The Waters Between Truth And Tale, Fiona J. Faccilonga

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This thesis examines piracy, cross-dressing, gender fluidity, and ambiguous identity in the lives of Anne Bonny and Mary Read as represented in A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson. This thesis argues that Johnson’s narrative reshapes their piracy through feminine frameworks to align them with patriarchal expectations of womanhood and fixed identity. Specifically, he uses the breast and the belly as sites of gendered truth, attempting to reduce their masculine presentation as mere performance rather than intrinsic identity.

However, despite Johnson’s attempt at narrative authority, Bonny and Read ultimately resist such containment. Through close readings of both …

Retrieval And Characterization Of Aerosol Optical And Microphysical Properties Following Pyrocumulonimbus Events From Sageiii/Iss, Vishal G. Bagadia

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Stratospheric aerosols play an important role in maintaining global radiative balance with impacts to stratospheric equilibria through physical and chemical forcings.  Stratospheric aerosol size distributions, in particular aerosol size, are vitally important in determining the physical and chemical impacts of aerosols in the stratosphere. The representation of aerosol size and size distributions in most climate models contain large uncertainties due to relatively sparse sampling of stratospheric aerosols. Occultation measurements from satellite provide an unique opportunity to retrieve the aerosol size distribution using high quality aerosol extinction measurements. A retrieval algorithm is developed to characterize size distributions of stratospheric aerosols from …

Moderators Of Subjective Distress And State Body Image During Open And Blind Weighing, Danielle E. Peters

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Objective: Body image disturbances are central to eating disorder (ED) pathology and are often addressed through exposure-based methods, such as open weighing. Open weighing is recommended in evidence-based ED treatments, but many clinicians and patients prefer blind weighing. It may be that pre-treatment patient characteristics may influence how distressed they feel by open and blind weighing. As such, the present study aimed to 1) compare how open and blind weighing impact subjective distress and state body image, and 2) examine whether self-weighing tendencies, body avoidance, body checking, body checking-related beliefs, intolerance of uncertainty, and ED psychopathology moderate the relationship between …

Multifunctional And Adaptive: Tracking How Fibroblasts Respond To Tissue Injury And Facilitate Tissue Remodeling, Joey R. Tavarez

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Fibrosis is characterized by an accumulation of proteins in the extracellular matrix (ECM) that results in altered tissue architecture and reduced organ function. In the salivary glands, fibrosis leads to loss of saliva, dysbiosis of the oral microbiome, an increase in oral infections, difficulty in digestion of food and an overall reduction in the quality of life. Understanding the progression of fibrosis and how it affects human health is a crucial step for designing effective therapeutics. Understanding fibroblast function is integral to advancing the field due to the many roles they play in maintaining the ECM. To perform preliminary analysis, …