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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 …

Photo And Spatial Control Of Rna Structures And Functions: Exploring Positional Effects And Photo-Responsiveness Of Azobenzene Modified Nucleotides, Jinxi Du

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

RNA molecules perform many important biological functions by forming complex three-dimensional structures stabilized by base pairing, tertiary interactions, and metal ion coordination. Because RNA function depends strongly on its structure, methods that allow reversible control of RNA conformation and activity are important for understanding RNA behavior and for potential therapeutic applications. However, achieving reversible and site-specific control of RNA structure, especially at the single-nucleotide level, remains challenging. In this dissertation, I developed and applied azobenzene-modified nucleotides as a chemical tool to enable optical and spatial control of RNA structure and function.

The first part of this dissertation focuses on establishing …

Spectral Analysis Of Traffic Accidents In New York's Capital Region, Michael Barr

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In this paper we estimate the spectral density of traffic accident events in the Capital Distict, NY area using a band-pass filter known as the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko Fourier Transform (KZFT). The source data is provided by Moosavi, et al. (2019) and originally captured from various public entities and sensors in the road network. Spectral density estimation with KZFT suppresses noise to reveal the constituent frequencies embedded in the noisy signal. Signal reconstruction based on KZFT produces an approximate weekly accident arrivals for this noisy signal, or in other words a pattern which is proportionate to the event expectation viewed over a …

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 …

Llevándolas Con Calma: Latin American Migrant Worker Parenthood And Covid-19, Anthony J. Stronach

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

We have yet to fully understand what Latino migrant worker parents -a population invisible in many ways to much of society- have undergone since the onset and as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis. As such, grounded in the experiences and words of eleven migrants, this dissertation demonstrates (1) the shifting parameters of migrant parenthood during and after the pandemic, (2) how migrant working parents navigated such unprecedented times, and (3) their reflections as they looked back upon such experiences. These experiences include more than merely what happened to them; they encompass their thoughts, their emotions, their memories, their …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Constructing The Political “Other”: Affective Polarization And Cross-Ideological Portrayals On Instagram, Amanda M. Novellin

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Instagram has frequently been characterized by users as a platform that permits the circulation of hostile and adversarial political content due to comparatively limited moderation practices. In January 2025, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced changes to content moderation policies on Facebook and Instagram, including the removal of third-party fact-checking mechanisms. These platform-level changes further reshaped the political information environment in which online discourse occurs. However, even prior to these policy changes, Instagram had established itself as a prominent space for highly polarized political expression across the ideological spectrum.

This thesis examines how political polarization in the United States is reflected …

Barriers And Corridors: Timber Rattlesnake Habitat Connectivity In New York, Lauren Rose

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Habitat fragmentation poses a significant threat to species that rely on landscape connectivity for movement in search of food, water, and mates. The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), listed as a threatened species in New York State, travels an average of 1.5 miles—and up to five miles—from permanent denning sites to reach habitat suitable for gestation, foraging, basking, and overwintering. Ongoing development in the lower Hudson Valley has increasingly fragmented these critical habitats, restricting movement between den populations. This thesis evaluates landscape barriers that contribute to population isolation and identifies opportunities to restore connectivity among timber rattlesnake metapopulations.

Using …

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 …

Inflammation In Early Borrelia Burgdorferi Skin Infection, Ariana Nobles

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) is the causative agent of approximately 476,000 cases of Lyme disease in the United States and rising. Bb is spread through infected saliva of the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, to the host. Patients infected with Bb experience short-term symptoms, such as erythema migrans (EMs), fatigue, pain, and cognitive impairment. If left untreated, Bb infection will cause long-term health complications, like Lyme neuroborreliosis and Lyme arthritis. It is postulated that symptoms associated with Lyme disease are driven in part by inflammation.

My thesis focuses on the skin as it holds significant immunological importance in the …

Racial Bias In Collateral Report Of Adhd Symptom Endorsement, Teresa Mejia

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most frequently diagnosed mental health condition among children in the United States. However, prevalence rates in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are unequal across populations. Specifically, the literature has demonstrated consistent variability in symptom endorsements and diagnosis dependent on a child’s demographic factors (i.e., race, gender, age). A diagnosis of ADHD requires that the diagnostic criteria be met in at least two aspects of a child's life, usually the school and home environments. As such, teacher reports are commonly used in the assessment of ADHD for children and adolescents. Given the challenges in obtaining …

Academic Drift In Indonesian Islamic Higher Education: An Empirical Study Of The State Islamic University Of Mataram, Ade Alimah

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Many higher education institutions imitate one another to achieve upward movement, a phenomenon known as academic drift. While this trend is widely acknowledged, the existing academic literature primarily focuses on developed nations. This research aims to investigate how academic drift occurs in Indonesian Islamic higher education, particularly through institutional transformations that involve institutes transitioning to universities.

This qualitative study examines academic drift at the State Islamic University of Mataram, Indonesia. To gather extensive data, in-depth interviews were conducted with participants from this university, representatives from two leading public Islamic universities, and senior officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Our …

Becoming-With The Earth: Contemplative Practice As A Critical Onto-Epistemic Resource For Planetary Belonging, Care, And World-Making, Megan M. Fowler

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

In an era of accelerating planetary crisis, social work is called to reimagine its theories, methods, and practices beyond anthropocentric frameworks that separate human wellbeing from the health of the Earth and its resplendent living systems. Working in the space of transformative eco-social work, a growing chorus of voices contends that eco-centric responses require broadening the scope of health, welfare, justice, and care to extend beyond the human, to include the more-than-human world upon which all life intimately depends—understandings resonant with Indigenous and other relational knowledge systems long marginalized by colonialist-capitalist-modernity. Drawing from eco-feminist, eco-queer, decolonial, and post-anthropocentric lineages of …

Development And Applications Of Fluorescence Microscopy Protocol To Investigate Borrelia Burgdorferi Immune Interactions In The Skin, Rebecca V. Landry

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The skin is an immunological organ that acts as the hosts’ first line of defense against infectious agents. Infectious disease vectors like ticks breach this barrier by feeding on hosts, transmitting pathogens like Borrelia burgdorferi in the process. Uncleared infection with B. burgdorferi causes Lyme disease, the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the United States. Previous research has explained many elements of Lyme disease pathogenesis and immunity including the dissemination of the spirochete, innate immune cells performing phagocytosis, the production of antibodies by the humoral response, and the impact of prophylactic treatment with monoclonal antibodies. A remaining gap in the …

A Moderated Mediation Analysis Of Mental Health Literacy, Personal Stigma, And Gender On Help-Seeking Intentions In College Students, Anna M. Gentile

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Although many college students experience mental health challenges, help-seeking rates remain disproportionately low relative to reported need (Abelson et al., 2022). Identifying factors that facilitate help-seeking is critical for improving access to mental health support in this population. Prior research has identified mental health literacy as a significant predictor of help-seeking behavior and intentions among college students (Gorczynski et al., 2017; Smith & Shochet, 2011), whereas personal stigma, which is defined as a person’s negative attitude towards people with mental health concerns (Griffiths et al., 2006), has been consistently associated with reduced help-seeking (Abelson et al., 2022). Grounded in the …

Perceptions Of Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy And Standard Interventions For Nicotine Cessation, Philip Kamilar-Britt

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Clinical trials suggest potential therapeutic utility of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) for nicotine cessation. In response to promising outcomes, research into PAP for nicotine dependence is growing. However, attitudes towards PAP among the general public, especially daily nicotine users, remains understudied. To address this knowledge gap, we recruited daily nicotine users (N=534) to complete an anonymous online survey with questions on demographics, nicotine use, prior history with psychedelics, and attitudes towards PAP and standard interventions for nicotine cessation. As hypothesized, daily nicotine users were more familiar with standard interventions and rated them more favorably than PAP. Despite differences in treatment attitudes, …

Essays On Nursing Home Closures And Disparities In Post-Acute And Long-Term Care, Hyeonwoo Do

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

This dissertation examines the consequences of nursing home closures for access to care, local economic conditions, and resident health in the United States. As the long-term care system shifts toward home- and community-based services and the nursing home sector contracts, facility closures have become an increasingly important policy concern. Although closures may reflect necessary market restructuring in some settings, they may also reduce access, weaken local economies, and place pressure on surviving facilities. Across three essays, this dissertation shows that the consequences of nursing home contraction are uneven and depend on racial and ethnic composition, rurality, local market concentration, and …

A Comprehensive Investigation Of Service Utilization In Innovative Models Of Hepatitis C Care And Treatment For Persons Who Inject Drugs In New York State, Amanda C. Sue

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the most prevalent blood-borne infection in the United States and is primarily transmitted through the sharing of unsterilized drug injection equipment. With surges in opioid overdose deaths, there has been an increase in people diagnosed with HCV that can be attributed to persons who inject drugs (PWID) in the United States. PWID have therefore been identified as a priority population to achieve the goal of eliminating HCV as a public health threat. Despite the availability of safe and effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies that can cure people with HCV, uptake of HCV treatment in PWID …

Victimized And Criminalized: The Intertwined Narratives Of Trauma And Offending, Caitlin Maria Udas

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

How do pathways between childhood victimization, drug use, and offending behavior vary for recordholders of different races and genders? Prior literature and theory indicates that there are distinct processes that can link childhood victimization to drug use and other offending behavior. These processes are rooted at least partially in experiences of racism/discrimination, placement relative to sociocultural power structures, and norms established over one’s childhood through peer and familial influences. However, less is known about how these differ by race, gender, and the intersection thereof. This dissertation examines the intersectional differences in narrative pathways that link childhood victimization, drug use, and …

Analysis Of Vertical Tropospheric Atmospheric Profiles Associated With Extreme Rainfall Events Over KauaʻI, HawaiʻI, Amanda Maria Maminimini

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Extreme rainfall is a persistent hazard in the Hawaiian Islands, where steep terrain and short catchments convert heavy rain into damaging floods with little warning. The trade wind inversion, a subsidence-driven stable layer that caps the marine boundary layer over the subtropical North Pacific, limits the depth of convection and is therefore expected to govern whether available moisture can be converted into extreme rainfall. Previous work has characterized the inversion climatologically and has related the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific-North American (PNA) pattern to Hawaiian rainfall totals, but the behavior of the inversion on the specific days when …

Sorting By Income And Housing Subsidy Status: Residential Attainment, Unit Turnover, And The Mobility Process Among Renter Households, Sarah A. Mccarthy

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

The aim of this dissertation is to identify differences in the mobility process and residential attainment across different types of renters with different incomes and by housing subsidy status. More specifically, I compare subsidized renters to unsubsidized, low-income renters as well as unsubsidized, moderate-income renters. The guiding question of this dissertation is, “what processes around mobility help or hinder subsidized households in attaining residential outcomes?” The motivations for addressing this question and the related gaps in the literature are discussed in Chapter 1.

Using data from the American Housing Survey (AHS), I address this question over three analytical chapters in …

Through Our Eyes: An Exploration Of Hope Among Opportunity Youth, Judith L. Fenlon

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Opportunity youth—young people aged 16–24 who are disconnected from both school and employment—experience significant barriers to successful transitions into adulthood. Existing research has largely focused on deficits, risk factors, and outcomes associated with disconnection, often overlooking the strengths, resilience, and aspirations of these young people. Hope has been identified as a critical factor associated with educational achievement, psychological well-being and future orientation; however, little research has explored how opportunity youth experience hope in the context of systemic inequities. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of hope among low-income opportunity youth and to examine the factors …

Ruptured Silicone Cheek Implant Mimicking Odontogenic Infection: A Diagnostic Pitfall, Kimiko Ohgi, Tomoko Shiraishi, Toyohiro Kagawa, Yasunori Yoshinaga

Journal of Dental Sciences

No abstract provided.