Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of The Simultaneous Alcohol And Cannabis Use Expectancy Questionnaire (Sac-Eq), Shane D. Marohnic

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Background: Simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use (SAC/SAM), defined as using alcohol and cannabis at the same time so that their effects overlap, has been identified as a hazardous form of polysubstance use. Expectancies are a causal mechanism and can be changed with predictable reductions in substance use and associated consequences, yet only one measure has been developed to assess expectancies related to SAC. Due to limitations of the existing measure, this study sought to create a more comprehensive SAC expectancy scale. Method: Three phases of participants (Phase 1, N = 493; Phase 2, n = 4; Phase 3, n …

Comics In The Classroom: Social Science Teachers' Lived Experiences With Comic Art In Instruction, Robert W. Mcintosh

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This qualitative descriptive phenomenological study explored secondary social science teachers’ lived experiences with comic art in classroom instruction. Existing research suggests that comic art, including comic books and graphic novels, can support student engagement, content understanding, visual literacy, and critical thinking; however, less is known about how teachers experience and make decisions about using comic art in social science education. Framed by Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Social Cognitive Theory, the study treated comic art as a representational instructional technology and examined how teacher confidence and the context of their experience shaped its use. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews …

Show Me The Money: Candidate Attributes, Fundraising, And The Impact On Congressional Representation., Dhanya Nair

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

What explains women’s candidate emergence in congressional primaries? Does candidate education, experience, and background influence how voters donate to male and female candidates? Using an original dataset, I examine the circumstances under which women are more likely to enter a congressional primary.  This thesis accounts for the variation in candidate emergence across Congressional districts related to district partisanship, candidate quality and fundraising capacity.   The theory suggests that the persistent gap in representation is partly due to women self-selecting to run in districts that favor their candidacy.  Strategic entry serves as a buffer against perceived bias in fundraising and electability. Additionally, …

Hidden Gem, Fraught Liability, Or Visible Asset? The Museum Of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Keidra D. Navaroli

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation utilizes a combination of archival research, qualitative interviews, and data-driven analyses to examine how the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Jacksonville came under the governance of the University of North Florida (UNF). Founded in 1924, MOCA became a cultural institute of UNF in 2009 during the Great Recession. Tracing MOCA’s reinventions and geospatial movements across Jacksonville, this study considers the ideologies that informed the museum’s development, the locations that defined its service to Northeast Florida, and the financial conditions that necessitated its eventual rescue by a public university. The museum’s challenges are reflective of larger tensions in the …

The Role Of Alcohol Expectancies In The Relationship Between Social Anxiety And Protective Behavioral Strategies Among College Students, Jordan Ortman

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

College students with elevated social anxiety are at heightened risk for alcohol-related consequences despite not consistently reporting greater alcohol use. One potential explanation for this pattern is lower engagement in protective behavioral strategies (PBS). Social alcohol expectancies are relevant to PBS use because students with elevated social anxiety often expect alcohol to reduce social discomfort or facilitate social interaction, and these beliefs may correspond with lower use of strategies that constrain the pace or amount of drinking. The present study examined whether positive and negative social alcohol expectancies were intermediate variables in associations between social anxiety and three PBS domains: …

“How Far Do These Roots Go Down”: An Exploration Of Latinx And Latina Fans On Representation In Disney's Encanto, Noemi Nunez

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In this dissertation, I examine how Latinx and Latina audiences engaged with and interpreted Disney’s 2021 Encanto, an animated film celebrated for its representation of Colombian and broader Latinx culture. While scholarship on Latinx representation in media has expanded, less attention has been given to how Latinx audiences themselves respond to narratives that are meant to represent them, particularly within fan studies. Focusing on both a broader Latinx fan community and first-generation Latinas in the United States, this project explores how audiences negotiate representation and recognition using Encanto as a media text that centered a Latinx story. Drawing from …

Multi-Scale Drivers Of Beetle Biodiversity In A Rapidly Urbanizing Region, Alessandra Pandolfi

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As cities continue to expand, designing urban landscapes that balance ecological resilience with biodiversity conservation has emerged as a pressing challenge. This dissertation examines urban ecosystems as complex and dynamic environments shaping plant and animal communities, with a particular focus on ground-dwelling beetles as ecologically significant indicators of environmental change. Conducted across the Orlando metropolitan area, one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, this dissertation integrates experimental and observational approaches. Specifically, it aims to (1) test sustainable landscaping practices, (2) compare the ecological outcomes of conventional and alternative residential landscape designs, and (3) assess how gradients of urbanization …

The Biosynthesis Of The Natural Product N-Nitroglycine, Gabriel Padilla

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

N-Nitroglycine (NNG) is a nitramine [R(R′)N–NO2; R′=H or alkyl] natural product (NP) produced by certain actinomycetes, such as Streptomyces noursei. At the beginning of this project, the biosynthesis of this NP was unknown. The goal was to determine how NNG and its nitramine moiety are enzymatically formed. This could lead to the discovery of novel nitramine NPs with diverse applications as well as alternative/green synthesis of nitramine explosives. This work begins by examining diverse biochemical N–N bond formation strategies. Nitrogen cycle enzymes, nitration of NPs, kutzneride biosynthesis, the aspartate/nitrosuccinate superfamily, hydrazinoacetic acid (HAA) biosynthesis, and streptozocin biosynthesis are among the …

Human-Centered Governance Of Climate Resilience: Integrating Sustainability, Equity, And Mental Health, Chelcee A. Pangerl

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how sustainability and resilience are defined, implemented, and experienced across three levels of climate governance: household perception, community experience, and federal policy. Climate resilience is often evaluated through infrastructure performance, emissions targets, restoration timelines, and preparedness systems, yet these measures do not fully capture how residents experience uncertainty, support, equity, and mental health. To address this gap, the dissertation develops and applies the Integrated Policy Framework for Sustainability and Resilience (IPFSR). IPFSR organizes six domains into three functional categories: policy outcomes, human-centered dimensions, and implementation mechanisms. Sustainability and operational/physical resilience are treated as policy outcomes; mental health …

Performing The Digital Identity: A Media Discourse Analysis Of Online Identity Construction, Dalya Qasem

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation investigates how news media construct narratives about TikTok and its role in shaping digital identity. While existing scholarship has examined issues such as privacy, marketing, and entertainment, less attention has been given to how identity is represented, negotiated, and understood within public discourse. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) combined with computational text analysis through Voyant Tools, this study analyzes a corpus of 111 news articles published between 2020 and 2025 that explicitly reference TikTok and identity. The analysis identifies prominent keywords, topics, and rhetorical patterns across media texts. Furthermore, the research demonstrates a critical analysis of popular understandings …

Discrete Element Modeling Of Granular Soils: Critical State Behavior Applied To Impact Pile Driving, Esteban Patino Marin

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This thesis investigates the use of the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to study two complementary aspects of granular soil mechanics: critical state behavior of granular materials and dynamic response of driven piles in sand, both of which are governed by the same particle-scale mechanisms of dilation, contraction, and fabric evolution.

The first examines the critical state behavior and fabric anisotropy of granular soils through DEM simulations of direct shear, direct simple shear, and true triaxial tests. Sphere-cluster particles representative of a uniform sand are used in two assemblages of approximately twenty-five thousand and one hundred twenty-five thousand spheres to evaluate …

Securing The Energy Transition: Cyber-Physical Security And Resilience In Next-Generation Power Systems, Airin Rahman

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Modern power systems are rapidly evolving into renewable-dominated and digitally interconnected cyber-physical infrastructures due to the increasing deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs), inverter-based technologies, and advanced control platforms. Maintaining reliability under high renewable penetration requires flexible resources capable of shifting energy across extended time horizons. Long-duration energy storage (LDES), particularly hydrogen-based energy systems, has therefore emerged as an important enabler of renewable integration, grid flexibility, and resilience. However, the growing dependence on communication, sensing, and distributed control also expands the cyber-physical attack surface of modern power systems, creating security and resilience challenges that conventional operational paradigms were not designed …

Advancing Cyber-Physical Security And Resilience Of Modern Power Systems: Intelligent Monitoring, Secure Operation, And Resilient Recovery, Md Moshiur Rahman

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Modern power distribution systems are rapidly evolving into cyber-physical, DER-rich, and data-driven networks that rely on extensive sensing, communication, automation, grid-edge intelligence, and operator decision support. While this transformation improves flexibility, observability and controllability, it also expands the cyber-attack surface and increases the risk that cyber intrusions can propagate into physical disturbances, compromised DER operation, degraded situational awareness, and interrupted service continuity. This dissertation advances the cyber-physical security and resilience of modern distribution systems by developing a high-fidelity real-time cyber-physical hardware-in-the-loop testbed using OPAL-RT, EXata CPS, industrial relays, SCADA/RTAC, HMI, and grid-edge devices to emulate realistic DER-integrated distribution grid operation. …

Toward Evidence-Based Disposition Assessment In Counselor Education: Advocating For Established Measures And Evaluating The Psychometric Properties Of The Pdca-Ra, Laura Rendon Finnell

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Professional dispositions are recognized as an essential component of counselor competence and are now explicitly included within accreditation standards. However, questions remain regarding how these characteristics should assessed in ways that are fair, systematic, and supported by empirical evidence. This two-manuscript dissertation focused on professional disposition assessment in counselor education. The first manuscript provides a conceptual examination of professional dispositions, counselor competence, and gatekeeping responsibilities while reviewing established disposition assessment instruments in counselor education. The manuscript advocates for the use of established disposition measures rather than relying solely on locally developed assessment procedures. The second manuscript presents an empirical evaluation …

Examining Principals' Perceptions Of Their Preparedness To Lead In Title I Schools, Tiffany Roebuck

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Principals serving in Title I schools face complex instructional, organizational, cultural, and community related demands that require specialized leadership preparation and support.  The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of principals serving in urban Title I schools regarding their preparedness, supports, challenges, and successes as instructional leaders. The study also examined principals' perceptions of culturally proficient leadership and principal preparation program attributes considered essential for leadership readiness in high-needs school settings. Guided by the Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) framework, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 principals serving in urban Title I …

A Modular Virtual Reality Training Framework For Multi-Target Drone Defense, Susann Schleupner

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, have become a rapidly growing challenge in modern military operations. In particular, the increasing use of small, agile, and low-cost systems—such as first-person-view (FPV) drones and coordinated multi-drone deployments—places high cognitive demands on operators, requiring rapid target detection, prioritization, and decision-making under time pressure.

Existing training approaches either rely on costly and logistically constrained live exercises or focus primarily on isolated piloting and shooting tasks, without sufficiently addressing these cognitive demands. At the same time, advances in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) virtual reality (VR) hardware enable scalable, flexible, and repeatable training environments. …

Visual Cues Of Human-Likeness, Not Salience, Impact Trust-Related Human-Computer Interaction, Jordan Schotz

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As interactions with digital agents become increasingly integrated into daily life, understanding how visual representations influence social decision-making is critical. Previous research in human-computer interaction has frequently confounded the psychological effects of an agent's perceived human-likeness with the underlying visual salience of the stimuli. To address these persistent gaps, the present study systematically isolated the effects of human-likeness and visual cue trustworthiness on trust behavior while controlling for objective image properties. The present study expanded on and normed the Virtual Avatar Facial Stimuli Set (VAFSS), a comprehensive database comprising hundreds of identity-matched photographs and computer-generated avatars varying across a spectrum …

Evaluating The Brain-Muscle Connectivity Of Cyclic Ankle Pedaling Movement In A Clinical Setting, Matthew K. Shanosky

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Clinical neurorehabilitation requires objective biomarkers to accurately detect and monitor neuromotor impairments. While traditional metrics are favored for their efficiency and minimal equipment demands, they typically rely on subjective observation and lack physiological resolution. High-resolution electrophysiological technologies, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG), offer objective insights into nervous system dynamics; however, prolonged data acquisition times have hindered their translation into frontline clinics. To bridge this translational gap, this study developed a time-efficient experimental paradigm designed for rapid clinical deployment. Healthy participants completed two initial resting baseline trials before performing an externally paced, dynamic, cyclic ankle movement task utilizing simulation …

Exploring Barriers And Facilitators Of Mental Health Treatment For Law Enforcement Officers: The Impact Of Police Occupational Culture, April Reed

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Prior research has explored the impact of police culture on mental health stigma among law enforcement, however, a deeper understanding about how different aspects of police culture may inhibit or facilitate mental health treatment utilization is needed to inform policy and practice. This dissertation explores the relationship between police culture and mental health using a qualitative research design. Twenty-five (n=25) law enforcement officers from a county sheriff’s office in Central Florida were interviewed and participant observations were conducted during a three-month period. The present study sought to address the following research questions: What are the experiences of the job and …

Two Essays On Out-Of-Town Home Buyers, Kamrul H. Talukdar

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation analyzes the price premia paid by Out-of-Town (or non-local) home buyers. The first essay investigates the role of social connectedness in the price premia paid by non-local buyers in the residential housing market. Using over 74,000 residential transactions from Orange and Seminole counties, Florida between 2016 and 2019 and exploiting the Social Connectedness Index (SCI) constructed based on Facebook friendship links, I show that non-local buyers who come from regions which are more socially connected to the purchase location pay about 1.8% to 2.1% lower premia compared to those coming from less connected regions. This effect is attributed …

Online Risk And Harm For Marginalized Users: How Social Influence Amplifies Or Mitigates Vulnerability, Tangila Islam Tanni

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Social media has reshaped how people connect, communicate, and influence one another, yet these environments also create harms that disproportionately affect marginalized users. Participation in online communities can expose users to identity-based harassment, emotional distress, and the normalization of harmful attitudes, shaping identity, well-being, and participation online and offline. Prior work has documented many forms of online harm, yet less is understood about how harmful norms and behaviors are reinforced across different forms of social media interaction, from private direct messages to online communities. Guided by the Social Ecological Model, this dissertation investigates how online harms toward marginalized users emerge …

Integrated Design And Trade Study Of A Sub-Ambient Ammonia Fuel Storage And Delivery System For Narrow-Body Commercial Aircraft, Ethan Taylor

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study develops an integrated design framework for a sub-ambient anhydrous-ammonia fuel storage and delivery system for narrow-body commercial aircraft, using the Boeing 737 MAX 8 as the baseline platform. Ammonia was selected because it contains no carbon in its molecular structure, benefits from an established global production and distribution infrastructure, and offers more practical storage conditions than several alternative carbon-free energy carriers. However, its relatively low energy density, toxicity, material-compatibility requirements, and combustion hazards require substantial modifications to power conventional commercial aircraft fuel storage and delivery systems.

The study proposes an integrated design and initial analysis of a sub-ambient …

“I Call For The Resurgence And Reclamation Of Our Indigenous Ways”: Institutional Landscapes, Resistance, And The Experiences Of Mmir Advocates, Sara Tehrani

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island experience disproportionately high rates of violence and homicide compared to other racial groups. Rooted in coloniality and sustained by Western institutions, this epidemic is recognized as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis. In response, Indigenous women have mobilized the MMIR Movement to raise awareness and advocate for institutional change. Although scholarship on MMIR has expanded, limited research has explored the experiences of MMIR advocates. This study interrogates the institutional landscapes that shape MMIR advocacy and explores the resistance strategies advocates employ to address the crisis. Using reflexive thematic analysis, this study examines semi-structured …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of School Leaders’ Role In Implementing The Four Pillars Of Community Schools For Improving Student Achievement, Adrian Irwin Thomas

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This study examined teachers’ perceptions of school leaders’ roles in implementing the Four Pillars of Community Schools to support Student achievement in under-resourced schools. The four pillars of Community Schools- Integrated Student Support, Expanded Learning Time and Opportunities, Family and Community Engagement, and Collaborative Leadership and Practices- served as the conceptual framework for the study. Distributed Leadership Theory and Epstein’s Framework of Parental Involvement provided the theoretical lens that guided the interpretation of the findings. The study explored teachers’ perceptions of leadership practices associated with the four pillars and identified leadership strategies perceived as most effective for sustaining the community …

Unmasking Impression Management: Large Language Models For Detecting Socially Desirable Responding In Open-Ended Situational Judgment Tests, Barret Vermilion

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Socially desirable responding (SDR) — the tendency to present oneself in an overly favorable light — remains a persistent validity concern in industrial-organizational psychology. Contemporary theory frames SDR as multidimensional, distinguishing agentic impression management (AM; inflating competence, dominance, and achievement) from communal impression management (CM; inflating warmth, cooperation, and prosocial qualities). Existing measures of AM and CM rely on self-report, which captures these constructs only at the level of generalized trait-like tendencies rather than as they naturally unfold in applicants' own language. This dissertation proposes a text-based alternative: detecting AM and CM in open-ended situational judgment tests (SJTs) of Big …

Puff, Puff, Pass? Examining Cannabis Use Among Black American Adults, Christopher B. Walker

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

In the United States, cannabis has become one of the most widely used controlled substances due to its increase in social acceptance, the growing number of states legalizing it for medical and non-medical purposes, and the expansion of consumption methods.  However, little is known about the modes of cannabis use chosen by Black American adults.  This population is of importance due to existing research suggesting their increased risk of developing cannabis use disorder compared to their White counterparts and their underrepresentation in existing literature.  The goal of this study is to examine cannabis use among Black adults in the U.S., …

Investigation On Selective Catalytic Reduction For Retrofit Of Commercial Aviation Aircraft Engines, Connor M. Wall

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As the aviation industry continues to grow, the ever-increase of emissions from the sector becomes a growing concern. While the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) set a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, there are other emissions like contrails and NOx that must still be addressed. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) has been used in the transportation and power generation industry for over two decades and has been an effective solution for NOx reduction. Even with the success SCR has had in other industries, its capabilities in the aviation industry have been trivially investigated. Aircraft engines pose an unique challenge …

Two Papers Exploring Cognitive Fit Theory And Data Visualization In Accounting, Kelly Wellman

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation examines how data visualization design influences judgment and decision making in accounting using cognitive fit theory as a unifying framework. As visualization tools such as dashboards, Excel, Tableau, and Power BI become increasingly prevalent, understanding which design choices improve performance has become critical. The first paper provides a structured literature review of cognitive fit theory from 1991 through 2025, synthesizing research across accounting and related disciplines and tracing its evolution from early graph vs tables comparisons to mor recent work incorporating task complexity, individual differences, and design-specific features. The review identifies key gaps, including limited attention to difference …

Careless Responding: Testing The Theory Of Vigilance, Rusty Wilson

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Careless responding (CR) has been identified as a threat to the psychometric integrity of cognitive and non-cognitive tests, with much of the current research focusing on the identification and removal of carelessness from dataset. While this research has proved fruitful in improving data quality, there has been a recent push to move towards preventing carelessness as opposed to post-hoc removal, which harms statistical power. However, the most common prevention strategy to prevent carelessness (pre-survey warnings) has shown equivocal effects. Additionally, the literature lacks an agreed upon theory to explain why carelessness occurs. To address these gaps I introduce theory from …

Human And Ai Support In Business Simulations: A Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study Of Performance At Scale, Sara Willox

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Large classes change what instruction looks like. In hybrid business courses with high enrollment, it becomes harder to respond to individual students, and performance can suffer as a result. This study looked at what happens when that gap is addressed in different ways during an eight-week business simulation at the University of Central Florida. Six course sections were divided into three study groups. One group worked without support, one received instructor guidance, and one used AI tools that included a course search system and generative responses. Student outcomes were based on weekly profit and loss recorded in Sim Companies. The …