Digital Commons Network^™

Flexible Membrane Electrodes For Use In High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Batteries, David A. Denemark

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Wearable electronic devices require high-capacity flexible batteries to improve user comfort and increase usage time per charge. In this thesis, flexible lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrodes are prepared using a novel and scalable phase inversion method, embedding one-dimensional SnO₂ nanowires and double-walled carbon nanotubes within a porous polyacrylonitrile asymmetric membrane. The optimized electrode delivered an initial specific discharge capacity of 915.93 mAh g⁻¹, approximately 2.5 times greater than conventional graphite anodes, with 61.99% capacity retention after 45 cycles. The incorporation of a carbon mesh substrate further enhanced both electrochemical and mechanical performance, achieving 89.46% capacity retention after 45 cycles and a …

Exploring Acculturation And Its Role In Substance Abuse Behaviors Among Refugee Populations In Bowling Green, Ky: An Interactive Learning Experience Through Provider’S Perspectives., Aishwarya Potluri

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Substance use among refugee populations is an emerging public health concern shaped/influenced by cultural, social, and structural factors associated with resettlement. This qualitative study explored providers’ perspectives on substance use behaviors among refugees in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Using Health Behavior Theory with acculturation as a contextual construct, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 providers working with refugee-serving organizations. Data collected through the interviews was analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo. The findings indicate that substance use is being influenced by peer exposure, occupational stress, and the increased availability of substances in the United States. Providers identified cultural stigma surrounding mental …

First Record Of Arrhenophagus Chionaspidis Aurivillius (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) Parasitizing White Mango Scale In Kenya: Its Potential Distribution And Prospects In Biocontrol, Francis Obala, Abdelmutalab G.A. Azrag, Rehemah Gwokyalya, Shepard Ndlela, Ingo Grass, Georg Petschenka, Sunday Ekesi, Samira A. Mohamed

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

The white mango scale, Aulacaspis tubercularis Newstead (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), is one of the most destructive pests of mango worldwide. Its current management in most of the invaded areas largely depends on the intensive use of chemical insecticides. Biological control using parasitoids represents one of the most effective and environmentally sustainable management options. However, in Kenya, one of Africa's leading mango-producing countries, no effective parasitoid species associated with A. tubercularis had previously been recorded. This study aimed to identify encyrtid parasitoids associated with A. tubercularis in Kenya, and to assess how bioclimatic factors influence their occurrence and habitat suitability. Mango leaves …

Reinterpreting Stochastic Optimal Control Under Ecological Uncertainty: Inferring Decision Urgency From Vegetation Biomass Dynamics, Komi Mensah Agboka, Tobias Landmann, Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Stochastic optimal control provides a rigorous framework for systems subject to uncertainty, yet its operational use in ecological crisis contexts remains limited by interpretability. We reinterpreted a stochastic control formulation in which selected parameters emerged as indicators of decision urgency rather than normative preferences. Vegetation biomass was modeled as a stochastic stock subject to nonlinear loss driven by feeding pressure (e.g., desert locust activity) and multiplicative noise, with uncertainty represented by a time-varying volatility term that integrated extreme rainfall anomalies and conflict-related disruption. Rather than prescribing an optimal policy, we inverted the closed-form solution of the control problem to infer …

Impact Of Environmental Microparticles On Insect Olfaction, Steve B.S. Baleba, Danube K.N. Wandji, Yves H. Tchiechoua, Komi Mensah Agboka, Iman B. Hassaballa, Victor O. Omondi, Beatrice T. Nganso, Saliou Niassy, Souleymane Diallo, Merid N. Getahun

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Terrestrial insects underpin key ecosystem services, including pollination, herbivory regulation, decomposition, nutrient cycling, and disease control. These functions depend on chemical communication that guides insects to food, mates, hosts, shelters, and oviposition sites while helping them avoid threats. Environmental microparticles, such as micro- and nanoplastics, tyre wear particles, soot, mineral dust, and agricultural residues, are now widespread across air, soil, vegetation, and indoor environments, exposing insects through contact, deposition, and ingestion. Growing evidence shows that these particles disrupt insect olfaction by adsorbing volatile compounds, blocking antennal sensilla, and interfering with receptor and neuronal processes. These disruptions impair foraging, mating, oviposition, …

Major And Institution Transfer Path Combinations And The Relaxed Lasso Method: Parsimonious Prediction Of Vertical Transfer Student Success, David Wutchiett, A. W. Logue, Martin Kurzweil, Colin Chellman

Publications and Research

The majors, institutions, and their combinations, which characterize transfer between higher education institutions relate to student success but introduce high-dimensionality and multicollinearity to statistical modeling. Relaxed lasso regression, a procedure blending regularized lasso models with unregularized refit models, selects variables and facilitates unbiased coefficient estimation in high-dimensional settings. Using a large sample of students transferring from associate to bachelor’s programs (n=28,166), we compared lasso and ridge regression parsimonious models predicting bachelor’s graduation and posttransfer GPA improvement, evaluating associations using unregularized parsimonious predictive models. Relaxed lasso parsimonious optimal models outperformed standard lasso and ridge regression models while including few of 702 …

Impacts Of Multitrophic Interactions In Diversified Cropping Systems For Sustainable Management Of Spodoptera Frugiperda, Abdul A. Jalloh, Abdullahi Ahmed Yusuf, Fathiya M. Khamis, Subramanian Sevgan, Daniel Munyao Mutyambai

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Background: Rapid population growth has made the sustainable intensification of agricultural productivity essential for meeting global food demands while maintaining environmental integrity and biodiversity. Diversified cropping systems, such as intercropping, push-pull systems, and cover cropping, are recognized as agroecological strategies to enhance plant growth and protection, and suppress major pests, including the fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda). These systems influence complex above-and-below ground interactions among herbivorous pests, plants, soil microbes, and their natural enemies. Aims: This review synthesizes current knowledge on how diversified cropping systems shape multitrophic interactions that affect soil health, plant performance, S. frugiperda suppression, and biocontrol within …

Interdependence Of Adoption Decisions Of Agroecological Vegetable Cropping Systems Among Smallholder Farmers In Eastern Africa, Essy C. Kirui, Dickson O. Okello, Michael M. Kidoido, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Komivi S. Akutse

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Vegetable production plays a vital role in enhancing nutrition and generating income in Kenya, where it is an important component of the agricultural sector. Among the most widely grown vegetables are cruciferous crops, while traditional African vegetables have increasingly gained prominence in recent years. Smallholder farmers account for more than 70% of the country’s total vegetable production. However, they face various complex factors such as extreme climate variability, invertebrate pests, and diseases which reduce productivity, yields and household incomes. They, therefore, often resort to the overuse of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that could increase their susceptibility to pest resistance, declining …

Assessment Of Mechanical Performance And Quality Assurance In Fabricated Aa6061-T6, Anesti Nasi, Kledi Ushe, Klodian Dhoska, Anis Sulejmani, Odhisea Koça, Panagiotis Kyratsis, Aleksandra Petrovic

Babylonian Journal of Mechanical Engineering

This paper focuses on integrated methodology for the experimental mechanical properties of produced AA6061 aluminum alloy, coupled for a rigorous quality assurance framework to validate material reliability for structural applications. The approach combines microstructural analysis, tensile testing analysis, and systematic measurement uncertainty quantification, all performed through the relevant international standards. To ensure statistical reliability, the overall standard uncertainty was computed utilizing the propagation law of uncertainty for k = 2 with a confidence level of roughly 95%. The experimental results yielded a tensile strength of309.4±4.0N/mm2, showing excellent repeatability with a lower relative uncertainty that correspond to 1.3%. These values not …

2026 Annual Report, Tennessee. Department Of Human Services

Annual Reports

This annual report highlights the accomplishments of the Department of Human Services for the fiscal year.

The Colorado River: Searching For Solutions In The Face Of Uncertainty: Conference Summary, Emilia Endara, Douglas Kenney

Books, Reports, and Studies

The Colorado River is facing unprecedented change and uncertainty. Average annual flows continue to decline, and negotiations to craft post-2026 guidelines to manage the river have repeatedly bogged down in disagreements about delivery obligations, sharing shortages, and mandatory conservation. While some clarity may emerge in the coming months, the ability to sustain many existing municipal and agricultural water users is already being compromised. Meanwhile, there is growing recognition that a durable resolution must also address the water rights of sovereign Tribal Nations and better integrate environmental values into river management. All sovereigns, stakeholders, and sectors must work together now more …

Thirst For Data: State Responses To Data Center Water Use, Daniel Anderson, Sydney Stellato

Books, Reports, and Studies

No abstract provided.

Employment Preferences Of Favela Residents, Mayara Felix, Beatriz Marcoje, Ieda Matavelli, Maria Clara Rodrigues

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

We document employment preferences of workers at the margin of informality using open-ended questions and discrete choice experiments in Brazil’s largest favela complex. Stated preferences emphasize pay and tangible job benefits rather than meaning or purpose, while primary complaints center on poor management, customers, and inflexible schedules. Workers exhibit high valuations for all formal sector amenities on average—unemployment insurance, parental leave, and termination notice—as well as for learning opportunities, but lower for non-formal sector amenities such as shorter commutes. Valuations vary systematically by employment sector in ways consistent with sorting: formal workers value formal amenities most, the self-employed value them …

The First 1000 Days And Beyond: The Process Of Child Development, Orazio Attanasio

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper reviews recent developments in the economics of human development, focusing on the early years of life as a critical period for shaping long-term outcomes. Early childhood development is inherently multidimensional: cognitive and socioemotional skills evolve dynamically and interact with health, nutrition, and environmental influences. Economists have contributed to this field by providing a conceptual unifying framework that highlights how key drivers of development reflect the choices of individuals operating under incentives and constraints. Within this framework, the paper emphasizes two central challenges: understanding the interactions among multiple dimensions of development and identifying causal links—particularly the effects of different …

Safe And Sound, Madeleine Allen

Music and Health Case Studies

No abstract provided.

The Bridwell Quarterly, Issue 30 Winter 2026, Anthony Elia, Michelle S. Ried

Bridwell Library Publications

No abstract provided.

A Quantum Quandary: Does Algorithmic Complexity Inherently Diminish Security, Chinyere Isaac-Heslop

Masters Theses & Doctoral Dissertations

Although essential, cryptographic security practice often relies on assumptions and abstractions that are difficult to audit under emerging quantum resource models. This creates an unnecessary barrier between the algorithms that govern the connected and the people cryptography protects. Modern cryptography relies on the assumption that computational complexity guarantees security. As algorithms become increasingly complex, their resistance to attack is presumed to increase. Practical constraints suggest that this relationship is neither linear nor indefinite. Resource limitations, algorithmic structure, and pressures from quantum computing introduce points at which added complexity ceases to improve and may instead degrade cryptographic robustness. This dissertation asks …

Borrowed But Mine: Time-Based Asymmetries In Psychological Ownership, Elizabeth Ann Brauer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

People often borrow everyday items, such as a friend’s jacket or pair of sunglasses, and after a period of use, may begin to feel as if the item is their own. Psychological ownership captures this felt sense of “mine,” even in the absence of legal ownership, and reflects the extent to which a target becomes incorporated into the self (Pierce et al., 2003). Despite decades of work on psychological ownership, little is known about how psychological ownership develops and changes within interpersonal lending and borrowing contexts. This dissertation examines how possession duration influences psychological ownership in interpersonal borrowing relationships and …

Ai In The Workplace: Understanding The Path Between Ai Adoption Intensity And Ai-Induced Job Insecurity, Joanna J. Frieske

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more embedded in organizational workflows and is reshaping work environments, changing how we work, make decisions, stay engaged, perform, and learn. While AI adoption is associated with a wide range of benefits, it also presents negative aspects that may affect employee experiences and influence the future of work. Drawing on extant literature and on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, and the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework, this research proposes a model in which psychological safety mediates the relationship between AI adoption intensity and job insecurity, while procedural justice and AI self-efficacy act …

Divided Loyalties: Military Recruitment And Emancipation In Kentucky, Jacob Joseph Klinger

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation explores how Unionist Kentuckians leveraged their military recruitment to negotiate the scope of federal emancipation during the American Civil War. By 1863, the War Department’s need for troops superseded the racial sensitivities of inhabitants in loyal slave states like Kentucky by promising to free and enlist Black men if white recruits failed to fill the quota. Kentucky’s proslavery Unionists responded and white volunteerism surged by 23 percent, 10 percent more than the national average, to fill the quota and negate military emancipation. Kentucky leaders heralded the recruiting effort but struggled to sustain it alongside an uncredited militia which …

Assessing Flood Resilience In West Virginia Communities: Integrating Physical, Institutional, Socioeconomic, And Environmental Dimensions, Anahita Mahmoudi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Flooding is one of the most frequent and damaging natural hazards in the United States, with impacts expected to intensify under changing climate conditions. In regions such as West Virginia, complex terrain, development patterns along river corridors, and socioeconomic disparities contribute to elevated flood risk. Traditional approaches to flood risk assessment often focus on single dimensions of vulnerability or rely on binary floodplain maps, which do not fully capture the spatial variability and multidimensional nature of flood resilience.

This dissertation develops an integrated, community-scale framework for assessing flood resilience in West Virginia by combining physical, environmental, institutional, and socioeconomic dimensions …

Assessment Of Countermovement Jump In Athlete Status And Monitoring, Michael David Delong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Utilizing a CMJ to test athlete physical abilities and training program efficacy is popular, as it is simple, noninvasive, and has significant relations with sport qualities. However, assessments often use discrete outcome measures. This research explored strategy-based measures accounting for eccentric power and time and may explain athlete status more effectively. The research objectives are to analyze the use of the mean power rate of the CMJ to compare athletes' playing ability and its usefulness in monitoring during off-season training. Additionally, power-time curve analysis added location and timing of effects due to fatigue or fitness adaptation. Proper testing and monitoring …

Back To The Office Or Out The Door: The Impact Of Return-To-Office Mandates On Employee Well-Being And Turnover Intention, Charlotte Renee Nelson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The widespread adoption of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered traditional workplace arrangements. As organizations increasingly implement RTO mandates, questions have emerged about how these changes affect employee well-being and turnover intentions. Guided by the Job Demands–Resources framework, this study examined the relationship between RTO mandates and two employee outcomes: employee well-being and turnover intention. The study also tested whether work engagement mediated these relationships and whether perceived organizational support and work stressors moderated the relationship between RTO mandates and work engagement.

A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data were collected from 229 U.S. employees working …