Digital Commons Network^™

Symphonies That "Sing": Reevaluating Voices And Vocality In Mahler's Early Symphonies, Erin M. Johnston

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation considers the role of vocal music in Gustav Mahler’s early symphonies through the lens of the composer’s practice of self-borrowing. Mahler was known to use his own pre-existing songs as the basis for large-scale movements in his early symphonies. While scholars have long recognized the close relationship between Mahler’s songs and symphonies, existing studies have emphasized questions of biography, intertextuality, musical meaning, and quotation rather than sustained analytical investigations of vocal influence in Mahler’s large-scale symphonic forms. The present study places this vocality at the forefront of its analyses, arguing that Mahler’s reworking of his own Lieder is …

Architects Of Mrna Fate: Molecular And Cellular Control Of P-Body Organization In The Drosophilia Melanogaster Female Germline, Samantha Milano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Processing bodies (P-bodies) are cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein condensates that regulate mRNA storage, translational repression, and decay. While the biochemical principles governing condensate assembly have been extensively studied in vitro, how P-body organization is established and dynamically regulated in vivo to control specific mRNA populations remains poorly understood. This dissertation investigated the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern P-body architecture and function in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline. First, I identified the conserved LSm protein Trailer Hitch (Tral) as a central organizer of P-body architecture. Using quantitative confocal and super-resolution microscopy combined with chemical perturbations, I showed that Tral coordinates the …

Scrolling Through Stress: Physiological Stress Recovery Shapes Risk For Problematic Social Media Use In Young Adults With Depressive Symptoms, Abigail Findley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Depression is among the most consistent correlates of problematic social media use (PSMU), yet how depressive symptoms confer this risk, and for whom, remains poorly understood. The present study examined whether stress regulation explains the link between depressive symptoms and PSMU in young adults, testing specifically whether stress recovery acts as a mechanism linking the two or as a vulnerability that determines for whom they are linked, and whether distress tolerance (DT) shapes these pathways. Participants (N = 77) were young adults (18–25) with elevated depressive symptoms. Following the Trier Social Stress Test, participants completed a 15-minute social media …

New Cities, Old Names, Jason J. Palladino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates instances of etymology-based wordplay of words from languages other than Latin and Greek in the Aeneid. There are instances of etymology-based wordplay (also known as etymological glosses) of multiple languages other than Greek and Latin. Books 1, 4, and 6 have etymological glosses of the Punic language, and Books 7, 9, and 12 have etymological glosses of various other languages of Italy, such as Oscan, Umbrian, and Etruscan. This thesis is divided into two sections that examine Punic etymological glosses and Italic etymological glosses, respectively. It aims to place Virgil’s use of non-Greek and Latin etymological wordplay …

Applications Of Entanglement In Quantum Information, Nada Ali

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Entanglement is the resource that most sharply distinguishes quantum information processing from its classical counterpart, and this thesis examines it from two complementary directions: how it can be detected and quantified, and how it, together with the broader machinery of quantum correlations, interference, and measurement, can be put to use. We first study two simple, measurable conditions that detect bipartite entanglement, and show that the extent to which either is violated yields a lower bound on the negativity of a state. The bound is established for two qubits, extended to systems of arbitrary finite dimension, and sharpened when partial knowledge …

Opportunities For Learning Through Object Exploration During Early Physical Therapy: Physical Therapists’ And Caregivers’ Assistance And Interference Behaviors, Michele Goncalves Maia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Early physical therapy (EPT) for infants with motor delays has traditionally emphasized motor milestone acquisition, yet growing evidence indicates that motor and cognitive development are fundamentally interconnected. Grounded in embodied cognition and developmental cascade theories, this dissertation conceptualized object exploration as a primary mechanism through which infants learn during EPT and examined how intervention approaches and adult behaviors shape opportunities for object exploration. Using retrospective analyses of video-recorded EPT sessions, two studies investigated how intervention approaches and adult behaviors influence infants' opportunities to learn through object exploration. Study 1 compared object exploration in the START-Play (SP) intervention and Usual Care …

Bimodal-Bilingual Advantage: Neural Patterns Of Asl Interpreters During Narrative Encoding, Gina F. Piersanti Gioe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Interpreters display superior executive functions when compared to non-interpreters in tasks of working memory and attentional control. Sign Language Interpreters work simultaneously between two language modalities, though little is known about how regular engagement in communication of high cognitive demand shapes their cognition. Oscillatory activity in the brain has been mapped to functions of cognition. Specifically, parietal alpha activity is linked to attention control and frontal theta activity to memory processes. This study uses both behavioral measures, narrative recall accuracy, and EEG recording of neural oscillations to compare 12 professional American Sign Language Interpreters to 12 Non-Interpreter controls. Participants were …

Unraveling Hemispheric Specializations In The Mouse Auditory Cortex: From Diseased Model Comparisons To Development, Demetrios Neophytou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Hemispheric specialization is a fundamental organizing principle of mature auditory cortical function, allowing the left and right Auditory Cortex (ACx) to perform complementary computations on complex sounds. This division of labor is conserved across species, and mice recapitulate key forms of auditory cortical lateralization, providing access to the synaptic and circuit mechanisms that generate it. Disrupted hemispheric organization is also associated with neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by severe communication impairments, including Rett Syndrome (RTT). Despite this, we know little about how lateralized auditory circuits are assembled during development or why they become differentially vulnerable to neurodevelopmental disruption. Here, using a mouse …

Performing Hybridity: Solo Cello Works By Diasporic Korean Composers Isang Yun And Younghi Pagh-Paan, Sarah Song

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation follows my personal exploration of solo cello works by Korean diasporic composers Isang Yun and Younghi Pagh-Paan. While the study of postwar Korean music has long been discussed within an “East meets West” framework, my research aims to abandon such divisive binaries and explores the activity between two musical cultures during learning and performance. By engaging with a wide network of meaning (e.g., score-based, extra-musical knowledge, historical context), I track cumulative layers of discovery while considering a multitude influences from Korean and Austro-Germanic cultures as a second-generation Korean American. My methodology includes a reflective approach categorized in two …

Object (Im)Permanence: Toward A Hauntology Of The Violin, Pala Garcia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Object (Im)permanence goes looking for the violin’s ontological uncertainties, its persistent historical specters, and its relation to things not fully present, no longer, or yet to come. Drawing on the history of the author’s own instrument as an inherited object, this study explores the violin’s strangest affordances: its capacity to hold a psychic charge, sustain absent presence, remotely activate somatic memory, and invite reciprocal relationality. Adapting the Derridean concept of “hauntology” as a framing for the violin’s spectral vitality, Object (Im)permanence imagines how a hauntology of the violin can account for its ontological uncertainties, logic of absent presence, and persistent …

Reimagining Folk Songs: A Bridge Between Tradition And Innovation In Georgy Sviridov’S Music, Polina Nazaykinskaya

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Georgy Sviridov (1915–1998), one of the most prominent Soviet composers of his generation, remains largely underrepresented in Western performance and scholarship. This dissertation examines the compositional language of Sviridov’s Kursk Songs (1964) through direct comparison with the seven folk songs published in Anna Rudneva’s 1957 collection Kurskie pesni that served as the work’s source material. The study addresses a central paradox of Sviridov’s musical language: how remarkably economical, predominantly diatonic materials can produce powerful and highly individual expressive results.

The analysis considers how Sviridov preserves essential characteristics of the folk sources while transforming their harmony, rhythm, form, texture, orchestration, and …

Behind The Score: The Influence Of Neighborhood Policy Contexts On New York Regents Exam Performance Across New York City Public High Schools, Philip J. Kovacevic

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study used a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) to test whether New York City neighborhood zoning and land-use characteristics independently predict school-level performance on the New York State Regents Examinations, after controlling for school demographic and organizational characteristics, and Regents mean scores, both drawn from the NYC DOE's Regents Exam Results file (NYC Public Schools InfoHub, 2024). Using NYC Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output (PLUTO) 2025 data, a Neighborhood Educational Quality (NEQ) index was built for each of the city’s 42 community districts by combining the commercial floor area ratio (CommFAR) and the proportion of lots zoned residential …

Cavity Optomechanics Via Mechanically Induced Coupling Of Optical Modes, Satyam S. Jha

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis introduces a transverse, symmetry-breaking mode of optomechanical coupling that departs from the conventional dispersive and dissipative interactions, taking its motivating platform from whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators, where a mechanical displacement lifts the near-degeneracy of azimuthal mode pairs and couples them. After reviewing the standard optomechanical model and the sideband-cooling phenomenology it underlies, we derive the Hamiltonian for the transverse-coupling system and first study its Hamiltonian dynamics, without drive or dissipation. Recast in terms of Schwinger pseudospin operators, the model exhibits a Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcation separating stable and unstable dynamical regimes. In the stable regime, the mechanical nonlinearity permits controlled …

A Study Of Bengali Grapheme-To-Phoneme Conversion, Arundhati Sengupta

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Grapheme-to-phoneme (G2P) conversion is a foundational component of speech technology, yet the languages for which it has been carefully studied remain a small fraction of the world's languages. Bengali is spoken by over 230 million people, making it one of the world's most widely used languages, but it remains comparatively understudied in natural language processing, and G2P for Bengali in particular has received less attention.

In this dissertation, we use neural architecture comparison, error analysis, and explicit correction techniques to identify and address the sources of G2P error in Bengali. First, we train and compare four neural G2P architectures, including …

Assessing The Relationship Between Housing Provision And State Legitimacy Through The Vision 2030 Plan In Saudi Arabia, Shovan Bala

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Scholars have long evaluated the politicization of housing by examining the relationship between housing provision and legitimacy across democratic and authoritarian states. This thesis contributes to the scholarship on housing provision and state legitimacy by examining the Saudi state’s recent housing development efforts, and its role in shaping citizens’ housing aspirations and informing their understanding of housing as a state responsibility. Using the Vision 2030 Plan’s Sakani and Ejar initiatives, I examine the nexus between Saudi government’s housing development efforts and provision of financial incentives and citizens’ perceived reliance on the state for housing. I evaluate these housing initiatives through …

Lingual Articulatory Configuration Of Japanese Devoiced Vowels, Rion Iwasaki

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In Tokyo Japanese, high vowels /i/ and /u/ are devoiced with high frequency between two voiceless obstruents. There is an ongoing outstanding debate in the literature on whether devoiced vowels maintain their lingual articulation or are deleted. To contribute to this debate from a lingual articulatory perspective, the current study uses ultrasound imaging of the tongue and various acoustic measurements. Data from 11 native speakers of Tokyo Japanese are analyzed. This is the first lingual articulatory study to examine both devoiced /i/ and /u/ from more than three speakers. All speakers provide articulatory and acoustic evidence that devoiced /i/ and …

Skipping Town: An Examination Of Fugitive Travel Patterns, Flight Duration, And "Journey-From-Crime", Shun Q. Feng

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Purpose: Existing research on fugitive mobility has largely examined fugitive travel patterns and flight duration as separate phenomena, often relying on limited geographic areas or a cross-section of the fugitive population. This dissertation addresses these gaps by examining where fugitives travel relative to their originating county, and how long they avoid apprehension. Utilizing a national sample of fugitives with data provided by the United States Marshals Service (USMS), the study investigates how individual characteristics, situational warrant factors, and county-level characteristics influence fugitive travel patterns across a broader, more comprehensive scope.

Methods: Using data from the Justice Detainee Information System (JDIS) …

Modeling Large Language Model Cognition, Eleni Angelou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project builds three core directions in a philosophy of cognitive science for large language models (LLMs): 1) interpreting LLM behavior, 2) analyzing the system in terms of Marr’s three levels, and 3) mapping the correspondence between behavioral outputs and the internals of the system. It consists of the following three chapters accordingly:

Dennettian Stances and Large Language Models

The aim of this chapter is to argue that there are convincing grounds for applying Dennett’s framework of stances to LLMs against worries that doing so produces “counterfeit people”. After introducing the intentional and design stances, I take sycophancy as a …

Quaternionic Analogues Of Zagier’S Sums Of Binary Quadratic Forms, Ajmain A. Yamin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Let K be the real numbers R, complex numbers C or quaternions H. Let O ⊂ K be a full rank discrete Euclidean subring of K. We investigate certain functions F_{k,Δ,O} : K → R indexed by positive integers k, Δ with k odd. When K = R or C, these functions recover Zagier’s sums of binary quadratic forms and Karabulut’s sums of binary Hermitian forms respectively. When K = H, the F_{k,Δ,O} functions are new quaternionic analogues of Zagier's sums whose definition involves sums of binary Hamiltonian forms as defined by Parkkonen-Paulin.

We prove that for fixed "weight" k …

From Today's Prices To Tomorrow's Investments: A Guide For Child Care Providers On Why The Market Rate Survey & Narrow Cost Analysis Matter, Jess Carson

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

No abstract provided.

Nf1 Loss In Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Induces Osteoclast Formation And Immunosuppression To Promote Bone Metastasis, Zifan Zhao, Ze-Yi Zheng, Jonathan T Lei, Matthew J Baik, Yi-Hsuan Wu, Lauren K Somes, Andres F Mosquera Paternina, Omar A Harb, Owen A Chang, Fengshuo Liu, Matthew V Holt, Junkai Wang, Igor Bado, Hai Wang, George Miles, Zbigniew Gugala, Meenakshi Anurag, Ahmed Elkhanany, Yi Li, Valentina Hoyos, Xiang H-F Zhang, Eric C Chang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer exhibits a marked propensity for skeletal metastasis; however, the molecular drivers of bone colonization remain incompletely defined. We investigated the tumor suppressor neurofibromin (NF1), a dual repressor for RAS and ER signaling, whose inactivation promotes endocrine therapy (ET) resistance and is associated with inferior relapse-free survival. NF1 copy number loss was detected in 62% of ER+ patients who subsequently developed metastases and was associated with an increased likelihood of bone metastases at initial diagnosis. In mouse xenograft models, NF1-depleted ER+ breast cancer cells demonstrated enhanced dissemination to skeletal sites following surgical resection of primary tumors. …

Towards Human-Centered Digital Health Interventions, Kristin M Kostick-Quenet, Eric A Storch

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

This article discusses the potential of digital health interventions (DHIs) in mental health care, emphasizing the importance of designing them to foster genuine humanistic care. It highlights current challenges in measuring engagement and outcomes, advocating for integrating human-centered endpoints such as dignity, autonomy, and therapeutic alliance into evaluation frameworks. The authors call for mechanistic research to identify effective engagement strategies and context-specific implementation approaches. Ultimately, successful DHIs should demonstrate both clinical efficacy and the preservation of humane, person-centered care, ensuring ethical and meaningful mental health support through technology.

Synthesis Of Fe-Doped Porous Carbon Catalyst Derived From Coconut Shell Waste Using Ferric Nitrate Nonahydrate (Fe(No3)3.9h2o) As An Iron Precursor, Ilham Lestadi Putra, Sukarni Sukarni, Heru Suryanto

Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST)

Renewable energy from lignocellulosic biomass is a promising alternative to fossil fuels. Coconut shell (CS) waste is a favorable precursor for porous carbon due to its high carbon content, abundance, and non-food nature. However, conventional biochar often has limited surface area and catalytic active sites, hindering its effectiveness as a catalyst. While Fe-based modifications are promising, the use of ferric nitrate-assisted activation of coconut-shell-derived porous carbon remains underexplored. This research focused on developing an Fe-doped porous carbon catalyst from CS via ultrasound-assisted impregnation, followed by activation in a tube furnace. CS biochar was produced through pyrolysis at 550 °C and …

Algorithm Aversion In Academic Libraries: User Resistance To Ai-Enabled Discovery And Search Services, Fenfang Cao, Lvting Bu, Yi Huang, Yu Chi, Hengyi Fu

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Academic libraries increasingly deploy AI-enabled services such as intelligent search, recommendation systems, and chat-based assistance to support scholarly resource discovery. However, some users remain reluctant to rely on these tools. This phenomenon, often described as algorithm aversion, has been widely examined in healthcare and finance but remains underexplored in library contexts. This study investigates the factors associated with algorithm aversion in academic digital libraries and examines how these factors relate to one another. A two-phase mixed-method design was adopted. First, 41 semi-structured interviews with users from Chinese university libraries were analyzed using grounded theory. This stage produced 58 initial concepts, …

Reimagining The Crises Of Extractivism: Towards A Critical Cultural Political Economy Of Extractivism And Beyond, James Alejandro Artiga-Purcell

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Extractivism faces interlocking crises of its own making. Extractive governance has failed to foster democratic, socially just, and ecologically sustainable political economies. The expansion of extractive zones has provoked surging conflicts across the world over access to and control over life-giving resources like land, air, and water. The devastating socio-ecological ramifications inherent in extractivism have gone global, as exemplified by the climate crisis. Despite growing recognition of these crises of extractivism, ideologically diverse governments, corporations, and civil society organizations have consistently doubled down on extractivist solutions. This special issue interrogates the crises of, contradictory solutions for, and potential alternatives to …

An Investigative Approach Leveraging Digital Twin Technology For A Cnc Machine, Anand Valiavalappil

Yanbu Journal of Engineering and Science

Digital twin technology has emerged as an effective approach for improving the monitoring, validation, and optimization of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining operations. This study presents an investigative framework integrating Computer-Aided Design/Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM), Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) methodologies for diagnosing and rectifying machining defects in CNC systems using the digital twin - virtual model (component and asset twins). Four machining experiments were conducted using Aluminum 6061-T6, Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Brass, and Stainless Steel (AISI 304) on an EMCO CNC machine integrated with Siemens 840D controls. The first two experiments, involving turning and drilling operations, are presented in detail; the …

Investigating How Personal Values Shape Tourism Experiences: A Case Study Of The Irish National Stud And Gardens, Amy Monahan, Ann T. Conway

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

This Paper explores the relationship between personal values and tourism experiences  that are  satisfying. A case study of the Irish National Stud and Gardens was undertaken in order to explore this concept. Interviews were conducted to investigate how qualities of the attraction appealed to the visitors’ personal values, thereby enhancing the overall visitor experience. A set of personal values were identified which were specific to the destination. The research demonstrated how an understanding of personal values can assist attractions with various aspects of their operations, with context specific recommendations provided at the end. This approach was taken was taken to …

Exploring The Backgrounds, Experiences, Motivations, And Development Of School-Based Wheelchair Sport Coaches, Deborah Shapiro, Scott Douglas, Jp Barfield, Laurie A. Malone

Journal of Coach Development

Coaching in adapted sport is a complex and demanding practice that requires both specialized technical expertise and a deep understanding of disability. This study explored the motivations, backgrounds, and developmental pathways of interscholastic school-based wheelchair sport coaches. We examined how coaches are introduced to wheelchair sport coaching, their initial and ongoing development, and their perspectives on effective coaching and training practices. A total of 17 coaches (10 men, 7 women) with 1 to 17 years of experience in wheelchair sports coaching from 7 interscholastic wheelchair sports teams participated in one 60-minute mini focus group discussion and responded to a set …

Coming Soon To A Cellar Near You: Novel Range Expansion Of A Short-Bodied Cellar Spider, Physocyclus Enaulus (Araneae: Pholcidae), In A Building In Central Illinois, Usa, Ricky Gieser, Mark Davis

The Great Lakes Entomologist

A reproductive population of Physocyclus enaulus Crosby, 1926 (Pholcidae: Araneae), a short-bodied cellar spider native to the American southwest and Mexico, is documented for the first time in a single building in Illinois, far outside of their known native range. The means of introduction is unknown but is likely influenced by either accidental hitchhiking spiders or a deliberate introduction to control brown recluse populations. Cellar spiders were purchased and released in the same building to predate on brown recluse spiders, but the first P. enaulus individual was found a year prior to the release. These cellar spiders have a wide-ranging …

New Wisconsin State Records For Predatory Fungus Gnats (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Keroplatidae), Daniel K. Young

The Great Lakes Entomologist

In Wisconsin, no published literature species records for the keroplatid genera Keroplatus and Proceroplatus exist (Diptera: Bibionomorpha: Keroplatidae). New state records are presented for Keroplatus carbonarius Bosc, Keroplatus clausus Coquillett, Keroplatus militaris Johannsen and Proceroplatus elegans (Coquillett). The new records are associated largely with Malaise trap samples from Hemlock Draw (The Nature Conservancy), in the Baraboo Hills of Sauk County, and a Malaise trap at Kemp Natural Resources Station, in Oneida County, Wisconsin. Two specimens of K. clausus and a single specimen of K. militaris discovered within the research collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are also reported. The specimens …