Digital Commons Network^™

Post-Covid Sli In Preschoolers: A Look At Changes In Speech And Language Impairments In Preschool-Aged Children In A Post-Covid Environment., Shenda Coy

Honors Theses

As the world has adjusted to times post-COVID, one thing that has caught the attention of professionals is a shift in speech language development in young children. Since COVID, more children are receiving speech and language services and diagnosed with SLI (speech and language impairment). This study investigates the reason for the shift, as well as strategies and services that can be used to adjust to these changes in numbers. The research for this project was conducted through anecdotal notes, personal research and observations. Information was collected over a number of years after COVID, from 2021-2026. This information when compiled …

Online Rights Defense Among Chinese Americans Against Racial Aggression In The U.S. During The Covid-19, Fangzhu Lu, Wenshan Jia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

This study investigates how Chinese American communities responded to heightened racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing social media platforms to safeguard their civil rights, articulate collective concerns, and mobilize resistance against racial aggression.

Methodology

Through qualitative case study analysis, the research examines the social media activities of six advocacy organizations, including three X accounts (WashTheHate, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice) and three Instagram accounts (Stop AAPI Hate, Stop Asian Hate, Advancing Justice: AAJC). The analysis focuses on the content strategies and communication mechanisms employed to counteract racial hostility.

Findings

The selected organizations used social …

On The Suppression Of Vortex Shedding Within A Supersonic Dual–Stream Rectangular Nozzle, Matthew Anthony Qualters

Dissertations - ALL

Within an experimental rectangular dual-stream supersonic nozzle, a vortex-shedding instability forms at the blunt trailing edge of the splitter plate separating the Mach = 1.23 core flow and Mach = 1.0 bypass flow, with the combined jet further expanded to Mach = 1.6. This instability generates large coherent vortical structures that interact with the downstream recompression shock, inducing oscillations and producing high-frequency acoustic radiation that dominates both the near- and far-field. Active and passive control techniques are applied to suppress the formation of energetic, periodic vortex shedding and thus reduce or eliminate its effects on the flow field. Three control …

Forced And Driven: Pressures And Motives Of Better Marketing, Xiaobo Lin

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation comprises two essays examining how external pressures and internal firm characteristics jointly determine marketing decisions and their consequences for firms, stakeholders, and society at large. The first essay investigates the heterogeneous spillover effects of product quality crises on rival firms’ market value and rivals’ subsequent strategic adjustments in recruitment. Three concurrent mechanisms, the consumer switching effect, the industry demand effect, and the remedial cost effect, are proposed to derive and empirically test a nonlinear relationship between firm similarity and net spillover outcomes. Using event study methodology across 102 product quality crises among Chinese listed firms from 2017 to …

Knowing And Being Known: Monstrosity And Relationality In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Rachel Carpenter

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation looks at Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein as a prime example of the ways character relations and narrative form can invite both characters and readers to renegotiate the boundaries of monstrosity and humanity, how our notions of such monstrosity and humanity are constituted dynamically, through relationships, and how this negotiation is itself a religious relational dynamic. By closely reading Mary Shelley’s novel, I consider three main facets of the work: the epistolary frame of the novel as a series of letters and stories relayed between characters, the practice of naming that takes place within the novel, and the …

Feed-Ing Identity Item Development, Observational, And Experimental Analysis To Study The Relationship Between Algorithm-Based Short Video Platforms And Identity, Sarah Elizabeth Hogenboom-Jones

Dissertations - ALL

Short video social media platforms (SVPs) such as TikTok and YouTube Shorts are distinguished from other forms of social media by two key features: video delivery and explicit algorithm-driven selection. In this project, I argue that these platform features make SVPs particularly potent at reinforcing individuals’ identities and enable more effective persuasion relative to other media. These media are sufficiently unique that to study their effects I develop novel survey items designed specifically around the key features of SVPs. These items assess both usage of SVPs and their impact on identity. I find that users of SVPs are particularly likely …

The Unintended Consequences Of Deregulating Confidential Treatments, Jiahui Han

Dissertations - ALL

This paper examines how the SEC’s deregulation of confidential treatment under the FAST Act affected firms’ material contract redaction behavior and the broader economic consequences associated with disclosure opacity. Using a large sample of SEC filings, I document that confidential treatment is positively associated with both product market competition and lower 10-K readability, suggesting that redaction reflects both proprietary protection incentives and broader disclosure opacity. Further analyses using abnormal file size show that discretionary disclosure complexity remains significantly associated with redaction behavior after controlling for firms’ underlying economic complexity and reporting environment. I further find that the association between redaction …

Aging Alone In Malaysia: Social Challenges And Legal Protections, Jal Zabdi Mohd Yusoff, Zulazhar Tahir, Siti Zaharah Jamaluddin

Hasanuddin Law Review

According to The Japan Times, nearly 28,000 elderly individuals in Japan will die alone in the first half of 2024. This alarming trend is not unique to Japan; many countries, including Malaysia, are facing the challenges of an aging population. As Malaysia approaches becoming an aging nation, issues affecting the elderly, particularly those living alone, demand urgent attention. While not all elderly people face the same circumstances, some enjoy stable finances or live with their family, while others live in isolation due to various factors, such as remaining unmarried, widowhood, or estranged familial ties. Some are simply separated by their …

Predictive Mobility-Aware Analysis Of Controller Overhead In Sdn-Enabled Iot, Abdulrahman Saidu, Kamalrulnizam Bin Abu Bakar, Babangida Isyaku, Muhammad Nura Yusuf, Farkhana Binti Muchtar

Baghdad Science Journal

The rapid growth and increasing mobility of Internet of Things (IoT) mobile devices significantly intensify flow setup requests in Software-Defined Networking (SDN). Frequent movement of mobile devices across access points triggers repeated flow rule installations in data-plane switches, leading to excessive controller overhead under limited flow-table memory capacity. Inaccurate mobility prediction in existing approaches further aggravates this challenge by causing unnecessary rule placement and redundant flow setup requests. This study investigates the impact of mobility-aware prediction on controller overhead with experimental scenarios using different groups of mobile IoT devices, while considering controller CPU and memory utilization. A proactive mobility prediction …

Data Scheduling Using Distance Function With Single-Pass Processing, Mahmood Shakir Hammoodi, Suhad Hatim Jihad, Mithal Hadi Jebur

Baghdad Science Journal

Task scheduling is one of the most fundamental difficulties confronting numerous sectors, including education, healthcare, and industrial management. Scheduling quality has a direct impact on performance efficiency, resource utilization, and end user satisfaction. With the growing volume and diversity of data, there is a greater demand for intelligent systems that can handle the spatial and temporal complexity of jobs and resource allocation. As a result, modern data analysis and decision-making processes have become critical for ensuring workflow optimization while reducing time and space waste. This study proposes an innovative approach to task scheduling that combines multidimensional data analysis using Data …

Optimized Multi-Criteria Routing Algorithm For Durable Wireless Sensor Networks, Ghaihab H. Adday, Maha S. Abdulridha, Hasanain A. Alsreeh, Taj-Aldeen N. Abdali

Baghdad Science Journal

The Internet of Things and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) rely on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) as their underlying infrastructure. WSNs have recently attracted significant attention due to their crucial applications, such as monitoring applications. Geographic routing algorithms are widely used in WSNs because event location is often more critical than node identification. However, these algorithms still face challenges, such as workload imbalance and high energy consumption. Energy consumption is particularly vital in WSNs due to the sensor nodes' limited power resources. This work proposed an enhanced geographic routing algorithm based on the Technique for Order of Preference by …

Architecting Reliable Multi-Agent Systems With Large Language Models Through Model-Driven Engineering, Najma Imtiaz Ali, Aadil Jamali, Imtiaz Ali Brohi, Noor Zaman Jhanjhi, Emaliana Kasmuri

Baghdad Science Journal

Multi-agent systems based on large language models (LLM) are said to be able to provide flexible and scalable collaboration, but are often unstable, adversarially active, biased in their representations, and expensive to compute - aspects that hinder their use in safety-critical or resource-sensitive systems. To overcome these deficiencies, a model-driven engineering framework, the MDE-Agentware, has been implemented: a model-based engineering paradigm, which represents multi-agent architectures through a typed domain specific metamodel, and generates executables that are conforming with instrumented runtime monitoring, tool wrappers and energy-conscious invocation policies. The main novelties of the approach include (i) a formal model-to-code transformation, enforcing …

Client Communication Strategy Pitch Deck, Staci Thomas

Generative AI Teaching Activities

Business Client Communication Strategy - Pitch Deck

Hybrid Patrol–Staging Optimization For Freeway Service Patrols Under Cost Control: A Deterministic Milp With Dynamic Segment Adjustment & Environmental Co-Benefit, Mauricio Micolta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) programs are central to Traffic Incident Management (TIM), delivering rapid response, clearance, and motorist assistance on high-volume corridors. The prevailing continuous roaming patrol model provides broad coverage but generates substantial non-productive vehicle-miles traveled (VMT), increases responders’ exposure to risk, and treats Service Level Agreement (SLA) compliance as a statistical outcome rather than a fixed operational constraint. Existing literature lacks a framework that simultaneously optimizes corridor segmentation, jointly deploys patrol and staged units across space, time, and direction, and enforces response-time SLA as a binding constraint.

This dissertation introduces the Segmental-Spatio-Temporal Hybrid Service Model (SSTHSM), a two-tier …

U.S. Service Member To Counseling Student, Nicole Marie Arcuri-Sanders, Kellie Forziat-Pytel

Educational Sciences and Organizations

This qualitative descriptive study examines the absence of military career pathways for licensed mental health counselors (MHCs) and the impact of this structural limitation on service members' career transitions. Findings indicate that both combat and non-combat veterans pursued mental health counseling due to personal service-related mental health experiences and dissatisfaction with available care while in service. Despite these challenges, many participants expressed a strong desire to continue serving their country as professional counselors. Over half of the participants reported separating from the military because no occupational role existed for licensed MHCs. At the same time, most indicated they would have …

Fort Hays State University Tiger Weekly, June 26, 2026, University Relations

Tiger Weekly Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Exploring Staphylococcus Aureus Host-Pathogen Interaction Using Proteomic Technologies, Emilee Marlene Elizabeth Mustor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Staphylococcus aureus deploys an arsenal of virulence effectors to remodel the host environment during infection, while simultaneously the host mounts an immune response to contain and eliminate this bacterium. This dynamic interplay defines the host-pathogen interface and shapes infection outcome. In this context, the secreted proteases represent a major arm of S. aureus pathogenesis, promoting bacterial persistence in the host by dismantling immune defenses, cleaving host signaling molecules and reshaping the host proteome. However, traditional substrate-by-substrate characterization cannot reveal the full scope of proteolytic activity occurring during infection. To address this, we developed Terminal Amine-Guanidination of Substrates-Charge Reversal (TAGS-CR), a …

Early-Stage Corticostriatal Hyperactivity Impairs Cognitive Flexibility Alongside Striatal Cholinergic Dysfunction In An Alzheimer's Disease Model, Yufei Huang, Xueyi Xie, Zhenbo Huang, Ruifeng Chen, Himanshu Gangal, Xuehua Wang, Karienn Souza, Julia Hunter, Xin Wu, Doodipala Samba Reddy, Jeannie Chin, Jun Wang

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Cognitive flexibility declines early in Alzheimer's disease, yet the underlying circuit mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report that young 5xFAD mice exhibit deficits in instrumental reversal learning prior to spatial memory impairment. This behavioral inflexibility is associated with abnormal neuronal reactivation in the medial prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum. Electrophysiological recordings reveal that medial prefrontal cortex neurons are hyperexcitable and receive increased excitatory input. Furthermore, glutamatergic transmission from the medial prefrontal cortex to striatal direct-pathway medium spiny neurons is enhanced and coincides with strengthened inhibitory transmission onto striatal cholinergic interneurons, reduced spontaneous firing, and diminished striatal acetylcholine release. Critically, sustained …

Trauma-Informed Care In Residential Settings: Staff Perceptions And The Impact Of The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce Model With Trauma-Informed Principles, Marissa L. Del Vecchio

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Trauma-informed care (TIC) has been recognized as a critical framework for supporting individuals on the autism spectrum, intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and those within residential facilities given their heightened risk for experiencing adverse events, including trauma. However, the development and evaluation of a trauma-informed behavior analytic assessment and intervention approach is lacking. Although behavior analysts frequently target behaviors associated with trauma, research suggests that many practitioners have limited training, supervision and competence in TIC, despite widespread recognition of its importance. The Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model may be a promising approach to address these limitations, as its practices align closely with …

Multi-Modal Survival Prediction On Breast Cancer Mammograms And Enabling Multi-Institutional Collaborations With Federated Learning, Nikolas Koutsoubis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, and machine learning is well positioned to leverage the large volumes of routinely collected clinical and imaging data to improve patient outcomes. Realizing this potential at scale requires three capabilities that current practice does not yet deliver in combination: models that integrate the multiple data modalities clinicians use, training procedures that respect institutional data-sharing constraints, and tooling that enables sharing of de-identified data when federated approaches are not sufficient. This dissertation develops methods and infrastructure addressing each of these capabilities in the context of breast cancer and oncology more broadly. …

Testimonios From Latine Educational Leaders Supporting Youth Development Programs, Luis E. Feliciano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States has been experiencing a demographic change for the last twenty years representing a rise in both Latiné students and families. Despite this demographic change, Latiné folk remain widely underrepresented in school leadership, and furthermore underrepresented in specific Youth Development Programs (YDPs), with the relationship between educational leaders and YDPs being widely unexplored in academia. This study sought to bridge the gap between YDPs and educational leadership, specifically for Latiné folk by asking how Latiné educational leaders used their cultural heritage to encourage YDP development. To accomplish this a testimonio methodology was implemented via a two staged interview …

Evaluating The Role Of Individual Differences: Impact On Fruit And Vegetable Intake Outcomes In Nourish-T+ Caregivers Of Pediatric Cancer Survivors, Sandra Soca Lozano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric cancer survivors are at increased risk for obesity and related long-term health complications, highlighting the need for interventions promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors during survivorship. The present study examined caregivers’ fruit and vegetable intake in the full NOURISH-T+ intervention and evaluated whether their dietary outcomes changed from baseline to the 3-month post-assessment and differed by selected caregiver sociodemographic characteristics. The study also examined whether these characteristics accounted for variance in 3-month fruit and vegetable outcomes. Participants included 68 caregivers in the full NOURISH-T+ condition who completed both baseline and 3-month post-assessments. Fruit and vegetable intake was assessed using the Healthy …

Interpreting Discrepant Multi-Informant Data: Examining School Psychologists’ Decision-Making Processes With Social-Emotional And Behavioral Assessment, Thomas Koza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multi-informant assessment is a common method used by school psychologists to collect data on students' social-emotional and behavioral concerns across the three tiers of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. While this data can provide a comprehensive understanding of student functioning, informant discrepancies are common, and little is known about how school psychologists make sense of discrepant data or whether using structured frameworks can support their interpretation. This dissertation used an experimental mixed-methods design with vignettes to examine how school psychologists interpret discrepant multi-informant social-emotional and behavioral assessment data and whether exposure to a structured framework influenced this process. …

Intersectional Inequities In End-Of-Life Care Quality: The Roles Of Race, Ethnicity, And Gender, Jessica A. Yauk

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Persistent gaps remain in end-of-life care quality (EOLCQ) in the United States. Structural factors within the health care system, as well as discriminatory practices, affect the quality of care received by at-risk populations. This dissertation uses a mixed-methods research design to examine perceived EOLCQ across racial/ethnic and gender groups. Study 1 and Study 2 were guided by the intersectionality and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) frameworks, and examined ten EOLCQ outcomes: pain, dyspnea, sadness or anxiety, having personal care needs met, having decisions made about care without enough input from decedent or family, whether the proxy or family were kept …

Framing Tragedy: Discourse And Influence In Us Media Coverage Of The 1994 Rwanda Genocide, Andrew P. Young

Journal of 20th Century Media History

There is little doubt as to the mark left by the 1994 Rwandan genocide on historical discourse and perhaps even the American cultural consciousness. U.S. evening news broadcasts carried images of suffering and death into homes across the US, and in the process made Rwanda the site of one of the most recognized traumas in human history. While cultural proximity in mass media coverage played a role, the characterization of media coverage of the genocide, often defined in the press as explicit and constant, requires analysis. This project analyzes US evening network news broadcasts to address the actualities and implications …

[De]Constructing Jimmy's Grin: Doing Cultural Studies Through The Lens Of Boston Globe Editorial Cartoonist Paul Szep's Showcase Of Carter's White House Campaign, Lori Amber Roessner

Journal of 20th Century Media History

Heeding journalism historians Hanno Hardt and Bonnie Brennan’s call for inquiries that provide a new understanding of historical working conditions, this study explored the production of a sample of Szep’s editorial cartoons that surrounded Jimmy Carter’s campaign and presidency from 1976 to 1980. In particular, the manuscript considered the historical conditions and personal circumstances that influenced the cultural production of Szep’s body of work surrounding Jimmy Carter’s presidency; representations of Carter and his White House campaign in the sample of 20 editorial cartoons produced by Szep; moments of consumption by active Boston Globe audiences; the practice of identity [de]construction related …

The Ghostly Cyborg Author And The Living Reader Wonder, Supervision, And Scholarly Formation In The Age Of Ai, Connie Morrison, John L. Hoben

Journal of Academic Research and Innovation

No abstract provided.

Supervising In The Age Of Ai Cognitive Authenticity, And Reframing Integrity Through Neurodiversity-Responsive Perspective, Precious Nwanze

Journal of Academic Research and Innovation

No abstract provided.

Human-Centred Generative Ai In Postgraduate Education Why Mediation, Calibration, And Contextual Flexibility Matter, Gabriela Zapata

Journal of Academic Research and Innovation

No abstract provided.

Who Cares In The Age Of Ai? Trust, Integrity & Compassion To Guide Education, Lia Pop

Journal of Academic Research and Innovation

No abstract provided.