Digital Commons Network^™

Navigating Safety: A Mixed-Methods Examination Of Supportive Workplace Practices In Maritime Contexts, Rebecca N. Pool

All Dissertations

Maritime Sailors operate in high-demand and high-risk environments that require sustained adherence to strict safety standards. Using the Conservation of Resources theory (COR), this dissertation examines how supportive workplace practices impact job stress and foster increased safety compliance among U.S. Navy personnel. Using a mixed-methods design, two studies were conducted with data from the Afloat Safety Climate Assessment Survey (ASCAS). Study 1 analyzed quantitative survey responses from active-duty Sailors (N = 15,517) nested in 1,033 departments nested within 122 ships to test a multilevel moderated mediation model linking social support, job stress, psychological safety, and safety compliance. Results indicated …

Interfaces To Enhance Performance In Human-Ai Teams Conducting Safety-Critical Military Operations: A Route Reconnaissance Use Case, Sarvesh Sawant

All Dissertations

Military teams frequently operate in hazardous and dynamic environments where they must recognize threats, act swiftly, and maintain awareness of their surroundings. To assist soldiers in identifying threats, analyzing data, and creating safer routes, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are being integrated into these teams. But only when humans comprehend what AI is doing, why it is doing it, and how to collaborate with it can AI be helpful in these high-stakes missions. To enhance human-AI collaboration during military route reconnaissance missions, this dissertation explores ways to improve human-AI communication. In a route reconnaissance mission, teams of soldiers must navigate through …

First Principles Calculation Of Electron-Phonon Coupling In Nonequilibrium Quantum Materials, Chendi Xie

All Dissertations

This dissertation combines first-principles computation and light-induced nonequilibrium analysis to understand and control electron–phonon coupling (EPC) and emergent many-body phenomena in quantum materials, in both equilibrium and nonequilibrium states.

Chapters 1 and 2 build the theoretical and computational foundation, beginning with electron and phonon self-energies, linewidths, and perturbation theory for EPC, followed by density functional theory (DFT) and density functional perturbation theory (DFPT), which serve as the first-principles workhorses used throughout. Chapter 3 reviews Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) and Migdal-Eliashberg theory, including the BCS gap - transition temperature (T_c) relation and the strong-coupling generalization, and delineates the practical validity bound …

Accident Data Analytics And Ai-Based Auditory Enhancement For Highway Construction Safety, Thinh Nguyen

All Dissertations

This research develops data-driven and AI-enhanced approaches to improve worker safety in highway construction environments. The study integrates advanced analytics and auditory signal enhancement to identify high-risk worker behaviors and improve real-time safety warnings. The work consists of three core studies. The first study applies Sequential Pattern Mining and Social Network Analysis to more than 1,000 construction accident reports to identify high-risk worker actions and their hidden sequential relationships with accident types and consequences. These insights reveal sector-specific risk patterns, supporting the creation of targeted, data-informed safety interventions. The second study introduces an AI-based auditory enhancement model built on a …

Universal Systems Simulation Via Constraint Hypergraphs With Applications To Digital Twins, John Morris

All Dissertations

The characterization of systems encompasses a variety of modeling frameworks designed to capture specific behaviors and components of various system domains. Whatever the framework, the core elements of a system representation are the information of the system and a description of how that information is related. The relations in deterministic systems are functions, which, when composed to form executable processes, can be used to simulate system data. A declarative modeling framework is one that encodes mechanisms for preparing these simulations within the model structure, allowing an external agent to form the execution processes required for a given context. To date, …

Enhancing Teacher Planning Practices To Improve Teacher Self-Efficacy Through Professional Learning Communities, Philip L. Price

All Dissertations

This improvement science dissertation investigated the impact of implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLC) on teacher self-efficacy at Parkway Elementary, a Title I school serving a diverse student population with historically lower academic performance. The study addressed the problem of low teacher self-efficacy, a critical factor influencing Tier 1 instructional quality and student outcomes. Utilizing the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle, this research tested the theory that adopting a four-question framework within weekly collaborative grade-level meetings would measurably increase teacher self-efficacy. Seven teachers participated in the research, with data collected through the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale, semi-structured interviews, and PLC observations. Quantitative findings …

Flexible Spatial Priors In Bayesian Neuroimaging: Gmrf, Nngp, And Deep Gmrf, Boyoung Hur

All Dissertations

Structural neuroimaging is essential for understanding neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, enabling accurate delineation of brain regions through image segmentation. Among various segmentation methods, multi-atlas-based approaches like label fusion have become leading techniques. In statistics, Bayesian hierarchical models for label fusion are increasingly favored for their ability to incorporate uncertainty and prior knowledge. Also, a key challenge in modeling neuroimaging data is spatial dependence among image voxels, making the choice of spatial prior critical—particularly in high-resolution settings where segmentation accuracy and computational efficiency are both essential.

This dissertation proposes fully Bayesian spatial hierarchical models that explore two flex- ible …

End-To-End Direct Current For Standalone Power Network, Eyad Ahmad Aldarsi

All Dissertations

The primary issue that faces the humanity is climate change and because of that greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions are rising. The consequences of this issue have emphasized the necessity for replacing the dominant method of electricity generation, which mostly utilizes fossil fuels, to be centered on access to all, green, low-cost, and renewable sources of energy. Currently, photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines are the two technologies so far that can convert the source of renewable energy, which is produced by sun irradiance and wind respectively, into large-scale electric power that can be distributed into the electricity grid. The work in …

Armando’S Case: Diagnostic Emergent Literacy Assessment For Children With Complex Communication Needs, Bronwyn A. Harris, Tonya R. Moore, Ashley E. Pennell

Journal of Case Learning & Exceptional Learners

This practice-based case study is designed to offer a tutorial on how to adapt an informal, diagnostic emergent literacy assessment to meet the needs of students like six-year-old Armando, a Latino, multilingual learner with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and complex communication needs (CCN) in an inclusive kindergarten classroom. Armando’s informal literacy assessment adaptations and outcomes are discussed, including descriptions of his emergent literacy skills observed through his engagement in literacy stations, small group reading instruction in his classroom, and his use of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) in both instructional and assessment settings. This case study illustrates how traditional literacy …

The Messenger, Vol. 52, No. 2

The Messenger (archival - 1870-)

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Amici Curiae Professors Of Constitutional And Criminal Law In Support Of Petitioner (Whitton V. Dixon - 25-580), Ira P. Robbins, Jeffrey Fagan, Michael Cassidy, Barbara O'Brien, Catherine Grosso, William W. Berry Iii, Ellen C. Yaroshefsky

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Brief in support of Petitioner.

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT: This Court has “consistently held that a conviction obtained by the knowing use of perjured testimony is fundamentally unfair” because it “involve[s] a corruption of the truth-seeking function of the trial process.” United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 103–04 (1976). Here, the Eleventh Circuit acknowledged that the state committed a Giglio violation when it permitted a jailhouse informant to falsely testify at trial that he lacked a violent criminal record despite prosecutors knowing that he did. The Eleventh Circuit deemed this violation harmless, however, based on its erroneous consideration of …

The Impact Of Career Development Education In Rural Communities: A Program Evaluation, Hayden S. Austin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the impact of a regional career development education program using a post-test-only, exploratory descriptive design with middle and high school students from rural and urban school districts in West Central Texas. Students who participated in the Career and Education Outreach (CEO) program received four classroom sessions focused on labor market information, high-demand industries, employability skills, and career pathways. The purpose of this research was to explore whether students’ perceptions of the value of career development education differed based on geographic region, economic level, educational level, ethnic composition of the district, and the students’ own demographic characteristics. A …

Analysis Of The Role Of Agricultural Investment Policies And Agricultural Lending In Developing Commodity Production Of Rice Crops, Istibraq Mansour Falih, Omar Hameed Majeed

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study investigates the impact of agricultural investment policy—represented by agricultural loans and investment allocations—on rice crop production in Iraq over the period 2003–2023, employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. Using time-series econometric analysis, the study confirms a short-term positive and statistically significant effect of financial support on rice output, while revealing statistically insignificant long-term effects. The presence of a cointegration relationship suggests long-term equilibrium between agricultural policy variables and rice production. However, the absence of causality in the Yamamoto-Toda test implies that structural and institutional inefficiencies may dilute the long-term impact of financial interventions. Practical implications of the …

Investigating The Similarities And Differences In Cultural Dimensions Between Primary And Secondary School Teachers In Jordan And Turkey, Based On Hofstede's Model, Balqees Almestareehi, Ercan Taşkin

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study aims to explore the similarities and differences in cultural dimensions between primary and secondary school teachers in Jordan and Turkey, based on Hofstede's model of cultural dimensions. The problem of the study stems from the need to understand and analyze these dimensions among teachers in both countries, to reveal the similarities and differences between them, and to explore their implications for different educational contexts. The research relied on a field survey of a sample of 100 teachers in the Jordanian and Turkish contexts, based on the recommendations of Minkov and Hofstede as preliminary data, in addition to the …

A Comparative Framework Of Hybridization Of Arima And Sarima Models For Forecasting Gold Price Movements In Iraq (2015–2025), Hiba Dhahir Alwan, Suhail Najm Abdulla

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Predicting gold prices is crucial for policymakers, investors, and financial planners, especially in commodity-dependent economies like Iraq. This study examines the forecasting performance of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Seasonal ARIMA (SARIMA) models using daily gold price data in Iraq from (April 30, 2015, to April 30, 2025). After preprocessing and testing for stationary, both models were estimated using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and further refined with modern machine learning post-processing, Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method demonstrated greater stability and interpretability compared to the machine learning-based approach. However, the application of Gradient Boosted Trees (GBDT) to the residuals of …

Modeling And Analyzing Supply Chain Reliability Under Uncertainty: A Simulation-Based Study Using Real-World Data, Mostafa Abduljabbar Dawood

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This paper has presented a simulation-based framework for analyzing supply chain reliability under uncertainty, supported by a comprehensive literature review, theoretical grounding, and a real-world case study. The main contribution lies in demonstrating how simulation modeling — particularly hybrid approaches — can capture the complex dynamics of modern supply chains and provide decision-makers with practical tools for stress-testing, scenario planning, and reliability enhancement. This study aims to evaluate supply chain reliability under uncertainty by integrating simulation and probabilistic modeling. The purpose is to investigate how disruptions in supply, demand, and logistics affect performance indicators such as service level, recovery time, …

The Effect Of Momentum And Liquidity Factors On Stock Returns In The Iraqi Stock Exchange: An Analysis Utilizing The Six-Factor Fama-French Model And Random Forest Methodology, Aseel Riyadh Joodi, Shatha Abdul-Hussein Jabr

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This research investigates the influence of momentum and liquidity factors on stock returns in the Iraq Stock Exchange, employing the six-factor Fama-French model and enhancing the analysis with sophisticated machine learning techniques, including Random Forests. This research seeks to address deficiencies in prior studies by implementing an integrated model within the Iraqi market context, which is under-researched in the context of multi-factor asset pricing models. A quantitative analytical approach was applied to a sample of 10 companies listed on the market from 2014 to 2023. The findings indicate that the random forest model markedly outperforms conventional regression models, elucidating 72% …

Incentives Influence Congruency Pre-Cue Utilization In The Stroop Task, Christopher O. Nuno

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Prior work using 4-choice conflict tasks has shown that pre-cues signaling the congruency of the following trial tend to produce robust pre-cue benefits (i.e., faster RTs relative to uninformative pre-cues) for congruent but not incongruent trials. The scarcity of evidence for pre-cue benefits on incongruent trials raises the question of whether people can adjust cognitive control on demand, given that incongruent trials uniquely require participants to enact an abstract control setting to ignore the goal irrelevant feature and focus on the goal relevant feature when presented with the pre-cue. One potential explanation is that participants are not sufficiently motivated to …

Investigating The Impacts Of Facial Gestures On Global Participants’ Perception Of The Speaker, Perception Of The Message, Emotional Responses, And Engagement During Video Conferencing, Hanan Mohammed Alghamdi

Theses and Dissertations

Facial expressions play a crucial role in shaping communication and emotional understanding during virtual interactions. This study investigated how facial expressions influence participants’ perceptions of the speaker, perceptions of the message, emotional responses, and engagement during video conferencing across diverse cultural contexts. A hybrid experimental design was implemented using self-administered questionnaires to collect quantitative data and examine cause-and-effect relationships. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three facial-expression conditions Positive (smiling and joyful), Negative (angry or nervous), or Neutral (expressionless) and viewed speakers representing three ethnic backgrounds: White American, Black American, and Middle Eastern. Using a seven-point semantic differential scale, …

Income Inequality And Self-Reported Health: A Difference-In-Differences Study, Kola Adegoke

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Health disparities in the United States (US) are closely linked to income inequality. While many studies have reported associations between income and health, causal evidence remains limited.

Objective: To estimate the causal effect of income-equalizing state policies, such as minimum wage increases, Medicaid expansion, and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) adjustments, on adult self-rated health using a difference-in-differences (DiD) framework.

Methods: Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2018 to 2023, a 2-way fixed-effects DiD model was employed to compare changes in the proportion of adults reporting fair or …

Safety In Stability: A Cdc-Guided Evaluation Of Hospital Fall Prevention Practices, Matthew C. Dougherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2020 - Present

Hospital falls remain a persistent and preventable cause of patient harm, emphasizing the need for continuous evaluation of fall prevention practices. This project assessed the effectiveness of AdventHealth Orlando’s fall prevention policy using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Program Evaluation Framework. A mixed-methods design incorporated quantitative analysis of 12 months of fall data and qualitative feedback from frontline staff surveys and discussions. Results demonstrated a decrease in total falls from 549 in the previous year to 528 in the current year, indicating early progress despite the incomplete reporting period. Unit-level analysis showed a mean improvement of 16.9% …

Prospective Trial Of Cerebrospinal Fluid Filtration After Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Via Lumbar Catheter Extension (Pillar-Xt), Spiros L Blackburn, Marc A Babi, Andrew W Grande, Omar A Choudhri, Erik F Hauck, Christopher P Kellner, Michael C Giordano, Shivanand P Lad, Aaron R Mccabe

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: There is a growing consensus that blood in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is deleterious to outcomes in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The extracorporeal filtration of subarachnoid hemorrhage via spinal catheter extension study evaluated the safety, tolerability, and filtration curve of blood and its lysis products from hemorrhagic CSF using the Neurapheresis CSF Management System.

Methods: After aneurysm repair, a dual-lumen intrathecal catheter was inserted into the study participant's spinal canal. CSF was extracorporeally filtered for up to 72 h, removing blood products from the lumbar cistern, and reintroducing filtered CSF to the thoracic subarachnoid space. Neurological examinations were …

Prone Percutaneous Jungbluth For Reduction Of Irreducible Posterior Pelvic Ring Injuries: A Technical Trick, Joseph M Radley, Jonathan A Copp, Daniel S Gloekler, Jonathan G Eastman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Unstable pelvic ring injuries represent a challenge due to the complex anatomy. Further, surgical access to the pelvic ring is altered by patient positioning in the supine versus prone position. Certain injury patterns present with the posterior pelvis in a fixed displaced position. These injuries can be exceedingly challenging to reduce from a supine position. In the prone position, these injuries can be reduced more directly with an open approach, but this is associated with wound healing complications. The technical trick herein demonstrated a successful technique utilizing a large Jungbluth clamp percutaneously applied to the posterior superior iliac spines with …

Early Identification For Spasticity Patient Referral Needs: An Inter-Rater Reliability Study Of The Post-Stroke Spasticity Referral Tool, Jorg Wissel, Atul Patel, Ganesh Bavikatte, Xiao Li, Sophie L Musson, Elizabeth Torres, Nabilah Alibhai, Tiziana Musacchio, Gerard E Francisco

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: The post-stroke spasticity (PSS) Referral Tool was developed to assist health care professionals in the early identification of patient referral needs. An inter-rater reliability (IRR) study using videos of patients with different stages of or without predictors of PSS was performed to validate its utility in clinical practice.

Research design and methods: This prospective study had 3 parts: patient video production (Part A); expert panel classification of patient videos into PSS Referral Tool categories (Part B; Urgent Referral [UR; red], Routine Referral [RR; yellow], Periodic Monitoring [PM; green]), and an IRR analysis from global clinician raters (Part C). IRR …

Real-World Disease Burden And Health Care Resource Utilization For Patients With Barth Syndrome, Lindsay Marjoram, Yonglin Huang, Mary Kay Koenig, Bruce H Cohen, Eric Anderson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Barth syndrome (BTHS) is an ultra-rare, X-linked genetic disorder for which there is limited economic data. Because compiling such data that target rare indications is difficult, we assessed real-world data to increase understanding of the cost of BTHS based on disease burden and health care resource utilization (HCRU).

Methods: A search of the published medical literature identified individual case studies and registry data used to assess the burden of disease and potential costs associated with BTHS, including the potential ability of developing treatments to positively impact those costs. In addition, a claims database analysis was conducted to assess HCRU …

Combining Pirfenidone With Mycophenolate Mofetil For Systemic Sclerosis-Related Interstitial Lung Disease (Scleroderma Lung Study Iii): An Investigator-Initiated, Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2 Trial, Dinesh Khanna, Cathie Spino, Donald P Tashkin, Elana J Bernstein, Jonathan Goldin, Eric C Kleerup, Airi Harui, Grace Ibrahim, Grace Hyun J Kim, Suiyuan Huang, Richard Mclain, Yi-Hsuan Tu, Vivek Nagaraja, Richard M Silver, Virginia D Steen, S Samuel Weigt, Joyce S Lee, Aryeh Fischer, Mary Beth Scholand, Jessica K Gordon, Paul F Dellaripa, Ivan O Rosas, Gary M Hunninghake, Marcin A Trojanowski, Robert W Simms, Jane E Dematte, Vivien M Hsu, Robyn T Domsic, Ganesh Raghu, Maureen D Mayes, Ryan D Boente, Michael D Roth

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) can stabilize or improve lung function in systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). We hypothesized that combining MMF with pirfenidone (PFD) would produce a significantly more rapid and/or greater improvement in lung function.

Methods: A randomized (1:1), double-blind, placebo (PLA)-controlled phase 2 trial was conducted in SSc-ILD in which patients received PFD or PLA (801 mg three times daily) along with MMF (1,500 mg twice daily) for 18 months. The primary outcome was change in percent predicted forced vital capacity (FVC-%). Linear mixed-effects models assessed treatment differences in a modified intention-to-treat population.

Results: Only fifty-one of …

Refractory Hypoxemia In An Asymptomatic 6-Year-Old: It Is Not Always The Heart, Aymen Mirza, Bibek Bista, Vidhya Annavajjhala, Chinyere O'Connor

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring Fathers’ Child And Family Support During Aboriginal Mothers’ Incarceration, Bon Miu, Paul Leslie Simpson, Tony Butler, Mandy Wilson, Destiny Kynuna, Robert Shaw, Jocelyn Jones

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aboriginal women are one of the fastest-growing subgroups among the Australian incarcerated population. Their incarceration affects increasing numbers of children, families, and communities. Few studies have examined the role of fathers when mothers are incarcerated. Using 49 in-depth interviews with Aboriginal mothers in Western Australian prisons, we explore the types of child and family support fathers provide based on the incarcerated mother’s perspective. Four themes were identified: (1) diverse support and involvement by fathers; (2) absence of father’s support due to death or incarceration; (3) parental cooperation and communication; and (4) supports and challenges to maintaining family networks. Overall, fathers …

Live High-Train Low Induced Changes In Hemoglobin Mass And The Erythropoietin-Erythroferrone-Hepcidin Axis In Female Endurance Athletes, Titta Kuorelahti, Johanna K. Ihalainen, Vesa Linnamo, Claire Badenhorst, Oona Kettunen, Ritva Mikkonen

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The effects of a 21-day live high-train low (LHTL) on hemoglobin mass (Hbmass) and iron demand including the erythropoietin (EPO)-erythroferrone (ERFE)-hepcidin axis and routine iron markers were investigated. Fifteen female endurance athletes completed either 21-day LHTL in normobaric hypoxia (2500 m, ~18 h·day⁻¹) (INT, n = 8) or lived and trained in normoxia (CON, n = 7). Hbmass and resting blood were collected before and after the intervention. An additional blood sample was collected on Day 6 for INT. 21-day LHTL increased Hbmass 3.8% in INT (p < 0.001). EPO increased 35.6% from Day 0 to Day 6 in INT (p = 0.037) and then decreased 42.4% from Day 6 to Day 21 (p = 0.019). In INT, no changes were detected in ERFE or hepcidin, and from the routine iron markers only serum transferrin receptor increased from Day 0 to Day 21 (13.9%, p = 0.013). In CON, no changes were detected in Hbmass or iron markers. In INT, Hbmass and ferritin were positively associated (Day 0 to Day 6, p = 0.005). Thus, hepcidin and ERFE may not provide additional information regarding iron demand following 6- or 21-day LHTL compared to routine iron markers. The relationship between Hbmass and ferritin indicates that adequate ferritin levels are needed during hypoxia to support hematological adaptations.

De Novo Annotation Reveals Transcriptomic Complexity Across The Hexaploid Wheat Pan-Genome, Benjamen White, Thomas Lux, Rachel Rusholme-Pilcher, Angéla Juhász, Gemy Kaithakottil, Susan Duncan, James Simmonds, Hannah Rees, Jonathan Wright, Joshua Colmer, Sabrina Ward, Ryan Joynson, Benedict Coombes, Naomi Irish, Suzanne Henderson, Tom Barker, Helen Chapman, Leah Catchpole, Karim Gharbi, Utpal Bose, Moeko Okada, Hirokazu Handa, Shuhei Nasuda, Kentaro K. Shimizu, Heidrun Gundlach, Michelle L. Colgrave

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Wheat is the most widely cultivated crop in the world, with over 215 million hectares grown annually. The 10+ Wheat Genomes Project recently sequenced and assembled to chromosome-level the genomes of nine wheat cultivars, uncovering genetic diversity and selection within the pan-genome of wheat. Here, we provide a wheat pan-transcriptome with de novo annotation and differential expression analysis for these wheat cultivars across multiple tissues. Using the de novo annotations we identify cultivar-specific genes and define the core and dispensable genomes. Expression analysis across cultivars and tissues reveals conservation in expression between a large core set of homeologous genes, in …