Digital Commons Network^™

Timing, Orbital Pacing, And Provenance Of Late Paleogene Loess In The Western United States, Xiangwei Guo

Earth & Environmental Sciences Dissertations - Archive

This project examines the timing of loess emergence, the nature of the fluvial–eolian transition, orbital forcing on dust accumulation, and sediment recycling in the late Paleogene White River Formation (Group) of Wyoming and Nebraska, western United States. By integrating traditional sedimentology with machine learning–enhanced grain-size analysis, this research shows that loess accumulation at Flagstaff Rim in central Wyoming began during active fluvial deposition at approximately 35.8 Ma, indicating a gradual transition from fluvial to eolian conditions. Machine learning complements field sedimentology and granulometric interpretation while enabling the development of new, testable hypotheses. Extending this framework eastward to Toadstool Geologic Park …

Occurrence Of Microplastics In The Urban Air And Water Systems And Associated Exposure Risks, Jenny K. Nguyen

Earth & Environmental Sciences Theses - Archive

Microplastics (MP) pollution is an emerging health concern that affects humans and the environment. Urban areas are high exposure zones due to consistent anthropogenic and industrial activity. With air and water as important MP transport and exposure pathways, monitoring and estimating their human exposures are necessary. Air samples were collected from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Houston in Texas and Cusco, Peru and water samples were from Tarrant County (DFW), Texas. The samples were analyzed using the pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Pyr-GC/MS) and the EDI (estimated daily intake) of inhalation and ingestion (normal and high exposures) were calculated. PS, PP, PE, PVC, …

Mitochondria In Local Control Of Programmed Cell Killing & Resilience, Rashna Sharmin

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Specialized cells are commonplace and defined by different compartments. Organelle transport across cell compartments is critical for cell function, as in morphologically complex neurons. Specialized cells can undergo programmed elimination, an essential facet of normal development. My central thesis question asks how intracellular transport of mitochondria, the cell’s energy producers, regulate fated elimination of complex cells. I explored this using the specialized tail-spike cell (TSC) of the roundworm C. elegans. The TSC dies embryonically through the novel ‘tripartite’ developmental killing program, Compartmentalized Cell Elimination (CCE).  In my study, I defined and characterized events at the CCE initiation compartment of the …

Protecting Wetlands In The State Of Texas: Assessing Gaps In Regulations, Knowledge, And Professional Roles And Responsibilities, Grace A. Moy

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Wetlands rank among earth's most productive ecosystems, providing crucial ecological services such as hydrological regulation, water purification, and habitat support (US EPA, 2015). In Texas, however, rapid urbanization, inconsistent policy enforcement, and the absence of statewide protection frameworks of hastened wetland degradation (Brody & Kang, 2011). Without a robust state regulatory framework (Environmental Law Institute [ELI], 2020), these ecosystems face increasing threats from development and hydrological disturbances.

This thesis aims to identify regulatory and knowledge deficiencies that influence Texas’ current wetland protection status and to offer targeted professional recommendations for landscape architecture professionals to address these shortcomings in future public …

Visual Word Recognition And The Role Of Diacritics: Evidence From Arabic Vowelization., Maram Alharbi

Linguistics & TESOL Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the role of vowelization diacritics in Arabic visual word recognition and their contribution to early stages of lexical processing. Across writing systems, diacritical marks differ in their functional role and in whether they are part of letter identity, raising fundamental questions about how such features are encoded during word recognition. Arabic provides a particularly informative testing ground for these questions: vowelization diacritics in this language carry rich phonological information yet are systematically absent from the texts that skilled readers encounter daily. This interaction between the linguistic value of vowelization and its near-total omission in naturalistic reading positions …

In The Circle Of My Sistas: Blackmotherscholars (Re)Defining Scholarly Identity, Dawn Stephens Jenkins

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations

This dissertation examines how Black mothers in doctoral programs develop scholarly identities at the intersections of race, gender, and motherhood within historically white academic spaces. Grounded in endarkened narrative inquiry, the study centers the lived experiences and collective reflections of BlackMotherScholars to interrogate how racialized and gendered mothering shapes scholarly becoming. The research responds to a gap in the literature that overlooks Black maternal experiences as sites of intellectual production and identity formation in doctoral education.

Findings indicate that Black mothering serves as an onto-epistemological foundation for scholarly identity development, shaping participants’ ways of knowing, research commitments, and sense of …

Mental Health Stigma And Its Associations With Depression, Suicidality, And Help-Seeking Among Muslims Living In The United States, Tarnem Amer M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Muslims living in the United States (MLUS) have higher rates of depression (Sloan & Haner, 2023) and are more likely to report a history of suicide compared to other faith groups (Awaad et al., 2021). Nonetheless, help-seeking rates among Muslims remain lower than those among non-Muslims (Ahmad et al., 2023). Mental health stigma has been identified as a key barrier to seeking care, but its mechanisms and outcomes have been understudied among MLUS. The present study examined three types of stigma (mental health public stigma, mental health self-stigma, and mental health help-seeking stigma) and their associations with psychiatric symptoms and …

Somatosensory Realignment Following Single And Dual Force-Field Adaptation, Dylan Zangakis, Aaron Wong, Amanda S. Therrien

Moss-Magee Rehabilitation Papers

Evidence that adaptive motor learning coincides with a realignment of somatosensory perception has led to hypotheses that a shared mechanism underlies both processes. This implies that these two phenomena should exhibit similar properties. However, studies of somatosensory realignment with visuomotor adaptation have shown mixed support, possibly due to a confounding coactivation of sensory prediction errors and multisensory integration. Although the former is thought to drive adaptation, both processes may contribute to somatosensory realignment. Here, we examined somatosensory realignment following force-field adaptation, which is not confounded by multisensory integration. Across two experiments, we tested whether somatosensory realignment mimics three canonical properties …

Comparing The Evolution Of The Advanced Practice Nurse Role: Insights From Switzerland And Kenya, Carole Mackavey, Sara Kohler, Eunice Ndirangu, Rachel Kimani, Constance Shumba, Bernard Mutwiri, Colette Henderson, Anna Jones

School of Nursing & Midwifery, East Africa

The article explores the evolution of Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) roles in Switzerland and Kenya, highlighting their development, challenges, and influence on healthcare delivery. Despite notable differences in income levels and healthcare infrastructure, both countries are committed to strengthening primary care through the deployment of APNs. Switzerland uses APNs to address provider shortages and improve chronic disease management, whereas Kenya uses them to increase access in underserved areas. A comparative analysis explores how regulatory frameworks, educational models, scope of practice, and health system priorities influence the adoption of advanced practice nursing (APN). Switzerland’s established healthcare system supports the integration of …

Beyond Rugged Individualism: A Narrative Intervention For Men Languishing In Isolation, Chad Edward Warren

Doctor of Leadership

My NPO (Need, Problem, or Opportunity) addresses the problem that an exceptional number of men in Northwest Montana languish due to prolonged social and emotional isolation.

Across my research, the key insight was that isolation is sustained not only by personal circumstances but also by the cultural narratives that form men’s identities and expectations. Stories function as “maps of meaning,” shaping what men perceive as strength, weakness, and the good life. In this context, rugged individualism, understood as a self-reliance and isolation narrative that prizes toughness and minimal dependence, can foster admirable grit while also reinforcing shame around vulnerability, help-seeking, …

Evangelistic Preaching Essentials: Inviting The Next "Yes", Julie Ann O'Hara

Doctor of Leadership

Churches within the seventy-eight districts of the USA/Canada Region of the Church of the Nazarene do not have consistently effective evangelistic preaching. Evangelistic preaching is central to the denomination's historical identity, rooted in the holiness tradition of gospel proclamation that invites response. Educational pathways for ordination provide limited exposure to evangelistic preaching, relying instead on local-level practice, and opportunities are frequently limited. Consequently, many developing preachers enter ministry with passion but little experience in evangelistic proclamation.

Research conducted in response to the NPO highlighted several insights. First, growth in preaching requires repeated practice, not simply exposure to content. Second, practice …

Addressing Pornography Use Among Christian University Students: A Small Group Study Curriculum, Jeffery P. Styer

Doctor of Leadership

In the world of 24/7 access to the internet, it has been determined that Christian universities have students who struggle with a habit of viewing pornography impacting current and future relationships, with God, self, and others. These students graduate and are sent out into the world where they continue to struggle with pornography use and its accompanying guilt and shame. It is an injustice for the university and the church (worldwide) not to address this problem.

Research for this project confirms that pornography use is an issue both inside and outside the church. Christians are quick to identify pornography as …

Graduate Research & Scholarship Symposium, Office Of Research

Graduate Student Research Symposium

No abstract provided.

Differences In Comorbidities, Presenting Symptoms, Demographics, And Patient Reported Outcomes In Long Covid By Initial Test Status, Stephanie Georgoudiou

Nursing Dissertations - Archive

Importance Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), remains a major global health concern. Recovery may result in persistent symptoms known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC), or long COVID. Most studies focus on individuals with laboratory-confirmed infection; however, some patients with COVID-like illness and negative tests also develop persistent symptoms. Testing status should not delay appropriate interventions or specialist referrals. Early, symptom-based care is essential to improve outcomes.

Objective To compare patient-reported outcomes and demographics between long COVID patients who tested positive versus negative during their initial illness.

Design, Setting, and Participants This secondary …

Digital Redlining In The Smart City: Artificial Intelligence, Housing Law, And Structural Urban Inequality, Spurthi Nrusimhadevara

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used in urban housing systems, where it shapes decisions about tenant screening, rent pricing, lending, zoning, and neighborhood investment. Although these tools are often promoted as efficient and impartial, they frequently rely on historical data that reflect racial, economic, and spatial inequality. As a result, AI systems can reproduce discriminatory outcomes even when protected characteristics are not directly used. This paper examines digital redlining in the smart city and argues that algorithmic housing tools mirror long standing structural inequities that raise significant concerns under fair housing and civil rights law. It evaluates how automated screening, predictive …

Cultivating Trust, Communication, And Collaboration: A Relational Leadership Design For Intercultural Collaboration In Nouakchott, Mauritania, Elysse Audrey Burns

Doctor of Leadership

Foreign-led initiatives operating in Nouakchott, Mauritania, encounter challenges in collaborating effectively with local communities, hindering the growth of sustainable, locally driven leadership and contextually relevant initiatives. This doctoral project investigates how relational dynamics shape intercultural collaboration and responds through the development of a structured relational leadership certificate program grounded in the Mauritanian context.

Using documented discovery workshops and one-on-one interviews with Mauritanian and international practitioners, the research identified recurring concerns regarding decisionmaking authority, communication clarity, and the distribution of responsibility within foreignled initiatives. Participants described patterns in which expectations were inconsistently communicated, local voices were unevenly integrated into decisions, and …

Welcoming Hospitality, Adam Cheney

Doctor of Leadership

This project seeks to cultivate a deeper practice of welcoming hospitality. It addresses the core problem that the community of Rochester, Minnesota, lacks welcoming hospitality between Evangelical Christians and Somali Muslims, minimizing our common humanity. The project aims to invite Christians into a biblically grounded posture of hospitality toward their Somali neighbors.

Rooted in both research and lived experience, this work sits at the intersection of Evangelical ministry, support for refugees and immigrants, and community engagement. Throughout the research process, I observed the deep need for marginalized voices to be heard and understood. The study identifies four primary barriers contributing …

Music Interventions For Critically Ill Patients: Evaluating Effects Of Music On Psychoemotional Symptoms In Critically Ill Patients Receiving Respiratory Support, Allyson Crighton

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Critically ill adults receiving respiratory support in intensive care units (ICUs) frequently experience psychoemotional disturbances such as agitation, anxiety, and delirium, which contribute to prolonged ventilation, increased sedative use, and adverse patient outcomes. While pharmacologic management remains standard practice, associated risks including oversedation and delirium highlight the need for safe, complementary interventions. Emerging evidence suggests that music-based interventions may offer a non-invasive, cost-effective strategy to reduce psychological or emotional distress in this vulnerable population. This integrative literature review examined the effects of music interventions, including passive music listening and structured music therapy, on agitation and related psychoemotional outcomes in critically …

Parenting Stress And Its Association With Parental Technoference: An Integrative Literature Review, Emily S. Machuca

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Introduction: Today, digital devices are a part of daily life, but can serve as a distraction that interrupts important relationships, a process referred to as technoference. In the context of parenting, device use during child interactions may reduce parental attentiveness and engagement, with potential implications for child development and behavior. Parenting stress may influence how and why parents engage with digital devices in the presence of their children. However, the association between parenting stress and parental technoference remains unclear in the current literature. This integrative literature review aimed to synthesize existing evidence examining the relationship between parenting stress and parental …

Ai Data Center Dynamic Load Effects On Current Transformer Saturation, Sergio A. Hernandez

Electrical Engineering Theses

AI data centers can produce rapid changes in electrical demand that may influence current transformer performance during faults. This study evaluates the effect of an AI data center transient on CT saturation during single line-to-ground faults using a 400 V, 60 Hz grid connected inverter model in MATLAB/Simulink. The normal condition transient produced a maximum RMS current rate of approximately 211 A/ms, which was used along with the maximum power condition to define fault inception cases. A MATLAB time-domain CT model then swept the fault current DC offset coefficient to determine the minimum offset required for CT saturation. The calculated …

Navigating Academic Accommodations For Students With Chronic Illnesses In Higher Education: A Scoping Review, Lauren M. Sutton

Social Work Theses

College is a very important and exciting chapter in students’ lives, one that will prepare them for a career and the rest of their lives. For one student population though, this also comes with additional unknowns, obstacles, and institutional barriers. This student population is students with disabilities. For a student with a disability pursuing a degree in higher education, there are institutional barriers that can be addressed by receiving academic accommodations, reducing or removing institutional barriers that disproportionately affect these students. The barriers faced by a student with a disability vary greatly by student, their disability, their major or program, …

Experimental Thermal Characterization And Comparison Of Direct Liquid Cooling And Air Cooling For A High-Density Gpu Server Thermal Test Vehicle, Oluwagbolahan Esan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Theses

As the power density of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) servers escalates, air cooling is approaching fundamental scaling limits set by air's low convective heat transfer coefficient and rising parasitic fan power. This thesis presents an experimental comparison of direct-to-chip liquid cooling and air cooling for a high-density GPU server, using a Thermal Test Vehicle (TTV) that emulates the device layout and power-density regime of an 8-GPU SXM5-class baseboard (eight emulated GPU blocks and four NVLink Switch modules). The liquid configuration was tested at 8.8 kW (8.0 kW GPU, 800 W switch) across three Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) …

The Relationships Among Maternal Stress, Disordered Eating, Depressive Symptoms, And Infertility In Women Throughout The Postpartum Period, Christina Shoshilos

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

The perinatal period is a critical time of psychological, physiological, and social transition that can increase vulnerability to mental health challenges, particularly during the first year postpartum. This study examined the relationships among maternal stress, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating behaviors in postpartum women, with additional focus on differences by postpartum stage (0 to 6 months vs. 6 to 12 months) and infertility history. Participants (N = 248) were cisgender women who had given birth within the past 12 months and completed validated self-report measures of maternal stress, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating behaviors. A multiple regression analysis revealed …

The Ecological Consequences Of Horizontal Transmission Of Symbionts, Bibek Singh Parajuli

Biology Dissertations

Most multicellular organisms depend on their microbial symbionts for various functions, such as digestion, nutrient supplementation, pesticide degradation, and defense. While many insects acquire their symbionts vertically from their parents, thousands of species of true bugs (Hemiptera) across different families acquire their microbial symbiont, Caballeronia, from the environment each generation. Acquiring symbionts from the environment (horizontal transmission) has various ecological consequences for the host. In this study, I used the bug-Caballeronia model 1) to understand whether the free-living symbionts benefit from association with multicellular hosts, 2) to evaluate whether host specialization on symbiont strains varies across taxonomic levels, …

Effects Of Fermented Soybean Products On The Human Gut Microbiome, Microbial Metabolism, And Host Physiology, Shannon Moncier

Biology Dissertations

Fermented soybean products (FSPs) contain soybean-derived substrates, fermentation-associated microorganisms, and bioactive compounds that may interact with the human gut microbiome and host physiology. However, despite the growing interest in FSPs, longitudinal human studies specifically evaluating traditional Korean-FSPs (K-FSPs), particularly among United States-based populations, remain limited. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of three K-FSPs, including Cheonggukjang, Gochujang, and Doenjang, on host physiological responses, gut microbial community structure, predicted microbial functional potential, and fecal butyrate responses in healthy adults. Three independent dietary intervention cohorts were conducted using FSP formulations produced either by traditional artisan methods (Product A) …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Icu Diaries In Reducing Post–Intensive Care Syndrome (Pics) Psychological Symptoms: A Rapid Review Of United States–Based Studies, Lananh Tran

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Background: The growing recognition of Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) has prompted investigation into interventions, such as ICU diaries, to mitigate the long-term psychological effects of PICS. Intensive care unit (ICU) diaries – journals written by clinicians and loved ones during an ICU admission – are a tool that can help patients reconstruct the events of their critical care experience. Entries in the diary may include clinical updates, explanation of treatments, and encouraging words from loved ones or staff. Previous research in European countries found ICU diaries may be effective in reducing psychological effects post ICU admission.

Research question: The aim …

The New Neccesity, Ezra Rosser

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

According to the U.S. Supreme Court, cities are free to criminalize homelessness. The 2024 case City of Grants Pass v. Johnson is the most important homelessness case in decades and was a significant blow to advocates for the unhoused. The conservative majority rejected the idea that city ordinances criminalizing sleeping in public amounted to cruel and unusual punishment insofar as they penalized status. There is no sidestepping the loss. But within the faint glow of the embers of the oral argument and of the decision itself, there is the possibility that a new understanding of necessity, supported by the same …

Rewards That Resonate- How Incentivized Online Reviews Shape Customer Loyalty And Review Outcomes, Sameeha Khizindar

Marketing Dissertations

In today’s competitive marketplace, online reviews have become a central feature of consumer decision-making and business strategy. Research consistently documents that online reviews have a positive impact on outcomes such as review volume and product sales, underscoring their critical role in shaping firm performance. However, the majority of consumers do not voluntarily write reviews, posing a challenge for companies that rely on user-generated content. To address this issue, companies often offer incentives to motivate customers to write reviews. Despite their widespread use, research on their impact remains limited. This dissertation is comprised of two essays that examine the impact of …

End-To-End Development And Experimental Validation Of A 1/10-Scale Autonomous Vehicle, Rikkin Pankaj Panchal

Electrical Engineering Theses

Autonomous vehicle development demands vast resources, making scaled down platforms a critical alternative for solving core algorithmic challenges. The primary contribution of this thesis is the end to end development and validation of a complete real time autonomous driving pipeline deployed on a one tenth scale vehicle. To streamline platform development, an AI assisted annotation framework automates dataset generation, significantly reducing manual labor while improving training data quality. The system perception stack features a reinforcement learning guided online multi camera calibration framework that enables adaptive surround view stitching without the need for offline recalibration. This is paired with robust lane …

Elevating Teacher Agency In School Decision-Making Through Trust-Building: Applying Appreciative Inquiry Within A Mixed Methods Action Research Framework, Alison S. Bellamy

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This mixed methods action research (MMAR) study examined how Appreciative Inquiry–based professional learning influenced relational trust, teacher voice, and teacher agency in elementary school decision-making within New Hanover County Schools. Grounded in Teacher Agency Theory, Distributed Leadership Theory, and Appreciative Inquiry, the study addressed the gap between teachers’ perceptions of trust and their opportunities to influence school-level decisions. The study was conducted across three mid-quintile elementary schools using a concurrent QUAN–QUAL design. Quantitative data was collected through pre- and post-intervention relational trust surveys. Qualitative data included focus groups, participant reflections, field notes, and collaborative dialogue from two professional learning sessions …