Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Serum And Commercial Serum-Free Media On Development Of In Vitro Produced (Ivp) Embryos In Cattle, Kyla Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Serum-containing media has been shown to increase incidence of large offspring syndrome and to alter gene expression, protein synthesis, and cell signaling. These factors together can result in increased pregnancy loss when combined with assisted reproduction technologies. However, there are very few direct comparisons of commercial serum-free media (IVF Bioscience™) and serum-containing media on both IVF and cloned embryo development in cattle. The aim of this study was to determine the role of serum in oocyte maturation and subsequent embryo development. Three culture systems, including in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro culture (IVC), were used in this study. Both …

Reading Cache Valley Rhetorics: Towards A Composition Pedagogy Of Place, Dax Gove

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

“Reading Cache Valley Rhetorics: Towards a Composition Pedagogy of Place” proposes that place—one’s immediate locale—is an essential element of ecocritical writing pedagogy. There are constant interacting rhetorical constructions of meaning within any given place across texts from the different groups who have lived there. In these local texts, the evidence of a rhetorically mediated reality is evident in the stark differences between natures and cultures—meaning is rhetorically constructed, down to the meaning of place and people. This project reads texts local to the author’s immediate locale, Cache Valley, Utah, from white LDS settler and Indigenous Shoshone rhetors in order to …

Projected Land-Use Change In Northern Utah: Its Implication On Above- And Below-Ground Biomass Carbon, Md Khan Shajidul Kabir

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Land can broadly be classified based on human use and natural characteristics into categories such as cropland, pastureland, urban areas, forests, shrubland, and wetlands. Each type of land has a different capacity to store carbon, and forests play a dominant role. In Utah, economic incentives, urban growth, and population increase are driving shifts in these land-use categories. Using data on agricultural revenue, land values, environmental characteristics, and satellite-based carbon information from the past decade, this study examines how land use may change over the next two decades. The findings suggest a substantial expansion of urban areas, accompanied by declines in …

An Alternative Representation For Temporal Json, Bishal Sarkar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a common format for representing and exchanging data on the web. Most systems only keep the current version of a JSON document, even though, in many situations, it is also important to know how that document changed over time. For example, an application might need to answer questions such as “What did this record look like last week?” or “How has this list grown over the past year?” A simple way to keep this history is to store a full copy of the document every time it changes, but this quickly becomes wasteful, most of …

Scalable Roof Polygon Extraction And Geometric Characterization From Remotely-Sensed Data For Snow Load Assessment, Jashon Newlun

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Heavy snow accumulation on rooftops is a serious structural risk in cold climates, and understanding how much snow builds up on different types of roofs is essential for safe building design. Currently, most data on roof snow loads comes from small, labor-intensive field surveys that cover only a handful of buildings at a time. This results in far too few measurements of buildings to draw confident conclusions about how snow behaves across communities. This thesis develops and demonstrates a new automated approach for measuring roof snow accumulation and extracting key building characteristics across thousands of buildings at once using airborne …

Gradient Based Optimization Methods For Robust Learning And Biomedical Signal Modeling, Jarrod Mau

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This dissertation explores how modern artificial intelligence techniques can be used to better understand complex biological data. Specifically, it develops new machine learning based methods and applies them to two important biomedical problems: analyzing brain signals and studying protein behavior.

The first part of the work introduces a new machine learning approach designed to improve how computers classify structured data. Traditional neural networks are powerful but can sometimes generalize poorly. This research proposes a method that combines the flexibility of neural networks with the reliability of ensemble techniques, leading to more robust and accurate predictions across different types of datasets. …

Exploring The Correlation Between Malnutrition And Food And Nutrition Insecurity In Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Heather Burr

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) may increase the risk of malnutrition because of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and restrictive eating. In addition, patients with IBD may experience food and nutrition insecurity. Therefore, we conducted an online survey to assess risk of malnutrition and food and nutrition insecurity among adult patients with IBD in outpatient and community settings. Patients were recruited between July and December 2025, aiming to reach adults in the Rocky Mountain Region diagnosed with IBD. Data collected included demographics, health-related factors, risk of nutrition insecurity, risk of food insecurity, and barriers and facilitators to dietary management of IBD.

Fifty-seven patients …

Developing Fragility Curves For Steel Special Moment-Resisting Frames In Utah, Olivia P. Murphy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Major seismic events along the Wasatch Fault represent a serious threat to Utah's residents and built environment. Engineers currently rely on a statistical approach that calculates earthquake ground shaking based on probabilities of various events occurring over extended time periods. This method informs how strong new buildings must be constructed. However, many structural engineering professionals in Utah worry that this probability-based approach may significantly underestimate the actual ground shaking compared to an alternative method that examines the largest possible earthquake a fault can generate. The substantial differences between the two analytical approaches raise fundamental concerns about whether existing construction standards …

Cultivating Excellence: The Relationship Between Educator Professional Development And Adult Student Success In Arkansas, Marsha Taylor

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study will investigate the relationship between Arkansas adult education teachers' engagement in professional development and their average classroom achievement, as indicated by students' measurable skill gains (MSGs). The study, informed by Dreyfus's (2004) model of skill acquisition, will examine the impact of the quantity of professional development hours, teachers' employment status (full-time or part-time), and the focus of professional development (content versus other domains) on classroom outcomes. Survey data on professional development involvement will be collected from Arkansas adult education teachers using a cross-sectional, regression-based design and subsequently linked to achievement data from the LiteracyPro system. Five hypotheses …

Age And Characteristics Of Quaternary Fluvial And Dune Deposits Along The Arkansas And Cimarron Rivers In Osage And Pawnee Counties, Oklahoma, Barry A. Duncan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Quaternary aeolian and fluvial deposits along the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers in Osage and Pawnee counties of central Oklahoma, record Late Pleistocene and Holocene fluvial landscape history in the eastern Osage Plains. Sediment supply, climate variability, channel incision, and channel migration control this landscape evolution. Sediment supply of both streams is dominantly sand. Late Pleistocene and Holocene precipitation have varied with periods of drought alternating with increased precipitation and warming. The study area is near the eastern boundary of substantial aeolian activity with drought and aeolian reworking of fluvial sand more severe to the west. This study examines the sediment, …

Impaired Tunability Of Brain State And Motor Dysfunction In A Mouse Model Of Rett Syndrome, Victoria Kindler Norman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurological disorder, caused by disrupted function of the MECP2 gene, resulting in impaired cognitive and motor functions. Previous studies suggest that although MECP2 has important functions throughout the body, the etiological origins of RTT-related dysfunction should be sought within the brain. However, it remains a mystery how neural population dynamics are altered in the RTT brain and how these alterations relate to motor dysfunction. Previous studies using an RTT mouse model point to abnormal correlations among firing rates of neurons. Here we hypothesize that such disrupted neural activity correlation could be caused by abnormal …

How To Make Tamales: Stories, Jeanette Colby

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In all its intersectionality, I see my thesis as a female journey of identity and maturation. A common theme in my writing always leads back to my upbringing in some way; my history, memories, and beliefs inevitably plague the storytelling animal that lives within me. These different kinds of narratives represent all the parts of my identity. At the same time, the fictional scenes allow me to dramatize and interpret specific life events, while the mythic narratives provide a symbolic framework for exploring psychological and spiritual truths that might transcend conventional logic. Almost all of these pieces reflect various aspects …

Health Disparities In El Paso's Low-Income Hispanic Communities: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of Acculturation, Obesity Metrics, And Socio-Cultural Determinants, Karen Del Rio

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Health disparities among low-income Hispanic immigrants in the United States are shaped by complex interactions between acculturation, structural inequality, and socio-cultural determinants that behavioral and epidemiological models have not fully explained. This dissertation examines the relationship between acculturation and obesity-related outcomes among uninsured and low-income Hispanic adults of Mexican descent in El Paso, Texas, using a three-article, sequential, explanatory, mixed-methods design grounded in Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit).Article 1 presents a systematic review of 20 peer-reviewed studies examining acculturation and obesity among Mexican Americans, finding consistent evidence that longer U.S. residence is associated with increased BMI and obesity prevalence, mediated …

How Do Students Experience And Make Meaning Of Their Participation In A Community-Engaged Work-Study Internship At A Border Hsi?, Heriberto Jose Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

At Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), students often juggle financial need, job obligations, family duties, and academic persistence. In these settings, access to meaningful and equitable experiential learning opportunities is critical for student development, belonging, and professional growth. This qualitative study examines how undergraduate students experience and interpret their participation in a community-engaged work-study internship program at an HSI on the U.S.-Mexico border. The study is guided by the research question: How do students experience and make meaning of their participation in a community-engaged work-study internship at a border HSI? It explores how students interpret their experiences within institutional and community contexts …

An Approach To Incorporate Skid Resistance Into Balanced Asphalt Mix Design Framework, Sandeep Reddy Gottam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Balanced Mix Design (BMD) process aims to achieve an economical blend of aggregates, binder, and additives for satisfactory performance against rutting and cracking-related distresses, compared to volumetric design methods. Although the BMD process improves the structural performance of pavements, functional performance is essential for the comfort and safety of road users. Road user comfort is influenced by pavement distresses, while road user safety is largely determined by the skid resistance (frictional resistance) of the pavement. The aim of this dissertation was to incorporate skid resistance into the BMD framework through an approach. To develop an approach that integrates with …

Validity Of The Cultural Determinants Of Help-Seeking Model Among Hispanic Women With A History Of Intimate Partner Violence And Psychological Distress, Genevieve Marie Jessen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hispanic women experience disproportionately higher rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alongside low treatment engagement and greater alcohol use, even after intimate partner violence (IPV) has ended. Sociocultural factors may exacerbate the lasting impacts of IPV by contributing to a greater burden of disease. Prior research suggests that both psychological symptoms and sociocultural influences shape trauma recovery following IPV. However, little is known about how these factors interact after IPV cessation to impact Hispanic women's help-seeking and drinking. To address this gap, the present study applied the Cultural Determinants of Help-Seeking (CDHS) framework to examine whether inhibitory factors (e.g., barriers …

College Administrative Officers' Lived Experiences Navigating Financial Crises At A Research-Intensive Hsi, Brianna Ashley Licerio

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how College Administrative Officers (CAOs) at a research-intensive Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) on the U.S.-Mexico border make sense of and respond to federally induced financial disruptions. Guided by adaptive leadership and informed by sensemaking, the study explored how CAOs interpret funding instability while working to sustain institutional operations, institutional trust, and commitments to servingness. The central research question was: How do CAOs describe their role in maintaining financial stability during federal funding disruptions at a research-intensive HSI on the U.S.-Mexico border? Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five CAOs representing academic colleges at …

Human Papillomavirus (Hpv) Vaccine Acceptance: A Mixed-Methods Study And Randomized Controlled Trial Examining Messengers Of Hpv Vaccine Information Among Hispanic Parents, Alyssa Andrea Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hispanics make up 19.5% of the U.S. population, making them the nation's largest ethnic minority. Hispanics are disproportionately impacted by health outcomes, including many different types of cancers that are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). An HPV vaccine is available that can prevent 90% of HPV associated cancers. The purpose of this mixed-methods study and randomized experiment is to develop and test data-driven digital health messages to promote the HPV vaccine in Hispanic parents. Four specific aims were conducted among three major studies. Aim 1 (Study 1): A cross-sectional survey was conducted to obtain preliminary evidence on trusted messengers …

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Resilience, And Adaptive Functioning Among Student Veterans With Disabilities. A Resilience Portfolio Model Perspective, Donyeill Mozer

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with long-term psychological, physical, and behavioral outcomes; however, limited research has examined their relationship with multidimensional college adjustment among student veterans with disabilities, particularly those attending Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). Guided by the Resilience Portfolio Model, this study examined associations among ACEs, perceived resilience, and multidimensional college adjustment within an understudied population of student veterans with disabilities enrolled at an HSI. Using a cross-sectional secondary analysis of survey data, the analytic sample consisted of 129 student veterans. ACEs were measured using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, perceived resilience was measured using the Brief Resilience Scale, …

Quantifying Spatiotemporal Ev In-Motion Load Dynamics For Flexible Distribution Grid Operations, Travis Newbolt

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The emergence of novel in-motion Electric Vehicle (EV) charging through Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) technology is enabling the transformation of traditional roadway infrastructures into fully integrated Electrified Transportation Networks (ETNs) by the direct coupling of roadways with electric power grids. This paradigm has the potential to improve charging safety, extend driving ranges, reduce EV manufacturing costs through smaller battery sizes, and shift EV charging demand to periods when Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are more readily available. In addition, the transition to ETNs can improve air quality and reduce noise pollution by displacing fossil fuel consumption from vehicles to centralized …

Three Essays On Workplace Ethics And Ai: Conceptualizing, Scale Development, And Validation Of Self-Value Actualization, And Ai-Enabled High-Performance Work Systems, Mansura Nusrat

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation advances understanding of workplace ethics and responsible AI integration across three interconnected essays unified by social cognitive theory. My first essay introduces self-value actualization (SVA), a novel construct defined as the dynamic, integrated psychological process through which individuals continually strive to align and fulfill their core moral values through observable professional behavior. Drawing on social cognitive theory and emotional intelligence theory, I conceptualize SVA as a higher-order self-regulatory orientation comprising three mutually reinforcing processes: value congruence, moral reflection, and adaptive morality. I developed and validated a 9-item SVA scale across four studies using expert panels, exploratory factor analysis, …

Implementing Mtss In Hispanic Serving Middle Schools From The Concept Of Rurality: A Qualitative Case Study On School Mental Health And The Role Of Social Work, Rosario Elena Olivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and the integration of mental health services within two middle schools in a suburban-rural mix, predominantly Hispanic school district in Southwest Texas, referred to as Desert View Independent School District. The study explored how educators and school-based mental health professionals perceive, interpret, and operationalize MTSS within their school contexts. Methods: The study employed a qualitative case study design grounded in implementation science and ecological systems theory. Data were collected through purposive sampling and included semi-structured interviews with teachers, counselors, and a district-level school …

The Creature From Space: A Science Fiction Musical, Monroe Nathaniel Oxley

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

My thesis examines how the musical The Creature from Space uses metatheatre, musical form, and science fiction to explore identity, conformity, and social control within a fictional 1950s Texas town. Centered on Lilly, a young woman struggling between loyalty to her hometown and the desire for personal freedom, the musical reimagines conventions of the Golden Age American musical while critiquing the ideological structures embedded within them. Drawing on works such as Oklahoma!, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Schmigadoon!, Little Shop of Horrors, and Ride the Cyclone, the project examines how musical theatre constructs and reinforces social roles through performance. The …

Understanding Machine Learning Model Behavior Under Fairness And Privacy Constraints, David Anthony Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Machine learning systems deployed in high-stakes domains are increasingly expected to satisfy demands beyond predictive accuracy-including fairness across demographic groups, protection of sensitive information, and explanations that human stakeholders can inspect and trust. This thesis investigates how those demands can be met through learning frameworks that explicitly govern the relationship between data and models, arguing that trustworthiness is a design problem rather than a post hoc correction. The thesis is organized around three studies, each targeting a distinct point of data-facing control. The first develops CondFairGen, a fairness-aware conditional generator for tabular data that improves subgroup equity by dynamically reweighting …

Breaking The Silence: Lifting The Voices Of Special Education Teachers In Co-Teaching Partnerships - A Study On The Impact Of Collaborative Practices And The Common Challenges Faced In An Inclusive Classroom, Marta Bronislawa Santiago

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Inclusive education increasingly positions co-teaching as a key model for supporting students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Although co-teaching is widely promoted as a way to improve access and participation, its effectiveness is shaped by how special education teachers experience collaboration, role clarity, and administrative support in practice. This qualitative study explored how special education teachers perceived their roles in co-teaching partnerships and the conditions that influenced their ability to collaborate effectively. Guided by a constructivist epistemological framework, this qualitative study explored the experiences of special education teachers working in co-teaching settings. Through semi-structured interviews, participants described how their …

The Transformation Of Mexican-American Fathers In Doctoral Studies, Harat Ridrigo Saucedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Fatherhood and minority are words that are not discussed enough in academia. While there has been an awakening in women enrolling and graduating in higher education, the same cannot be said about males, especially fathers of Mexican-American background. As the fastest-growing minority, Mexican-American fathers in doctoral studies are the most underrepresented. The current state of research in the field is minimal, focusing on Mexican-Americans in undergraduate courses, mothers in graduate courses, and males in graduate courses; little is found on Mexican-American fathers in doctoral studies. The research in this qualitative study was designed to address the limited knowledge about Mexican-American …

Retiro, Max Scoular

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A collection of ten short stories in fulfillment of requirements for Master's Degree in Creative Writing at University of Texas El Paso.

Understanding The Role Of The School Librarian: Insights From Principals And Librarians, Ruby Shivery

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examines how principals and school librarians understand and define the role of the school librarian with the K-12 school system. Guided by Role Conflict Theory, the study explores how differing expectations regarding instructional support, leadership, collaboration, and library management contribute to role ambiguity and professional tension. As the responsibilities of the school librarian continue to expand, inconsistencies in how the role is perceived may influence both professional relationships and the effectiveness of the library programs themselves. Using semi-structured interviews with both principals and school librarians, the study investigates areas of alignment and conflict in participants' perceptions of the …

Centering Latinx Perspectives And Cultural Identification In Music Listening: Examining Musical Consumption Behaviors And Choices Among Latinx Adults, Javier Alejandro Silerio

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Music is a critical cultural activity and resource for people all over the world, often used for communication, recreation, identity formation, social bonding, and many other aspects of our daily lives. Moreover, this has been reported across many cultures and is not unique to a single group. Despite this, there is currently limited information and research around Latinx American music consumption and this population's overall relationship with music. Because of this, the purpose of this study is to examine music consumption behaviors among Latinx Americans, as well as possible relationships between their Latinx cultural identification and said music consumption behaviors. …

Fluoxetine Exposure During Adolescence Alters Prefrontal Cortex Signaling And Nociceptive-Related Behavior In Adulthood, Anapaula Themann

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The long-term neurobiological consequences of adolescent antidepressant exposure remain poorly understood, despite the substantial increase in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) prescription rates in youth. Therefore, the goal of this dissertation was to determine whether adolescent exposure to the SSRI fluoxetine (FLX) produces lasting molecular and behavioral adaptations, using rodents as a model system. To do this, in Chapter 2, I assessed whether adolescent FLX exposure (postnatal day [PD] 35-49) alters signaling molecules associated with survival and synaptic plasticity (extracellular signa- regulated kinase [ERK]) within the adult prefrontal cortex (PFC) - a brain region that plays a central role in …