Digital Commons Network^™

A Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence Sentiment Analysis Of Esg Disclosures, John Barnett Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

This dissertation examines whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure sentiment extracted from SEC Form 10-K Item 1A risk disclosures aligns with Bloomberg ESG scores. The study combines SEC textual disclosures, Bloomberg ESG ratings, firm financial data, executive compensation data, and executive gender characteristics. Natural language processing and artificial intelligence methods, including FinBERT, Loughran-McDonald sentiment measures, BART-MNLI zero-shot classification, LLaMA-based ESG scoring, and readability analysis, are used to evaluate ESG-related disclosure signals. Results reveal that SEC 10-K Item 1A risk-factor sentiment and Bloomberg ESG scores represent related but distinct constructs. ESG sentiment in Item 1A is poorly aligned with third-party …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 42: How Accurate Are The Transcriptions Presented At The Alfred Russel Wallace Page Website?, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

A look is taken at the level of accuracy displayed by the transcriptions of Wallace writings offered at the Alfred Russel Wallace Page website, as determined by a ChatGPT analysis.

Oak Savanna Expansion: Indigenizing Psu's Urban Landscape, Ash Herb

University Honors Theses

Since time immemorial Indigenous Peoples have resided in what is now named Portland of the Pacific Northwest in the Willamette Valley. For hundreds of years, this forested Land has been colonized, razed to stumps and covered in cement in order to build the urban landscape. Due to such destruction on a broad scale, we are experiencing the results of climate catastrophe. By finding ways to reclaim our relationship with Land and returning to Indigenous epistemologies, our urban landscape has the opportunity to shift towards restoration and prosperity. Indigenous plants have existed here, supporting humans in a reciprocal relationship, for thousands …

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2025-2026, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Clinical Machine Learning Model For Predicting Pathological Complete Response In Patients With Esophageal And Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma After Trimodality Therapy, Kohei Yamashita, Evan Kwiatkowski, Matheus Sewastjanow-Silva, Jane E Rogers, Katsuhiro Yoshimura, Melissa Pool Pizzi, Qiong Gan, Jenny J Li, Rebecca E Waters, Mariela Blum Murphy, Masaaki Iwatsuki, Wayne L Hofstetter, Aileen Chen, Ying Yuan, Jaffer A Ajani

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Accurate prediction of pathological complete response (pCR) after preoperative chemoradiation therapy, followed by surgery (trimodality therapy) in esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GEJAC) may improve clinical decision-making and patient counseling before esophagectomy. This study aimed to develop predictive models for pCR after trimodality using machine learning (ML) approaches.

Patients and methods: A total of 569 patients with EAC and GEJAC who received trimodality therapy at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2002 and 2022 were included. Clinicopathological characteristics and survival benefit of patients who achieved a pCR were reviewed via descriptive and survival analyses. Subsequently, ML models based …

Safety And Efficacy Of Tranexamic Acid In Urologic Surgery: Results From The International, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Poise-3 Trial, Kari A O Tikkinen, Maura Marcucci, Alex L E Halme, Sandra N Ofori, Flavia K Borges, Charlotte T B Kanstrup, Lily J Park, Farhad Tondroanamag, Tuomas P Kilpeläinen, Sara V Tornberg, Thomas W Painter, David Conen, Vladimir Lomivorotov, Daniel I Sessler, Matthew T V Chan, Maria Jose Martinez-Zapata, Chew Y Wang, Denis B Xavier, Michael K Wang, Wojciech Szczeklik, Kate Leslie, Luke T Lavallee, Rodney H Breau, Kumar Balasubramanian, P J Devereaux

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objective: Perioperative bleeding is common. Evidence for tranexamic acid (TXA) in urology remains limited and conflicting, and major urologic guidelines provide no recommendations. In an a priori planned analysis, we evaluated TXA among patients undergoing urologic surgery in POISE-3.

Methods: POISE-3 was an international randomized trial of patients undergoing surgery with bleeding and cardiovascular risk factors. Participants received TXA (1 g intravenous bolus at surgery start and end) or placebo. The primary efficacy outcome was a 30-day bleeding composite (life-threatening/major/critical organ), and the primary safety outcome was a 30-day thrombosis composite (myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery [MINS], nonhemorrhagic …

Computable Phenotypes For Research Using Real-World Data: Experiences From The Nih Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory, Marisa L Conte, Judith M Schlaeger, Guilherme Del Fiol, James R Campbell, Andrea L Cheville, Keith Marsolo, Kari A Stephens, Miriam O Ezenwa, Andrew D Boyd, Juanita E Darby, Nadine S Matthie, P Michael Ho, Alice Pressman, Morgan Justice, Carol Reynolds Geary, Keturah R Faurot, Alex Fist, Karen Staman, Hulin Wu, Rachel L Richesson

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objectives: Embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) are conducted as part of routine clinical care and therefore use data collected from real-world data sources, such as electronic health record systems and administrative claims. A common approach for using these types of data across all phases of trial conduct is to create a computable phenotype (an explicitly defined data query data, including specified data types, data codes, and logical parameters) to capture patients with a clinical condition, exposure, symptom, characteristic, treatment, or outcome of interest.

Materials and methods: The Electronic Health Record (EHR) Core Working Group of the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory …

Indigenous Community Research Opportunities, Sharon Hausam, Aaron M. Canter

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Opportunities For Leadership In Indigenous And Tribally Engaged Research At The University Of New Mexico, Sharon Hausam

Faculty Publications

This is a working paper produced as part of National Science Foundation project #2115169, “Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West,” known as the “Intermountain West Transformation Network” (TN), led by the University of New Mexico with institutional partners at three additional universities in New Mexico, two in Arizona, and one each in Utah, Colorado, and Washington. The TN’s Indigenous and Tribal engagement was supported through a contract with Dr. Sharon Hausam, additional work by Aaron M. Canter, coordination with Dr. Lani Tsinnajinnie, and an Advisory Committee on Indigenous Information Needs primarily comprised of Indigenous representatives in …

Fuimos Olvidados Y Descuidados [Forgotten And Neglected]: Lessons Learned And Findings From On-Farm Covid-19 Education And Vaccine Clinics For Agricultural Workers And Their Multigenerational Families In Texas, Anabel Rodriguez, David I Douphrate, Ana L Pineda Reyes, Susana Zavala, Lus Chavez, Sofia Nicole Lopez, Andrea V Cabrera Cruz, Annie J Keeney, Nora Hernandez, Brenda Berumen-Flucker, Eva M Shipp, Matthew W Nonnenmann, Shannon P Guillot-Wright, Bethany Boggess Alcauter, G Lopez Ixta, Paula M Cuccaro, Higinio Fernandez-Sanchez, David Gimeno Ruiz De Porras

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background: Despite being deemed essential non-healthcare workers, agricultural workers were excluded from COVID-19 vaccine prioritization in Texas. This professional practice report describes the multifaceted worker health and safety approaches to protecting agricultural workers and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Between March 2020 and January 2025, several outreach, education, and training grants from various funding agencies were leveraged to deliver training, personal protective equipment, vaccines, and economic relief to agricultural workers in partnership with community-based organizations, industry, local public health departments, and academic institutions.

Findings: Timely funding efforts led to the distribution of 1,000 PPE kits, with more than …

Market Rate Survey & Narrow Cost Analysis: 2026 Data Collection Incentive Plan, Nh Department Of Health And Human Services

New Hampshire Early Care and Education Research Consortium

No abstract provided.

The Association Between Apoe Genotype, Race, And Dementia: An Analysis Of 7 Population-Based Cohort Studies, Natalia Lakomski, Katherine Giorgio, John Stephen, Maxwell Mansolf, Aïcha Soumaré, Alden L Gross, Allison E Aiello, Archana Singh-Manoux, M Arfan Ikram, Catherine Helmer, Claudia L Satizabal, Deborah A Levine, Donald M Lloyd-Jones, Emily M Briceño, Farzaneh A Sorond, Frank J Wolters, Jayandra J Himali, Lenore J Launer, Djass Mbangdadji, David Li, Lihui Zhao, Oscar L Lopez, Stéphanie Debette, Sudha Seshadri, Suzanne E Judd, Timothy M Hughes, Vilmundur Guðnason, Michael Griswold, Paul S De Vries, Alison Fohner, Pamela L Lutsey, Rachel Zmora, Elizabeth A Peterson, Denise Scholtens, Norrina B Allen, Sanaz Sedaghat

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Background and objectives: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) haplotypes are known to be associated with dementia, with the ε4 haplotype associated with higher risk. It has been suggested that the APOE ε2 allele serves as a protective factor for dementia. However, data on the effects of the homozygous APOE ε2/ε2 genotype are limited, likely due to the rarity of the APOE ε2/ε2 genotype. Furthermore, the association between APOE genotypes and dementia may differ across self-reported race. We aim to investigate the association between APOE genotypes and dementia overall and across self-reported race, with a focus on the potential protective …

Emergency Medical Services Mental Health: Causes Of Providers Leaving The Industry, Brian C. Selke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Employee resilience and mental health have become critical concerns in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as workforce shortages increasingly threaten staffing stability and patient care. National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) data indicates that more than 30% of eligible EMS providers did not recertify between 2020 and 2023, raising concerns about workforce sustainability. This study examines EMS providers’ intentions to leave the profession and identifies workplace factors associated with turnover. A statewide survey of more than 1,200 licensed EMS providers in Alabama was analyzed using regression techniques to evaluate the relationship between workplace conditions and turnover intentions. Results demonstrate that …

"I Can See Where This Is Taking Me": Medical Students' Perceptions Of Humanities Courses At Aga Khan University, Kenya, Catherine Gathu, Marthaclaire Zammit, Urvi Saboo, Robert Opoka

Family Medicine, East Africa

Background Humanities courses in medical training are increasingly recognized as essential for developing empathetic, reflective and socially responsive physicians. Although well-established globally, their integration into medical education in African contexts remains limited. In Kenya, humanities are often peripheral within curricula dominated by biomedical sciences and clinical medicine. Aga Khan University (AKU), Nairobi, has introduced a novel medical curriculum that embeds seven core humanities courses as central components of the initial phase of its MBChB program. This study explored students’ perceptions and lived experiences of these humanities courses.

Methods A retrospective descriptive study using an embedded mixed-methods design was conducted among …

Spatial Structure And Energy Content Of Wakes Behind Single And Arrayed Undulated Cylinders, Taiga Naomi Drucker-Boisvert, OndˇRej FerˇCák, Jérémie Auzoux, Sarah E. Smith, Zein Sadek, Rowan Moore, Christain T. Murphy, Trevor Dunt, Jennifer A. Franck, Raul Bayoan Cal

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biologically inspired undulated cylinder geometries significantly influence wake structure and vortex-induced vibrations in turbulent flows, yet the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. It is further unknown how these influences extend to multi-cylinder arrays, where interacting wakes accumulate and mix. This study examines the wake characteristics of an undulated cylinder and a smooth elliptic cylinder in single- and multi-cylinder array configurations, using particle image velocimetry and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). Relative to the smooth elliptic cylinder, the undulated geometry induces pronounced spanwise-axial variability, characterized by enhanced near-wake mean momentum and weak far-wake signatures, consistent with reduced turbulent kinetic energy. While …

Exploring Right Ventricular Function Applicability In A Prediction Model To Identify Preterm Infants With Early Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (Report – Bpd Study): A Mixed Methods Observational Cohort Feasibility Study, Wisam Muhsen

School of Nursing and Midwifery Theses

Background: Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is one of the significant complications of prematurity with its incidence on the rise, yet there is no clinically available prediction model. Aim:To assess the feasibility of conducting a study measuring right ventricular (RV) function as a contributor to the development of an early BPD prediction model in preterm infants. Methods This PhD comprised a scoping review and a single-centre mixed-methods feasibility cohort study with three quantitative and qualitative work packages, conducted at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. The scoping review searched Medline, CINAHL, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, JBI Evidence-Based Practice, …

The Effects Of Education And Training On Clinical Staff’S Knowledge, Perception, And Clinical Practice Of The Medication Reconciliation Process, Stephanie A. Williams

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Medication-related harm affects approximately one in 30 patients in healthcare settings. Accurate medication reconciliation (MedRec) is essential for identifying medication discrepancies, preventing medication errors, and reducing adverse drug events. Clinical staff play a critical role in ensuring the accuracy of medication lists in primary care settings.

This evidence-based quality improvement project evaluated the effect of a structured MedRec training intervention on MedRec knowledge, perceptions, and practices among clinical staff in a primary care clinic in Southeast Texas. The project used a single-group, quantitative, quasi-experimental design. A convenience sample of 32 clinical staff members completed knowledge and perception assessments before and …

Beyond Beliefs: Factors That Shape Agricultural Plastic End-Of-Life Management Among California Strawberry Growers, Kyle Y. Cahitas

Master's Theses

The practice of using plastics in agriculture is so prevalent it has earned its own name: plasticulture. One key plasticulture tool is polyethylene (PE) mulch film, a thin plastic sheet laid over the field for a single growing season and pulled out before the next. Because PE film is hard to recycle, most of it ends up in a landfill, yet how growers decide what happens to used plastic mulch has rarely been studied. To identify what shapes that decision, this study draws on a survey of California strawberry growers (n = 126). Twenty variables, spanning grower attitudes, farm characteristics, …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Quantum Dots And Gold Nanoparticles For Norovirus Biosensing Applications In Water Systems, Breanne Evans

Master's Theses

Rapid, reliable detection of viral pathogens remains a significant challenge across water-treatment and environmental monitoring systems, including drinking-water, wastewater, water reuse, and environmental surveillance applications. Waterborne viral contamination can pose substantial public-health risks, making early detection essential for protecting water quality and responding quickly to treatment failures or contamination events. Direct potable reuse (DPR) is one particularly demanding example because it requires continuous verification of treatment performance and the broader need for rapid virus monitoring extends across many water-treatment and environmental surveillance applications. Norovirus is a priority target because of its widespread occurrence in wastewater, environmental persistence, and exceptionally low …

Comparing 3-Connectedness And Roundness In Matroid Theory, Blanca Delia Larios

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

A matroid is a discrete mathematical object that abstracts and connects the various notions of independence found throughout mathematics. Such notions of independence include linear independence, algebraic independence, as well as notions of independence that arise in graph theory. There are many broad classes of matroids. Important examples include binary matroids, graphic matroids, regular matroids, uniform matroids, and various levels of connected matroids. Some of the most important problems in matroid theory involve characterizing classes of matroids so that such characterizations can be used to prove results concerning these matroid classes. This thesis is a study of two important classes …

How Recent Medicaid Defunding Has Impacted San Bernardino County Residents Access To Health Care Services, Samantha I. Rios

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Medicaid is a critical source of health insurance for low-income populations in the United States, providing access to essential preventative, primary, and reproductive health care services (Donohue et al., 2022). The Medicaid defunding of 2025 and policy changes that follow have raised concerns regarding increased barriers to care, particularly among low-income and vulnerable populations who rely on safety-net providers such as Planned Parenthood (Planned Parenthood, 2025). The purpose of this study was to examine how the 2025 Medicaid defunding has impacted access to general and reproductive health care services among residents of San Bernardino County, California.

Conclusion: The research …

From Margins To Center: Los Deslenguados In The Borderlands, Brissa S. Porras Villalobos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Borderland literature is a subgenre that often includes narratives of migration, tribulations, identity development, and resilience. It foregrounds the collaboration of vulnerability, isolation, connection, and power, showing that hybridity is a source of cultural energy. Acknowledging the borderland and its culture is crucial because it challenges stereotypes, validates marginalized voices, and celebrates heritage in all its complexity. By centering these experiences, borderland literature affirms the potential of living between cultures, prioritizing the recognition of the in-between, valuing and celebrating the space where identities are continually reshaped, histories are reclaimed, and resilience is nurtured rather than neglected. Using Gloria Anzaldúa's theory …

The Relativity Of Education: Student Perspectives On Artificial Intelligence In Community College, Ashley Greta Magana

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how diverse community college students experience and make meaning of the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into their educational contexts. Although AI is quickly transforming higher education through automated grading, personalized learning systems, and new models of assessment, the discourse surrounding its implementation remains dominated by administrators, faculty, and institutional stakeholders, while the perspectives of students, specifically community college students who are often historically underrepresented and economically marginalized, are systematically excluded. Most existing research is quantitative and centered on universities, leaving a critical gap in qualitative understanding of the most diverse population in higher …

A Culturally Responsive Sexual Health Education Framework For Community Clinics In The Inland Empire, Lilianna Mora Ledezma

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to disproportionately affect underserved communities, where barriers such as limited healthcare access, stigma, healthcare anxiety, medical mistrust, and language differences may discourage individuals from seeking routine screening and timely treatment. This project examined current public health literature, surveillance data, and federal guidance to identify evidence-based strategies that community clinics can implement to improve patient engagement in sexual health services. The findings demonstrated that effective STI prevention extends beyond testing alone and is strengthened through culturally responsive care, stigma reduction, patient-centered communication, standardized clinic workflows, and effective patient navigation. As a result, this project developed a …

The Effect Of Telehealth Expansion On The Health Equity Of Underserved Populations, Mansi B. Satani

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The rapid expansion of telehealth, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, has changed healthcare delivery in the United States. The use of telehealth can potentially decrease disparities related to isolation, shortage of providers and barriers to transportation, however, its impact on health equity in underserved populations is unknown. This paper explores how telehealth expansion impacts rural populations' access to healthcare, health outcomes, and equity. It also examines its impact on populations with low income, racial, ethnic minorities, and Medicaid recipients who frequently encounter obstacles to healthcare and digital access (Nouri et al., 2020; Shah et al., 2024). A mixed-method design …

How Establishing "Duration Of Treatment" Guidelines Shortens Workers' Compensation Cases, Annette Marie Smith M.D.

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Jobs provide financial security for individual workers and their families in the community until a worker gets hurt on the job, and then things are up in the air until their workers’ compensation claim is approved. It is a well-known fact within the workers compensation literature that one third of all workers’ compensation (WC) claims are “low back sprains and strains” which are the leading cause of global disability (Ummey, 2023). This project proposed to explore the relationship of x-ray and MRI result interpretations by the physician and standardize the duration of treatment with a physical therapist and new concept …

Genocide As Patriotic Duty: The Outcomes Of Ultranationalism And Dehumanization From World War Ii Genocide Orchestrators, Corie R. Blais

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The thesis provides a contribution to the field of history how nationalism

often transforms individuals during wartime to become dehumanizing

ultranationalists through patriotism and its connection to genocide.  Also, it gives

insight into the many ways that genocide orchestrators during World War II,

relied on propaganda of racism, religion, and “othering” in order to justify their

incentives to expand territories and dehumanize victims through medical

experimentations and sexual violence.  While research materials in the context of

Nazi Germany were ample, one challenge in my research was finding

documentations on Stalin’s People Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD)

police unit which carried …

Role Of Stigma On Engagement In Mental Health Services For Latinxs With First-Episode Psychosis (Fep), Livia J. Padron Briceno

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Psychotic patients often endure stigma in their daily lives (Corrigan, 2018). Psychotic patients are understood as individuals who are experiencing psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and disorganized speech (Arciniegas, 2015; Breitborde et al., 2017; Moskowitz et al., 2019) and have been diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria with a psychotic disorder (e.g. Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder). Stigma refers to negative perceptions held about an individual experiencing mental illness. While public stigma refers to the negative views adhered to by members of communities (e.g., sociocultural group, family units) about people with mental illness, self-stigma …

From Genes To Streams: Mitochondrial Approaches To Population Monitoring Of The Santa Ana Sucker Catostomus Santaanae, Mariana Antonio

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study was developed to use aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) as a tool to detect the presence of the Santa Ana sucker (Catostomus santaanae), a federally threatened fish species, across the Santa Ana River in Southern California. Environmental DNA is any genetic material that an organism sheds into the environment. We can get an idea of what aquatic species are present when sampling water at a given site. We sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the Santa Ana sucker and designed custom DNA primers to improve eDNA detection accuracy. These primers were selected based on high genetic …

The Third Zone Of Incomplete Rights: Spatial Compartmentalization, Expendability, And The Making Of Death Worlds In Adichie's Dream Count, Ebelenna F. Nwaobi

Research Papers

Contemporary socio-political discourses on global migration often risk misrepresenting migrant experiences by framing them mainly through the language of humanitarianism, inclusion, and identity. While these frameworks foreground protection and belonging, they may inadvertently obscure the institutional and political structures that regulate, differentiate, and expose migrants to uneven forms of precarity. In this paper, therefore, I examine Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Dream Count to explore the migrant condition as one shaped by migrants’ everyday encounters with space, law, labor, and political belonging. By so doing, I argue that the novel reveals migrant vulnerability not just as the consequence of singular acts of …