Digital Commons Network^™

Imperial Ideology And Subversive Practice In Arthurian Legend, Emma Katherine Keppler

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project approaches Arthur and Arthurian legend as vital elements in British self-identification from the medieval period onward by examining narratives of national origin in legendary history, romance, and other forms of cultural production. In my readings of these texts, I am concerned with how national identity and otherness are constructed and negotiated in a literary space, how myths of utopian origins rely on the endorsement and glorification of cultures of violence that sustain and justify imperial enterprises in the Middle Ages and beyond. It is my argument that in the absence of actual voices of resistance, romance tropes often …

Rhetorical Hermeneutics After The Posthuman Turn, Michael Noricks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation revisits Steven Mailloux's (1989) concept of rhetorical hermeneutics, according to which persuasion always conditions our interpretive practices. Seeking to bring Mailloux's insights into conversation with rhetorical theory's posthuman turn, my inquiry begins with the following questions: How might posthuman theories of meaning-making allow us to extend or reimagine rhetoric's relation to interpretation? How might recourse to rhetorical hermeneutics help us understand posthuman rhetoric? Can we indeed theorize a posthuman rhetorical hermeneutics? If so, what does it entail? What are its affordances? What are its contexts? How does it affect our understanding of rhetorical situations and the artifacts produced …

Jak1 V658f Drives Oncogenic Transformation Via Transcriptional Reprogramming Independent Of Y598 Phosphorylation And Canonical Jak-Stat Signaling, Omar Javier Rodriguez Moncivais

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive and complex malignancy that accounts for 15% of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases in the United States. Tyrosine kinases control critical cellular processes, including the development, survival, and activation of T cells, and are established drivers of leukemia.Tyrosine kinases involved in hematological disorders include receptor tyrosine kinases and non-receptor tyrosine kinases family members such as SRC, ABL, FAK, and Janus kinases (JAKs). This study primarily focused on JAK1 gain-of-function (GoF) mutations. These mutations are recognized as hyperactivating mutations, maintaining kinase activity of JAKs on and essentially keeping downstream signaling effectors, like …

Investigating The Impact Of Bilingual Experience And Language Use Context On Cognitive Control In An Auditory Stroop Task, Christian Ruiz-Ortiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bilinguals are often reported to outperform monolinguals on executive control tasks, yet recent work suggests that any bilingual adaptations depend on how, and in which contexts, individuals use their two languages. The present dissertation tested whether specific dimensions of bilingual experiences (proficiency balance and daily interaction situations) predict the way listeners engage proactive (anticipatory) versus reactive (stimulus-driven) control when resolving non-linguistic conflict. Sixty young adults completed a non-linguistic auditory Stroop task that manipulated conflict expectancy both list-wide and item-specifically. Group-level analysis replicated classic proportion-congruency effects, but not the predicted proactive control signature, and transfer cost indexing reactive control was not …

Structuring The Sustainability Of Happiness In Critical Postmodernity: A Metadata, Mixed-Methods Study In Education, Roxanne Renee Rodriguez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation study is built upon a pilot study that uses a meta-theoretical analysis on the culture of education. The purpose of it is to examine [un]happiness, a phenomenon influenced by the social, political, and economic systems in Western paradigms within a critical postmodern view, looking at the intricacies of schooling, as no studies have taken a bottom-up approach to investigate the voices of the main stakeholders: students, teachers, and administrators. My study questions whether a holistic, liberating, and socially responsive curriculum could engender a positive learning environment wherein happiness is sustainable. Within happiness studies, hope is essential, so much …

A Numerical Study Of Self-Assembling Amphiphilic Systems, Joshua Albert Sackey

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mixing processes in ternary mixtures involve immiscible fluids such as oil and water, and a surface-active molecule called surfactant. These physical processes find applications in various fields, including enhanced oil recovery, drug delivery design systems, and the formulation of cleaning products. Even though this process has several applications, the mathematical models describing it and the numerical methods solving it are not well understood. The underlying mathematical model is a nonlinear initial-boundary value problem involving sixth-order derivatives and belongs to the class of sixth-order Cahn-Hilliard equations. Authors Sharma and Tierra recently proposed a numerical method to approximate its solutions in two …

Natural Killer T Cell-Mediated Control Of Francisella Tularensis-Induced Cytokine Storm Syndrome, Cameron M. Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Inflammation is critical for the effective clearance of viral and bacterial challenges, while simultaneously a mechanism utilized by many highly infectious pathogens to cause disease. The bacterium Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of human tularemia, elicits a cytokine storm, wherein the immune system over-responds to the presence of the bacterium causing a dysregulated release of proinflammatory and regulatory cytokines. Without treatment, tularemia mortality can be as high as 30%, with inhalation of as few as 10 CFUs inducing respiratory tularemia. Natural Killer T (NKT) cells are innate-like T lymphocytes with a diverse array of regulatory functions. Unlike conventional T cells, …

"Alone I Can't, But Together We Can": A Photovoice Study To Explore Insights Of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (Aot) From Providers Working With Individuals With Serious Mental Illness (Smi)., Monica G. Urquieta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) is a court-ordered mental health treatment program for individuals with SMI (bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia) who have a history of noncompliance with treatment and are at risk of deteriorating or causing harm to themselves or others. This dissertation examined the perceptions and experiences of thirteen providers (lawyers, judges, case managers, psychiatrists, housing navigators, treatment guardians, nurse practitioners, therapists and peer support specialists with lived experience) on the AOT program for clients with SMI; and the environments that shape these perceptions, taking into account a system and community-based approach focusing on how the unique …

Dynamics Of Faculty-Student Interaction Beyond The Classroom: Insights From A Hispanic-Serving Community College, Jorge H. Valenzuela

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Retention and success rates remain critical concerns for colleges and universities, particularly for the Hispanic-Serving Community College. In their attempt to become "student-ready," colleges and universities have sought retention initiatives targeting students at academic risk. However, many of these initiatives overlook the less tangible underlying issues, such as fears, anxieties, inequity, lack of self-confidence, confusion, and uncertainty (Cox, 2009; Longwell-Grice and Longwell-Grice, 2008). Despite the benefits that faculty-student interactions outside the classroom bring students, literature shows that faculty-student interaction outside the classroom is generally absent (Smith et al., 2017; Thiele, 2016; Zeleden-Perez, 2019). This qualitative study explores the characteristics that …

A Study Of End-Cut Preference In Tree-Based Modeling, Xiangya Wang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Decision trees, particularly those built using the Classification and Regression Trees (CART) algorithm, are widely used for their interpretability and flexibility. However, the greedy nature of the CART splitting procedure gives rise to the end-cut preference (ECP) phenomenon, wherein split points near the extremes of predictor ranges are favored. This study offers a comprehensive investigation of ECP, exploring its theoretical underpinnings, practical manifestations, and implications for both single decision trees and ensemble methods such as Random Forests. Through theoretical analysis and simulation studies, we examine how ECP affects tree structure, variable selection, and predictive accuracy across tree-structured, linear, and nonlinear …

Shades Of Families: Exploring Intersectionalities Of Cross-Cultural Parenting Experiences In The U.S., Shu-Han Huang

Dissertations

As multiracial and multicultural families continue to grow across the United States, parents must navigate evolving cultural identities, systemic inequities, and increasing social and emotional pressures. These realities underscore the need for parenting resources that are both culturally responsive and emotionally supportive. This transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 11 cross-cultural parents raising children in the U.S., with a focus on how intersecting identities and systemic forces shape parenting practices.

Guided by Critical Multiracial Theory and Intersectionality Theory, this study investigated parenting at the personal, familial, societal, and structural levels. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed …

Alphamissense Predictions And Clinvar Annotations: A Deep Learning Approach To Uveal Melanoma, David J. Taylor Gonzalez, Mak B. Djulbegovic, Meghan Sharma, Michael Antonietti, Colin K. Kim, Vladimir N. Uversky, Carol L. Karp, Carol L. Shields, Matthew W. Wilson

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

OBJECTIVE: Uveal melanoma (UM) poses significant diagnostic and prognostic challenges due to its variable genetic landscape. We explore the use of a novel deep learning tool to assess the functional impact of genetic mutations in UM.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional bioinformatics exploratory data analysis of genetic mutations from UM cases.

SUBJECTS: Genetic data from patients diagnosed with UM were analyzed, explicitly focusing on missense mutations sourced from the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) database.

METHODS: We identified missense mutations frequently observed in UM using the COSMIC database, assessed their potential pathogenicity using AlphaMissense, and visualized mutations using AlphaFold. Clinical …

Why Courts Should Not Discipline Trump's Lawyers, Rebecca Roiphe

Articles & Chapters

After the first Trump administration, there were multiple coordinated efforts to discipline lawyers in highly charged political cases. For example, a California bar court recommended that John Eastman be disbarred. Eastman helped craft the legal argument that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the right to delay or decline to certify the election results and the disciplinary case concluded that he lied publicly, in his memos to his client and Pence, and to courts. This Article draws on Eastman’s case to argue that disciplinary charges in politically charged cases are often unconstitutional and even when they are not, they are unwise …

Intention Is All You Need: Refining Your Code From Your Intention, Qi Guo, Xiaofei Xie, Shangqing Liu, Ming Hu, Xiaohong Li, Lei Bu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Code refinement aims to enhance existing code by addressing issues, refactoring, and optimizing to improve quality and meet specific requirements. As software projects scale in size and complexity, the traditional iterative exchange between reviewers and developers becomes increasingly burdensome. While recent deep learning techniques have been explored to accelerate this process, their performance remains limited, primarily due to challenges in accurately understanding reviewers’ intents. This paper proposes an intention-based code refinement technique that enhances the conventional comment-to-code process by explicitly extracting reviewer intentions from the comments. Our approach consists of two key phases: Intention Extraction and Intention Guided Revision Generation. …

Hierarchical Learning-Based Graph Partition For Large-Scale Vehicle Routing Problems, Yuxin Pan, Ruohong Liu, Yize Chen, Zhiguang Cao, Fangzhen Lin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Neural solvers based on the divide-and-conquer approach for Vehicle Routing Problems (VRPs) in general, and capacitated VRP (CVRP) in particular, integrates the global partition of an instance with local constructions for each subproblem to enhance generalization. However, during the global partition phase, misclusterings within subgraphs have a tendency to progressively compound throughout the multi-step decoding process of the learning-based partition policy. This suboptimal behavior in the global partition phase, in turn, may lead to a dramatic deterioration in the performance of the overall decomposition-based system, despite using optimal local constructions. To address these challenges, we propose a versatile Hierarchical Learning-based …

Cyberoception: Finding A Painlessly-Measurable New Sense In The Cyberworld Towards Emotion-Awareness In Computing, Tadashi Okoshi, Zexiong Gao, Yi Zhen Tan, Takumi Karasawa, Takeshi Miki, Wataru Sasaki, Rajesh Krishna Balan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In Affective computing, recognizing users’ emotions accurately is the basis of affective human–computer interaction. Understanding users’ interoception contributes to a better understanding of individually different emotional abilities, which is essential for achieving inter-individually accurate emotion estimation. However, existing interoception measurement methods, such as the heart rate discrimination task, have several limitations, including their dependence on a well-controlled laboratory environment and precision apparatus, making monitoring users’ interoception challenging. This study aims to determine other forms of data that can explain users’ interoceptive or similar states in their real-world lives and propose a novel hypothetical concept “cyberoception,” a new sense (1) which …

Infrastructuring Planetary Rural Geographies: A View From China’S Rural Construction Movement, Ningning Chen, Lily Kong, Yurui Li

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This commentary responds to Wang et al.'s (2023) call for planetary rural geographies by attending to the neglected infrastructural dimensions. In so doing, we show how China's rural construction movement demonstrates Wang et al.'s (2023) three geographies of planetary rurality: as spaces of crisis, conflict, and hope. Simultaneously, we address how planetary rural thinking can foreground infrastructural geographies and their destabilization of urban-centered discourses, leading to a reconsideration of rural–urban relationality. We then identify new insights that critical infrastructural studies offer to planetary rural geographies. This includes an emphasis on the material grounds, hidden politics, and non-linear temporal patterns of …

Development And Practice Of Tribal Community Planning: Ensuring Indigeneity In The Planning Process, Jared E. Munster, Ph.D.

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

A Taste Of Rhetoric: Moves & Practices In The Decolonization & Restoration Of Historic Foodways, Abby A. Laforest

All NMU Master's Theses

Language and rhetoric are foundational influences on cultural practices, including culinary ones. The subdiscipline of food rhetoric studies communication about the processes of eating, cooking, transporting, and trading food, especially within the cultures of historically marginalized peoples. The past decades have seen a profusion of academic food research, but the role of language in understanding food, especially in a multicultural, globalized world, remains understudied. This paper examines how three rhetorical theories foundational to identity formation and layered understandings of meaning – (a) Dr. Karen Barad’s (they/them) theory of posthumanist performativity, (b) Dr. Maurice Charland’s theory of constitutive rhetoric, and (c) …

Not Right Now: Factors Affecting Interruption Decisions In A Healthcare Paradigm, Matthew G. Pacailler

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Interruptions are common in the workplace, but when they happen during high-stakes critical tasks, they can have serious consequences. In the field of healthcare, interruptions can lead to serious adverse events or medication errors. Research on interruption management strategies addresses the potentially harmful outcomes of interruptions but often fails to account for the initial decision to accept or reject the interrupting task. Two experiments were performed to examine the decision-making outcomes for interruptions.

In experiment I, the participants monitored two EKG displays while simultaneously entering medication information into a patient chart. The decision to accept or reject an interruption was …

Investigating The Ability To Perceive Nonverbal Behaviors In Different Interaction Formats, Amanda J. Ashdown

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The rapid rise in interactive video-based communication has raised important questions about how it affects the perception of nonverbal behavior and impression formation. Guided by the Parallel Process Model (PPM), Multiple Resource Theory (MRT), and Working Memory (WM) models, this study investigated the ability of individuals to observe and assess another person’s nonverbal behaviors and form accurate impressions during conversations in live, face-to-face interactions compared to virtual formats. The study employed a 2 (interaction format: live vs. virtual; within-subjects) × 2 (observation type: active vs. passive; between-subjects) × 2 (genuineness: genuine vs. nongenuine behavior; between-subjects) mixed design. Participants either actively …

Identification, Removal, And Characterization Of Microplastics From Pvamu Wwtp Effluent Using Ceramic Membranes, Ogboru O. Chujor

All Theses

This study evaluated a 1.4 µm ceramic membrane's effectiveness in removing microplastics from wastewater, focusing on characterization via FTIR spectroscopy. Microplastics, including fibers, fragments, and microbeads (1-2500 µm), were visually identified and counted under an electron microscope, achieving a 94% TSS reduction and a 35.4% microplastic recovery rate. FTIR analysis identified key polymers like polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, with distinctive peaks for polyester (1624 cm−1, 1737 cm−1) and cotton (1095 cm−1, 1119 cm−1, 1151 cm−1), indicating polymer degradation through spectral signs of carbonyl groups. Micro-FTIR imaging, enhanced by dyes like DANs under fluorescence and Rose Bengal, pinpointed polymer sources and …

Declining Democracy Amid Historical Legacies: Democratization Across The Maghreb, Jacob Sagers

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Institutions and security forces are vital in determining democratization’s success or failure, but how do they interact with civilians to counteract, or support, existing regimes? Hopes for a fourth wave of democratization were dismantled over the past decade as the Arab uprisings have had inconclusive results, posing a threat to the ideological basis for U.S. foreign policy and Western states' legitimacy. Broad economic and Western foreign policies applied worldwide over the past few decades have also been ineffective at supporting this process and producing sustainable democratic transitions. But what specifically about these factors in the Maghreb gave way to Tunisia’s …

The Complete Message Is The Best Message: The Case For Standardizing Wireless Emergency Alerts, Jeannette Sutton, Micki Olson, Hugh Walpole, Lauren B. Cain, Nicholas Waugh, Michele M. Wood

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

Standardized messaging for alerts and warnings has been made possible through the use of the Warning Lexicon and workflow. The effectiveness of this approach to motivate protective action behaviors, in comparison with the current standard of practice, has not yet been tested. Using an experimental design to test the effectiveness of the Warning Lexicon, we tested three message types for five hazards: blackouts, law enforcement incidents, infectious diseases, heavy snow, and chemical releases, and found that messages created using the Warning Lexicon contents and workflow produced better messaging outcomes than the current standard of practice. Specifically, participants who received the …

Efficacy Of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy For The Treatment Of Children With Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Sarah Herman

Physician Assistant Scholarly Project Papers

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a prevalent mental health condition in children, characterized by persistent and excessive worry that interferes with daily functioning and overall quality of life. Anxiety disorders are considered the most common psychiatric disorders among children. The trajectory of untreated anxiety in early life can result in more resistant and chronic presentations in the future, complicating both therapeutic engagement and outcomes. Parent- Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) has emerged as a potential alternative treatment for children displaying anxiety symptoms, particularly those diagnosed with GAD. This literature review endeavors to assess the effectiveness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy as an …

Book Review: Hiking Intown Atlanta's Hidden Forests: Inside And On The Perimeter, Sarah Grace Glover

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

A Neuroimmune Circuit Mediates Chemo Brain Pathology, Daniel Ahmadi

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Chemotherapeutic agents, while effective in targeting malignant tumors, often reduce the patients’ quality of life by inducing fatigue, pain, and motivational deficits. These symptoms are collectively referred to as “chemo brain.” The mechanisms underlying these adverse effects, and specifically whether fatigue and motivational impairments share a common etiology, remain poorly understood. The neural–immune substrates of these symptoms remain obscure, in part because standard preclinical regimens either bypass key systemic signals or introduce local toxicity confounds. Here, I establish and validate a three‑day, low‑dose intravenous cisplatin protocol that avoids peritoneal inflammation and severe renal injury yet produces robust, reversible fatigue and …

Exploring The Biasing Effects Of Gender On Personality Disorder Diagnoses Formulated By Artificial Intelligence, Zoe Colclough

Student Theses

Gender bias is prevalent in personality disorder assessments, and while artificial intelligence has been posited as a solution to improve diagnostic objectivity and accuracy, the potential for such technologies to propagate human gender bias in mental health contexts remains underexplored. This study investigated the influences of gender bias on the diagnostic performance of ChatGPT-4o for personality disorders using three factorial research designs, which involved experimentally manipulating patient gender in a combined sample of 360 vignettes and case studies. Vignettes were synthesized through a novel artificial intelligence-assisted methodology established for this research, and case studies were identified from the literature. Significant …

Transfer Of Material Derived From Polymer-Jacketed Bullets During Cycling And Discharge, Ethan A. Frazer

Student Theses

The goal of this study was to determine alternative ways to connect a polymer-coated bullet to the handgun from which it was fired. Polymer-coated bullets are lead projectiles encased in a synthetic coating, which may vary between brands and/or models, to reduce barrel friction and heavy metal exposure. Federal Syntech^® Total Synthetic Jacket (TSJ) ammunition presents unique challenges to firearms examiners as its synthetic coating may not retain the individualizing striations found in traditional unjacketed or metal-jacketed bullets.

In this study, 9mm TSJ ammunition was fired through multiple traditionally rifled aftermarket Glock barrels. Cloth targets were set up at …

Examining Portrayals Of Gender In The Design Of Ai Voice Assistants, Olivia Fratangelo

Student Theses

This capstone project provides a theoretical framework for shifting the ways in which we think about and discuss anthropomorphized features of technological products, focusing specifically on applying this framework to the gendered design of AI voice assistants. The goal in providing this framework is to prompt readers to consider how we can think more critically about technology beyond our “preferences” and biases. Our roles as consumers of technology do not have to be passive ones. In fact, the dialectical relationship between humanity and technology makes everyone who contributes to society not just a consumer, but a developer of technology in …