Digital Commons Network^™

The Association Between Uncertainty, Reproductive Distress, And Avoidance In Assigned Female At Birth Adolescent And Young Adult (Aya-F) Cancer Survivors, Devon Ann Pons

Doctoral Dissertations

Family building and fertility is a complex component of survivorship for assigned female at birth Adolescent and Young Adult’s (AYA-F’s), often accompanied by a mix of cognitive uncertainty, emotional uncertainty, reproductive distress, and avoidance. These psychological components present in survivorship for AYA-F’s can impact coping, identity development, and individualized care plans throughout survivorship. This novel examination of data from a cross sectional study shed light on the associations between reproductive distress, uncertainty, and avoidance and how they are experienced differently by various subgroups within the sample.

Results demonstrate that reproductive distress fully mediated the association between emotional uncertainty and avoidance, …

The Effects Of Online Mind Mapping On The Cognitive Outcomes Of Students And Their Perceptions In The Collaborative Prewriting Stage, Yen Thanh Hai Duong

Doctoral Dissertations

In language acquisition, writing is the most challenging skill that English learners must master. Students often struggle at the beginning of their writing process with idea generation. Due to students’ low academic achievement and their struggles, online mind mapping is suggested as a useful tool to support language students’ brainstorms and idea organization during the writing process. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to investigate how online mind mapping can help students collaboratively brainstorm and organize their ideas during the prewriting process. This study focused on the effects of online mind-mapping intervention on student academic writing performance and perceptions …

The Effectiveness Of Mind Maps As An Instructional Approach For Developing Critical-Thinking Skills And Dispositions: A Meta-Analysis, Carmen De Jesus

Doctoral Dissertations

Mind mapping is the most flexible visual learning and active instructional approach. It has many applications, such as brainstorming, taking notes, memorizing, and conceptualizing complex topics using associations between images and keywords, colors, and visuospatial characteristics. Students can elaborate mind maps individually and collaboratively, digitally or nondigitally. Teachers can also elaborate mind maps for studying purposes. This meta-analysis aims to investigate the effectiveness of mind mapping as an instructional approach for developing critical-thinking skills and dispositions. With 22 studies (20 of which are international) and 1,535 participants, all employing a quasi- experimental study design, this meta-analysis is a comprehensive exploration. …

The Aspirations Of The Youth Of South Sudan Towards Tertiary Technical Education, Peace, Development And Civic Engagements, Sunil Orathel

Doctoral Dissertations

South Sudan, the youngest nation in the world, gained independence on July 9, 2011, following many long years of civil war and untold human suffering. After a decade of independence and millions spent from international assistance, neither stability nor development have been secured in the country. Although primary education is improving, tertiary education, particularly tertiary technical education, is considered a neglected sector. This descriptive mixed-method study documents and analyzes 1,461 surveys and 60 interviews, capturing the aspirations of the secondary school youth and stakeholders across the nation of South Sudan towards tertiary technical education, peace, development and civic engagements. Historical …

From Novitiate To Classroom: A Case Study Of Catholic Teaching Sisters, Melissa Broome Ursin

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was conducted to understand the formation of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, San Francisco and how their communal practices supported and sustained their vocation to educate in Catholic schools. As the number of women religious in the United States decline, their work of Catholic education is being continued by lay teachers who may not have experienced the robust formation of religious in teaching orders. This qualitative case study used archives and oral histories to uncover how Sisters were formed and sustained as Catholic educators through Sacred texts, practices of prayer, and communal life. …

The Experience Of Caregiver Burden And Burnout Among Resident Directors, Tanya Koroyan

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this study was to understand the experiences of caregiver burden and burnout for Resident Directors (RDs). RDs live on campus and support students through traumatic experiences by serving in an “on-call” capacity. Student emergencies that RDs respond to include mental health concerns, sexual violence and sexual harassment, suicidal ideation, self-harm, grief, physical assault, etc. There is little research on understanding this work's experience and potential long-term implications.

Through a constructivist-interpretivist research paradigm and phenomenological qualitative methodology, nine interviews took place with individuals who had previously been RDs at Bay Area University, a large public institution in the …

Accessible Technology For All: A Content Analysis Of Ux Design In Mobile Websites And Applications, Christine A. Franco

Doctoral Dissertations

More and more, digital technologies are becoming the fabric of everyday life, imbuing almost every aspect of modern society. With an increasing reliance on technology to complete essential tasks for school, work, communication, health, finance, and more, there remain barriers to accessing these tools. These barriers are not just represented by the digital divide, the haves and have-nots, but in the myriad ways in which the technologies we use every day are difficult to use, complex, or simply inaccessible. This research study investigates the factors that impact the accessibility of technology, specifically for individuals with either temporary, situational, or permanent …

Biomonitoring Of Microplastics, Anthropogenic Microfibres And Glass Retroreflective Beads By Marine Macroalgae, Cerys Rimmer, Jodie Fisher, Andrew Turner

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Microplastics and other microscopic debris are a concern in the coastal environment but measurements in the water column and sediment are often problematic and rely on non-standardised and highly variable methodologies. To this end, we explore the potential of different species of temperate-cold marine macroalgae as passive biomonitors of anthropogenic microparticles at three contrasting locations in southwest England. Specifically, fronds from samples of fucoids and Ulva lactuca (n = 9 in total, and three from each location) have been sectioned and analysed directly under a microscope and anthropogenic microparticles counted and subsequently characterised for chemical composition. Microparticles were heterogeneously distributed …

Biochar Improves Fertility In Waste Derived Manufactured Soils, But Not Resilience To Climate Change, Jennifer M. Rhymes, Daniel Evans, Giuliano Laudone, H. Kate Schofield, Ellen Fry, Mark F. Fitzsimons

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

We present a soil manufactured from waste materials, which could replace the use of peat and topsoil in plant production and reduce the pressure on natural soil resources. We tested the effect of the manufactured soil on ecosystem functions and microbial communities with and without plants present, and with and without biochar addition (Experiment 1). The resilience of the soil in response to drought and flooding, and also the effect of biochar was also tested (Experiment 2). Biochar increased soil C and N regardless of plant presence and negated the effect of the plant on soil peroxidase enzyme activity. The …

The Effects Of Disconfirming Feedback On Multiple Tests Of A Witness's Memory, Kaden Alan Bollinger

Theses and Dissertations

Testing a witness’s memory more than once has been shown to decrease accuracy in subsequent tests, and providing a witness with disconfirming feedback has also been shown to reduce confidence levels and reduce accuracy after they have made a decision from a lineup. The current study aims to examine how disconfirming feedback affects a witness’s accuracy throughout multiple lineups, as well as looking to examine the reflector variables of reaction time and the “Remember, Know, Guess” (e.g. RKG) questionnaire. Participants who incorrectly chose a suspect from an initial target-absent lineup were given disconfirming feedback and randomly assigned to either a …

Restoring The Occupational Therapy Spirit In Hand Therapy Practice, Karrianna Iseminger

Theses and Dissertations

The dominant role psychosocial factors play in physical healing and disability perceptions of individuals with upper extremity (UE) conditions has been documented repeatedly in the literature for over 40 years. This population is at particular risk given the number of occupations requiring the functional use of one or both UEs for successful performance. However, occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) specializing in hand therapy do not appear to have a shared practice or understanding of evaluation and intervention for psychosocial factors as they tend to focus mostly on the physical limitations of occupational performance. Therefore, the purpose of this three-article dissertation project …

Mixing Customer Ingratiation Into Evaluation: How Service Providers Judge And Evaluate Rideshare Experiences, Yazhen Xiao, Jonathan Hasford

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Whereas consumer satisfaction is critical for the success of services, we research how providers evaluate customers in the sharing economy represented by the rideshare marketplace. We examine anticipated customer evaluation (ACE) as the underlying link and the provider's sense of power as a moderator for the relationship between customer ingratiation and provider evaluations. We first conducted a field pilot study and analyzed the content of rideshare trips described by drivers. Then, we tested the conceptual framework in four experiments that manipulated different rideshare customer behaviors (self-presentation, other-enhancement, and customer conformity). Our study contributes to the consumer research literature by examining …

Griz Give-And-Get: Understanding The Context, Philosophy, And Logistics Behind A Project To Reduce Waste At The University Of Montana, Sam Sullivan

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

Griz Give-and-Get is an online platform at the University of Montana that aims to reduce consumer waste. It attempts to do this by providing students and staff with a place to give away their used items. The first objective of this essay is to describe the process behind Griz Give-and-Get’s early development. The second objective is to relate concepts from environmental philosophy to Griz Give-and-Get’s mission. Although part of Griz Give-and-Get’s mission is to build community and to mitigate the effects of student poverty, this essay will narrow its focus to explore the first issue that Griz Give-and-Get concerns itself …

(De)Composition: Earthen Storytelling For Collective Liberation, Priya Subberwal

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This interdisciplinary portfolio is an investigation into ecological communication through pedagogical design, online collaborative learning spaces, digital and print media, and creative writing. Braiding lenses of queer ecology, decolonial studies, anarchism, and collaborative and creative practice, this work hopes to explore the field of environmental communication through avenues that are reciprocal, community-driven, and oriented towards environmental justice and collective, intersectional liberation. Through the three distinct components of 1) the creation and facilitation of an online learning community, the Spiritual Ecology Study Club at Advaya, 2) the editing and production of two issues of Camas Magazine, an environmental literary magazine based …

Exploring The Coronal Magnetic Field With Galactic Cosmic Rays: The Sun Shadow Observed By Hawc, R. Alfaro, C. Alvarez, J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez, K. P. Arunbabu, D. Avila Rojas, R. Babu, Et Al.

Michigan Tech Publications

Galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) are charged particles that reach the heliosphere almost isotropically in a wide energy range. In the inner heliosphere, the GCR flux is modulated by solar activity so that only energetic GCRs reach the lower layers of the solar atmosphere. In this work, we propose that high-energy GCRs can be used to explore the solar magnetic fields at low coronal altitudes. We used GCR data collected by the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov observatory to construct maps of GCR flux coming from the Sun’s sky direction and studied the observed GCR deficit, known as Sun shadow (SS), over a …

Revealing Nitrate Uptake And Dispersion Dynamics Using High-Frequency Sensors And Two-Dimensional Modeling In A Large River System, Amirreza Zarnaghsh, Michelle Kelly, Amy Burgin, Admin Husic

Michigan Tech Publications

Nitrate pollution of water bodies is a critical issue in many parts of the world because of its negative effects on aquatic ecosystem and human health. Effective management of pollution, such as the continuous or instantaneous release from point-sources, requires an understanding – with high spatial and temporal resolution – of how nitrate is dispersed and cycled within rivers. Nitrate sensing data show promise for this purpose, but their integration into numerical models is scarce; thus, questions remain regarding the necessary spatial grid size and temporal resolution required to resolve sensor readings. In this study, we developed an unsteady two-dimensional …

A Computational Investigation Into Thermo-Kinetic Parameters Governing The Decomposition Of Bio-Oil Model Compounds, Ali Huseein Aljefri

Theses

Among notable products from thermal degradation of biomass are simple oxygen-containing aromatics. These compounds typically appear in high loads in collected bio-oil derived from biomass. As such, it is important to comprehend the decomposition chemistry of this category of compounds. This thesis takes on board a general approach to report thermo-kinetic parameters that govern decomposition of a selected set of bio-oil model compounds in two distinct systems: firstly radical-derived pathways in the gas phase and secondly thermal degradation in their condensed media. The first is attained through accurate density functional calculations while the second is accomplished through the use of …

Heat Sink Integrating Phase Change Materials (Pcms) For Cooling High Power Electronic Devices, Mohammad Sameer Qasem

Theses

This research explores the numerical analysis of phase change materials (PCMs) heat sinks, focusing on high heat flux dissipation applications, e.g. electronics cooling. Both 2D and 3D numerical models using gallium and paraffin RT31 as PCMs are considered within a heat sink design framework featuring a rectangular cavity and dual opposing vertical copper walls serving as fins to dissipate heat from the hot sink base that receives heat from the heat source. The inclusion of a Triply Periodic Minimal Surface (TPMS) ‘Primitive’ structure as an in-fill thermal conductivity enhancer (TCE) in the case of the gallium heat sink, and a …

Biomass Estimation Of Mature Mangrove Trees In The Uae Using Spaceborne Remote Sensing Techniques, Yasmine Ashraf Heikal

Theses

Mangrove forest ecosystems play an essential role in diminishing the effects of climate change caused by the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Estimating mangrove forest aboveground biomass (AGB) and hence aboveground carbon (AGC) can assist in decision-making for conservation, sustainable use, and protection of these forests. The goal of this research project was to map the AGB of mangrove forests along the coasts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the aid of Landsat-8-9 satellite imagery data acquired in September 2023. 12 AGB estimation models were developed based on the combination of in situ measurements and Landsat-8-9 derived …

Emulsion Stability, Rheological Properties, And Combustion Characteristics Of Water-Jojoba Biofuel Emulsion, Ihab Mohamed Helal

Theses

This thesis comprehensively investigates the stability, rheological properties, and engine performance implications of Water in Jojoba Biodiesel (WJBD) emulsion. The research delves into multiple aspects, including the influence of diverse surfactants and water concentrations on emulsion stability. It also yields valuable insights into the development of stable water in jojoba biodiesel emulsions, specifically tailored for diesel engines. These insights contribute significantly to the body of knowledge of positioning emulsion fuels as viable alternative to traditional diesel fuels. The anticipated benefits include notable reductions in emissions, improvement in combustion efficiency, and lower production cost. Importantly, this study underscores the critical importance …

Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting To Improve Cardiometabolic Risk: A Comparative Analysis Of Muscle Strengthening Exercise And Treadmill Walking, Grace E. Anderson

Honors College Theses

Purpose: To examine the effectiveness of brief bouts of treadmill walking and bodyweight-based muscular strengthening exercises to mitigate the effects of sedentary behavior on blood pressure, blood glucose, cognitive performance, and perceived fatigue. Methods: Healthy young adults (n = 9) completed 3 experimental trials consisting of 4-hour sedentary periods. The trials consisted of an uninterrupted sedentary period (control), treadmill walking every 30 minutes for 5 minutes, and bodyweight-based muscular strengthening exercises every 30 minutes for 5 minutes. Blood glucose was measured at baseline and every 30 minutes thereafter. Blood pressure and fatigue were measured at baseline and every hour thereafter. …

Phenolic Compounds In Date Fruits (Phoenix Dactylifera L.), Muneeba Zubair Alam

Dissertations

This study investigated the phenolic compounds in date fruits, mainly soluble and hydrolyzable compounds, and insoluble melanin. Soluble (27.5–54.0 mg/100 g FW) and hydrolyzable (24.0–78.5 mg/100g FW) phenolic compounds were determined in 18 cultivars using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Phenolic acids were predominant in both fractions while flavonoids were mainly present in the soluble phenolic fraction and the proanthocyanidin B1 and B2 were only present in the hydrolyzable fraction. Four total antioxidant activity assays (total phenolic content, ABTS, FRAP, and DPPH) gave different results for both the soluble and hydrolysable fractions of 26 date fruit cultivars, which …

Perovskite Materials For Optoelectronics Applications: Solar Cells And Photodetectors, Abdul Kareem Kalathil Soopy

Dissertations

Perovskite materials have emerged as promising candidates for optoelectronic applications, particularly in solar cells and photodetectors, due to their remarkable properties such as high carrier mobility, tunable bandgap, and low-cost fabrication. This thesis explores two novel approaches, namely monovalent doping and bulk as well as surface passivation, to enhance the performance and stability of perovskite-based devices.

The primary goal of this research is to enhance the properties of perovskite materials to improve their optoelectronic performance, aiming to broaden their use in solar cells and photodetector devices. Specifically, this study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of Cu doping and Zinc porphyrin …

Valorization Of Date Palm Waste For The Isolation, Characterization, And Surface Chemistry Modification Of Nanocellulose, Mohsin Raza

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the utilization of date palm waste, a lignocellulosic material, as a source for the extraction of nanocellulose (NC), a versatile biopolymer with applications in biodegradable composites, bioplastics, and food packaging. Conventional methods of NC production using mineral acids such as sulphuric and hydrochloric acid are reaching their limits of toxicity, so more environmentally friendly alternatives such as ionic liquids (ILs) are being explored. The research focuses on the characterization of different date palm wastes to evaluate their α−cellulose content, lignocellulosic character, and thermal stability. By comparing extraction methods with mineral acids and ILs, the study evaluates …

Sharp Injuries And Splash Exposures Among Healthcare Workers In The United Arab Emirates, Ibtisam Aref Karkaz

Dissertations

Brief introduction: Occupational injuries, including sharps injuries and splash exposures, pose significant risks to healthcare workers worldwide. These incidents can lead to the transmission of bloodborne infections, resulting in substantial healthcare costs and workforce challenges. Aims: The present study aimed at investigating sharps injuries and splash exposures among healthcare workers in Abu Dhabi government hospitals. To achieve the aim, the study planned to determine the frequency of sharps injuries and splash exposures, and to identify their risk factors, applied preventive measures, and consequent occupational infections. Method: Secondary data from the available records of all sharp injuries and splash exposures reported …

Mapping The Invisible: Machine Learning And Geovisualization Methods For Groundwater Management, Khalid Galal Elhaj

Dissertations

Groundwater is a vital global resource, yet mapping and managing aquifers remains challenging due to costs and complexities. This doctoral dissertation pioneers novel data-driven methodologies harnessing machine learning and hydrogeology domain knowledge to sustainably characterize and monitor aquifer systems. The overarching hypothesis investigated is that time series clustering of historical well hydrographs can enable low-cost delineation of aquifer boundaries by detecting response similarities between wells sharing the same aquifer. To test this, three interconnected studies were conducted. First, a specialized time series clustering framework was developed incorporating a global temporal alignment index and custom dissimilarity metrics tuned for hydrogeology. The …

“Beating Back The Past”: The Psychological Justifications Of Violence In Toni Morrison’S Fiction, Catherine Buhse

English Honors Theses

This thesis examines the traumatic experiences that consume characters’ lives and, in the absence of psychological healing efforts, manifest into violent actions in Toni Morrison’s three novels The Bluest Eye, Sula, and Beloved. I focus on the gendered experience of the female characters Pecola, Sula, Eva, and Sethe, except for the male character, Cholly in The Bluest Eye. Focusing on Morrison’s humanization of violent characters and her sharing of their full life stories, I establish the characters’ internal justifications for their violence to challenge the accepted depiction of all criminals as evil. The three chapters follow the manifestation of trauma …

The Millennial Novel: Examining A Generation Through Literature, Isabella Bokan

English Honors Theses

This undergraduate thesis examines the relationship between contemporary social circumstances and fiction novels. Generational novels are focused on cohorts or individuals who share traits that reflect recognizable social conditions of a specific era. The new generational novel is the Millennial novel. These Millennial novels generally depict American characters in American settings, but the characters are increasingly ethnically and racially diverse. These characters are often in economic precarity, they are generally highly educated and invariably find themselves at odds with traditional romantic, occupational, and domestic expectations. In many of these novels, new technologies play an important role in the narrative and …

Dystopian Novels And The Greater Boston Area: A Reflection On Privilege, Leonersy J. Guerrero

English Honors Theses

Dystopian fiction has long been a vehicle for exploring societal issues and envisioning potential futures. Although many view the genre as a form of escapism, these novels have the potential to make grand statements about the nature of humanity. From George Orwell's 1984 to Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, these narratives serve as a reflection of our current societal standing and project potential consequences of our collective actions. However, within the realm of dystopian literature, there exists a significant gap in equal representation of the experiences and unique perspectives of the Black community. Specifically, within the context of …

Policy-Based Remote User Authentication From Multi-Biometrics, Yangguang Tian, Yingjiu Li, Robert H. Deng, Guomin Yang, Nan Li

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we introduce the first generic framework of policy-based remote user authentication from multiple biometrics. The proposed framework allows an authorized user to remotely authenticate herself to an authentication server using her multiple biometrics, which enhances both the security and usability of user authentications. The authentication server approves a user's authentication request if and only if the user's multiple biometrics satisfies an authentication policy. In particular, the authentication policy can be dynamically updated to satisfy different security and usability requirements in practice. We implement an instantiation of the proposed framework and report its performance under various authentication policies.