Digital Commons Network^™

4d-Qens And Diffuse Scattering: Analysis Of Dynamics And Local Ordering In Superionic Conductors, Jared Coles

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Ionic conductors are increasingly central to electrochemical energy technologies because they enable charge transfer through the motion of mobile ions. Among them, superionic conductors are crystalline solids that exhibit exceptionally high ionic conductivities, making them promising candidates for safer and more sustainable next‑generation energy storage and conversion devices. Despite their technological importance, key gaps remain in our ability to connect macroscopic transport to microscopic structural disorder and correlated dynamics that enable fast‑ion motion. Neutron scattering provides a powerful set of tools for establishing these connections.

In total scattering experiments, Bragg diffraction measures the average crystallographic structure, while diffuse scattering probes …

Longitudinal Dechirping Of Electron Beams Using Negative Identity Drifts In A Transverse Deflecting Cavity-Based Chirper, Alex Desimone

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Electron beam chirping for bunch compression is commonly achieved through off-crest acceleration in radio-frequency accelerating cavities. While it is effective, this method reduces average beam energy and introduces nonlinearities in the beam's longitudinal phase space, which can degrade beam quality in applications such as X-ray free electron lasers. An alternative chirping scheme has been proposed, in which accelerating cavities operate on-crest while transverse deflecting cavities generate the required longitudinal chirp. However, the efficiency of this approach and its impact on beam quality have not been systematically investigated, and the previously proposed dechirping scheme for this system is experimentally impractical. This …

Application Of Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry For Screening Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors, Diksha Gautam

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) is a novel ambient ionization method that allows chemical and biological samples to be rapidly analyzed with little preparation being required. In this paper, PS-MS was set up and streamlined as an acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-monitoring platform in addition to screening an existing and newly produced AChE-inhibitors. The detection of the substrate, acetylcholine (m/z 146), and the AChE catalysis product, choline (m/z 104) was performed without applying chromatographic separation or derivatization to the dried paper substrates. Assay conditions were optimized in a systematic way, to develop a robust MS-compatible enzymatic workflow.

Calibration curves for both, acetylcholine and …

On Values Taken By Characters Of Finite Groups, Christopher William Herbig

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The characters of finite groups are a fundamental tool for analyzing the structure of finite groups and are interesting in their own right. In particular, we are concerned with how certain assumptions on the values taken by characters impact the structure of finite groups and vice versa. After establishing notation and stating some fundamental results in Chapter 2, this work begins with a presentation of results in relation to a conjecture of N. N. Hung and P. H. Tiep on fields generated by character values. In particular, we have found a large family of counterexamples to the conjecture by taking …

Self-Movement Cue Ability As A Potential Moderator For The Relationship Between Binge Drinking And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Dominoe Anna Jones

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been found to co-occur in a range of 30% to 50% of individuals diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD. The current study aimed to assess whether this high comorbidity could be partially explained through a shared association with poorer function and reduced volume in the hippocampus. Self-movement cue processing, a behavioral ability previously shown to be associated with hippocampal functioning, was measured through a dead reckoning task (DRT) to test this hypothesis. The current study failed to replicate previous findings between alcohol use and DRT and alcohol use and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Performance on …

Bayesian Inference For A 12-Level Galton Board Using Terminal Bin Counts, Ace Frieders

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

A Galton board is a physical device in which a ball passes through a triangular array of pegs and is deflected left or right before landing in one of several bins. Under an idealized model, deflections are independent with probability 0.5 of moving right, implying a binomial distribution for the terminal bin location. Physical boards may deviate from this ideal due to asymmetries and other sources of bias. This thesis develops a Bayesian model for a 12-level Galton board in which each peg has its own right-move probability. Independent Beta priors are assigned to peg probabilities, and terminal bin counts …

Hallucination Detection In Scientific Writing: Quantification, Trend Analysis And Benchmarking, Adiba Ibnat Hossain

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The landscape of scientific communication has undergone a significant transformation with the emergence and widespread adoption of Large Language Models (LLMs). LLMs have enhanced productivity and creativity in scientific writing, raising serious questions about the faithfulness and reliability of the generated content. A common problem in LLMs is hallucination, which occurs when models generate fluent but inaccurate or inconsistent content. When hallucinations enter scientific writing, the intended meaning may be distorted, coherence disrupted, and the study’s overall integrity threatened.

This thesis investigates hallucinations in scientific writing from both an analytical and dataset-driven approach. First, it offers a comprehensive analysis of …

A Multi-Study Examination Of Student-Athlete Mental Health And Mental Health Service Delivery In Mid-Major College Athletic Programs, Grace Louis

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Student-athlete mental health has become a central priority in intercollegiate athletics, with the NCAA emphasizing its Mental Health Best Practices (2016) and strengthening and expanding these standards through updated recommendations in 2024. These efforts reflect a broader cultural shift toward recognizing the unique psychological stressors faced by college athletes, including performance pressure, identity foreclosure, high time demands, and transitions both into and out of sport (Moreland et al., 2018; Hughes & Leavey, 2012). Additionally, student-athletes frequently delay or avoid help-seeking due to stigma, time constraints, identity-protective behaviors, cultural norms emphasizing toughness, and limited mental health literacy (Gulliver et al., 2012; …

The Effect Of Scanning Strategy And Build Conditions On The Residual Stress Of A Ded System With Realistic Clad Geometry, Christopher Matthew Roeder

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Direct Energy Deposition (DED) is a leading metal additive manufacturing method for fabricating complex parts. However, the high thermal gradients during the process, along with their effects on thermal expansion and shrinkage during heating and cooling cycles, result in significant residual stress that imposes substantial limitations on the building process. These stresses can lead to warpage, cracking, and a reduction in overall mechanical performance, challenges that must be addressed in most manufacturing industries. While scanning patterns and clad geometry have often been studied independently, their interaction may provide deeper insights into the causes and effects of these operating conditions on …

Simulation And Experiment Of Two-Bunch Wakefield Dynamics And Energy Recovery In Dielectric-Lined Thz Structures, Calcifer Phillips

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Beam-driven structure wakefield acceleration (SWFA) is a proposed method of particle acceleration that produces higher acceleration gradients. This technique could lead to the development of smaller and more efficient particle accelerators. In SWFA, a charged "drive" bunch passing through a dielectric or metallic structure created an electromagnetic "wake" field which can then be used to accelerate a following "witness" bunch. This work studies the effects of structure geometry on wake excitation, presents simulation results of wakefield dynamics in various geometries, and explores how SWFA could be used to achieve higher energy gradients. The use of a circular cross-section structure was …

High-Throughput Strip Clustering On Fpgas For The Hl-Lhc, Hayden Shaddix

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

With the advent of the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC), the demand for modern approaches to high-throughput data processing has increased substantially. The HL-LHC will deliver far higher collision rates (pile-up reaching ⟨μ⟩ ∼200), producing a dramatic rise in detector activity and placing significant pressure on real-time reconstruction algorithms. One strategy for meeting this challenge is to leverage commodity hardware such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and graphics processing units (GPUs), which can accelerate bandwidth-intensive portions of the reconstruction chain. In particular, FPGAs programmed through high-level synthesis (HLS) offer a promising balance between flexibility and performance, allowing physicists to design …

Beam Dynamics Of Non-Relativistic Proton Bunch Compression In Extreme Space Charge: Setting The Stage For Next Generation Intensity-Frontier Machines, Benjamin Simons

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Next-generation intensity-frontier particle accelerators, such as the proposed Muon Collider and Neutrino Factories, require proton drivers capable of delivering high-intensity, short-pulse bunches. Achieving the required peak currents demands aggressive longitudinal compression, a process fundamentally limited by the extreme repulsive space-charge forces inherent to high-intensity, tightly compressed bunches.

Through the development and use of the FAST/IOTA Bunch Rotation Experiment (FI- BRE) at Fermilab as a dedicated testbed, this dissertation establishes a comprehensive physical design and simulation framework to probe these fundamental intensity limits. By isolating the dynamics of a 2.5 MeV non-relativistic proton beam (β ≈ 0.073) circulating in the Integrable …

K–12 Teacher Intention To Use A Makerspace: An Analysis Using The Unified Theory Of Acceptance And Use Of Technology, Kevin W. Rutter

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the factors that relate to K–12 teachers' intention to use a makerspace for classroom instruction. It uses the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as its theoretical framework. The research addresses gaps in the United States' achievement in STEM subjects and explores makerspaces as a potential instructional innovation that encourages student-centered, interdisciplinary, project-based learning. A quantitative, correlational case study design was employed to survey 120 staff members at a large urban high school in the Midwest with a dedicated makerspace. Survey items were adapted from the UTAUT model to assess three predictor variables: performance …

Development And Characterization Of Flat And Flexible Rebco Cables For High-Field Accelerator Magnets, Emily Romancew

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) materials are at the forefront of innovation for fundamental particle physics. The next generation of particle accelerators aims to explore higher mass particles and is dependent on the ability to achieve higher fields in the 20–30 T range to keep machine size within a practical footprint. Current magnet technology relies on low-temperature superconductors (LTS) such as NbTi and Nb₃Sn, which are limited to fields of approximately 8–16 T, while high-temperature superconductors (HTS), particularly Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO), offer a promising pathway toward higher-field magnets due to their ability to carry large currents at elevated magnetic fields. …

Mistreatment As Instrumental Or Obstructive? How Appraisals Of Customer Mistreatment Impact Entrepreneurial Action, Nicholas A. Smith

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Theory on entrepreneurial action emphasizes the role of cognition in guiding when and how entrepreneurs act. Research in this area has accordingly focused on identifying antecedents of entrepreneurs’ cognitive processes, often emphasizing environmental or economic conditions that broadly influence how entrepreneurs evaluate opportunities. Yet, much less attention has been given to how everyday social interactions spark cognitive processes that influence venture-directed behavior. This dissertation integrates the transactional theory of stress to examine customer mistreatment, defined as low-quality interpersonal treatment from customers, as a social stressor that impacts entrepreneurs’ cognitive appraisals and resulting venture-directed behavior. Here, I argue that mistreatment from …

Can A "Good Jab" Lead To A "Good Job?": Teasing As An Organizational Performance Feedback Tool, Jared P. Wilson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Performance feedback is a valuable tool for bolstering workplace performance, but the prospect of receiving feedback is often aversive, leading to decreased acceptance, increased turnover intent, and increased recipient stress. One plausible explanation for why critical feedback can be aversive is that feedback is face-threatening. Politeness theory suggests that pro social agents can intentionally attenuate face-threat while still communicating intrinsically threatening information. Pro-social teasing, a humorous form of off-record communication, is one such method, offering a potentially less aversive mode of performance feedback. A sample of 133 participants read a vignette where they took on the role of a grocery …

A Transmission Electron Microscopy Study Of Structural Design And Modifications Of Li And Na – Ion Battery Cathodes For Performance Optimization, Maksim Andreyevich Sultanov

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The importance of Li ion batteries as an energy storage device cannot be understated. The industry around energy storage has been steadily growing over the last few decades and continues to grow. However, the design of these devices has run into a bottleneck as both academics and industry specialists try to achieve even higher performance parameters, as well as trying to supplement critical materials such as Co, Li and Ni while maintaining cost and energy density. In particular, energy density, capacity retention, thermal and mechanical stability have become very important to improve. These critical parameters within the device are dominated …

An Integrated Pull System Framework For Disassembly Industries: Bridging The Supply-Demand Mismatch In Duck Meat Processing, Hongchao Yu

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Disassembly-based production systems, such as duck meat processing, face inherent operational challenges due to one-to-many production structures, short product shelf life, and volatile customer demand. A single carcass must be processed into multiple products at largely fixed biological ratios, while demand varies across products and over time. This supply-demand mismatch frequently leads to simultaneous surplus and shortage, resulting in unstable shipment schedules, excess inventory, and unavoidable waste. Traditional order-driven pull systems typically respond to orders independently and are limited in their ability to coordinate these interrelated effects.

This dissertation develops an integrated pull system framework for perishable disassembly processes, using …

Instruction Vs. Infrastructure: Asymmetric Returns In U.S. Higher Education, Shaibu Yahaya

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Despite massive increases in funding, U.S. higher education degree output has stagnated—a paradox often attributed to external cost pressures like Baumol’s cost disease. This paper tests an alternative hypothesis: that internal resource misallocation, specifically the accumulation of noninstructional liabilities, actively crowds out educational productivity. Using a panel of 26,603 institution-year observations, I estimate the university production function via a fixed-effects Poisson specification, adjusting all financial inputs using the Higher Education Price Index. The results expose a stark asymmetry in productive returns: a 10% increase in instructional spending drives a 1.76% increase in degree production (β = 0.176). In contrast, the …

Dynamic Aperture Maximization Methods, Kevin J. Hamilton

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Particle accelerators consist of some of the most prolific machines for achieving a long-standing history of successful experiments that have progressed fields such as particle physics, nuclear physics, solid state physics, and medical physics. In recent years, multiple studies have been conducted on how further progress in these fields can be made and the beams physics community has concluded that developing new accelerators to minimize the loss of particles, induce high intensity beams, and remain stable under perturbations is essential to the continued success of physics research. Each of these qualities correspond to finding methods to increase the so-called dynamic …

Creative Works By Zoe Keese, Zoe Keese

The Art of Medicine

• A Family History of Obstetrics and Gynecology

International Students Experience Show: A Television Content To Prepare African Students For Study In The United States., Eric Atsu Senyo

Masters Theses

For many African students, studying in the United States begins with hope but often leads to confusion, isolation, and unmet expectations. This creative thesis presents International Students Experience Show, a 26-minute television shows designed to prepare African students for the realities of studying in the U.S. Grounded in Uses and Gratifications Theory, the project positions media as an active tool for empowerment through storytelling, practical guidance, and emotional engagement.

The series addresses key challenges, housing, transportation, mobile communication and daily life experiences through a hybrid format of personal testimonies, panel discussions, expert interviews, and field segments. Featuring nine African international …

The Final Boys' Club: Conceptualizing A Final Boy Of 1980s Horror, Ej Newton

Masters Theses

Carol J Clover’s (2015) Final Girl, the female slasher protagonist who survives to the end of the movie, has become a staple of horror scholarship, providing insight into the function of gender within the genre as well as our cultural beliefs surrounding femininity. Given the attention paid to horror’s leading ladies, however, another fascinating figure has gone unexplored: the Final Boy. This project analyzes nine horror films from the 1980s with young male protagonists in order to conceptualize and critique this previously unidentified trope. Utilizing McKerrow’s (1989) critical rhetoric as a guide, this research not only provides a thorough definition …

Feasibility Of Corn Stover For Biogas Production In Northwestern Illinois: A Case Study Of Jo Daviess And Carroll Counties, Anthony Amotoe-Bondzie

Masters Theses

The growing demand for renewable energy and sustainable waste management has intensified interest in agricultural residues such as bioenergy feedstocks. This study evaluated the feasibility of converting corn stover into biogas through anaerobic digestion (AD) in Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois, with consideration of the Savanna Industrial Park as a potential centralized processing hub. Although corn stover represents one of the largest biomass resources in the United States, this research identifies a critical gap between theoretical availability and practically recoverable feedstock. Using a mixed-methods framework, the study integrates biomass quantification, methane yield modeling, economic analysis, and policy assessment. Results …

It Takes A Village: Residents’ Perceptions Of Mount Prospect’S Place Branding, Jenna Strauss

Masters Theses

The Village of Mount Prospect has heard a fair share of negative critiques about the village’s branding; however, officials have not yet taken the initiative to rebrand. As stated by a village official, the village needs to understand what residents think about the branding before considering a rebrand. This knowledge offers valuable insight into what branding elements are liked/valued by residents, but also whether a rebrand would cause resistance or a mini crisis. Place branding literature highlights that residents determine the authenticity of a place brand (Braun et al., 2013), so Mount Prospect officials seek to make future branding decisions …

“To Hell With Words, [Say] Something!”: An Expressivist Manifesto For The Revival Of Authentic Voice Amid Robocolonial Echoes Of Llms In Composition Studies, Dani Rose Fitch

Masters Theses

This article explores the intersection of composition pedagogy and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), arguing that large language models (LLMs) impose a robocolonial standardization of language. By mass-producing algorithmically predictable text based on Standard American English (SAE), LLMs threaten the tenets of Students’ Right to Their Own Language (SRTOL) and drown out diverse linguistic identities. The author distinguishes between the embodied, intentional discovery of meaning in human intelligence and the voiceless echo of formulaic LLM generation.

Applying Baudrillard’s theory of simulation, the author positions GenAI-produced texts as pure simulacra—copies that have lost all connection to a human referent. By synthesizing Baudrillard’s …

Replication Of The Construct Validity Of The Cas2: Rating Scale, Isabelle Joann Kurowski

Masters Theses

Naglieri et al. (2014) created the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition: Rating Scale (CAS2: Rating Scale) to assess cognitive functioning of children based on teacher observations for use in Tier I screening purposes. The current study is a replication of Graham (2025) study that assessed the construct validity of the CAS2: Rating Scale by comparing it to the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS). Based on prior findings from Canivez and Gaboury (2016), this study hypothesized that the Attention and Planning subscales of the CAS2: Rating Scale would be most closely related to the Attention/Persistence and Strategy/Flexibility subscales of the LBS, respectively. …

Acceptability Of The Five In 20 Classroom Observation Tool: A School Administrator Sample, Ciara Krowas

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to expand the research on the social validity of a standardized classroom observation tool (the Five in 20 Classroom Observation Tool; FCOT), that assessed the use of five critical features in effective classroom management strategies. Forty-two school administrators (who had experience providing classroom observations and feedback) were recruited. Participants viewed a 20-minute video of a second-grade teacher’s classroom instruction while simultaneously completing the FCOT. Then, participants completed the modified Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (M-BIRS), which was adapted to measure participants’ acceptability of the FCOT. Most administrators (74%) found the FCOT to be an acceptable …

Hierarchical Analysis Of Predictors Of Public Speaking Anxiety, Ruimin Peng

Masters Theses

Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a prevalent type of phobia that shares many similarities with social anxiety. This paper examines factors related to social anxiety and PSA. Previous literature has identified self-efficacy, perfectionism, and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) as factors related to both social anxiety and PSA. However, less attention has been given to fear of positive evaluation (FPE) and international status, although these two factors are likely related to PSA. This study employed hierarchical regression analysis to investigate the predictive power of FPE and international status on PSA, while controlling for self-efficacy, perfectionism, and FNE. FPE, academic status, …

Religiosity And Spirituality: The Mental Costs And Benefits Of Belief In A College Setting, Tyler Geis

Masters Theses

The relationship between religiosity and spirituality (R/S) with mental health has been widely discussed in more recent years. This thesis examines factors related to religiosity, spirituality, depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as how various stigmas toward mental health, mental health treatment, and mental health treatment seeking may relate to R/S and mental health. Previous literature has identified religious coping with hardship, positive and negative dimensions of sin and behavior, the structure of different religious groups, and overall spiritual wellbeing as factors related to R/S, mental health, and beliefs about mental health . However, most previous literature come to differing …