Digital Commons Network^™

A Combined Multi-Isotope And Machine Learning Approach To Determine Groundwater Salinity And Solute Sources, Lower Valley Area, El Paso County, Texas, Gloria A. Ortiz Gamboa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Groundwater salinization is increasingly troublesome in aquifers in and around El Paso, Texas, where concern for available water resources has grown due to frequent droughts and increasing population. Both groundwater and surface water have experienced an increase in total dissolved solids (TDS), a trend that can pose future health and economic problems for residents who primarily rely on groundwater. To address this issue, this research focuses on the Hueco Bolson Aquifer and the Rio Grande Alluvial Aquifer within the Lower Valley area of El Paso, Texas, utilizing a multi-analysis approach to evaluate and determine solute sources and their possible end-members …

Decoupling Piezoelectric And Pyroelectric Effects In Anisotropic Polymer-Ceramic Lattices Produced Via Fused Filament Fabrication, Sofia Alexandra Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis investigates how multi-material fused filament fabrication (FFF) can be used to engineer lattice structures that decouple piezoelectric and pyroelectric responses within a single polymer–ceramic composite. A hybrid ABS–BaTiO3/PLA lattice—referred to as the Hybrid PIZCAL—was designed to direct mechanical strain along the Z-axis while suppressing deformation in the transverse directions. After thermal poling, the lattice exhibited a 293% increase in Z-axis voltage sensitivity compared to a monolithic ABS–BaTiO3 cube and significantly reduced off-axis electromechanical output. Finite element simulations and directional compression testing confirmed that geometric anisotropy and material zoning produce strong, axis-selective piezoelectric behavior. The second part of this …

Expression And Purification Of Prohibitin Proteins And Investigation Of Their Interaction With Mycobacterium Tuberculosis’S Virulence Factors, Zeina Rhaim

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prohibitin (PHB) is a highly conserved mitochondrial protein involved in cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, mitochondrial integrity, macrophage activation, cytokine production and many other critical cell functions. The prohibitin complex, formed by Prohibitin-1 (PHB1) and Prohibitin-2 (PHB2), functions as a mitochondrial membrane-associated receptor. Cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and renal conditions were found to be linked to an irregular PHB expression. Emerging evidence has also highlighted a significant role for PHB in tuberculosis (TB), particularly through its interactions with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) virulence determinants. The molecular mechanisms by which PHB influences TB pathogenesis remain poorly understood. Our preliminary studies showed that PHB1 was …

One Step Fabrication: Software-Automated Printed Circuits Via Multi-Material Additive Manufacturing, Gabriel Sanchez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As of now, the creation of 3D printed components faces many issues regarding stability, repeatability, and manual labor. Existing methods lack an integrated software framework that automates circuit generation while ensuring predictable behavior in printed geometries. In this work, circuits are modeled by leveraging distributed equations that reduce to lumped approximations when the printed geometry remains uniform. The system is implemented through a parametric, domain-specific programming workflow and evaluated across 100 Hz to 100 kHz to assess the accuracy of the predicted electrical values. Printed results were validated by empirical studies involving an RLC meter and by comparing both theoretical …

Relationships Between Social Determinants Of Health And Pain Outcome Changes After Exercise In Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis, Klarissa Siebert

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a common musculoskeletal disease with pain as the primary symptom. KOA pain is a major contributor to disability and reduced quality of life and has been associated with social determinants of health (SDOH) variables. As for treatments of KOA pain, exercise such as stationary cycling is a first-line and recommended treatment. However, limited research has examined how SDOH influence pain outcomes following such interventions. Objective: This study investigated whether income level, education level, employment status, acculturative stress, and perceived ethnic discrimination are associated with changes in pain following a standardized cycling ergometer exercise in adults …

“Have You Ever Dreamed Of A Better Version Of Yourself?”: A Psychoanalysis Of Representations Of Women Across Age In Horror Films, Weston Blu Stogner

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine representations of older and younger women in four horror films: The Leech Woman (1960), The Shining (1980), The Witch (2015), and The Substance (2024). Regarding horror film narratives, research suggests aged women are often depicted as wicked and lacking mental faculties, while young women with idealized and privileged body types are often fetishized. According to Creed (2023), these harmful, oppressive depictions are informed by male anxieties about women in patriarchy. When women are presented as monstrous (i.e., the monstrous-feminine) in horror films, they symbolize these anxieties. Therefore, all four films selected for …

What Limits Dryland Ecosystems? Patterns Of Soil Fertility And Resource Limitation In The Chihuahuan Desert, Dylan Stover

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Human activities are substantially altering global resource cycles with widespread implications for biogeochemistry and ecosystem functioning globally. Drylands, regions where precipitation is outweighed by water losses, are especially sensitive to these large shifts in resource cycles due to their inherently low and variable resource availability. In these regions, resource availability and biological activity are often concentrated around plants – or fertile islands – and predominantly driven by pulses of water. However, our knowledge of the processes influencing biological productivity in drylands – patterns of soil fertility and resource limitation – remains lacking, and their unique biogeochemical and biological processes create …

Hubert-Based Models And Evaluation Strategies For Pragmatically-Faithful Speech To Speech Translation, Javier Vazquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Pragmatic fidelity in speech-to-speech translation (S2ST) has largely been understudied, leading to communication tools inadequate to support non-superficial dialog. We aim to improve pragmatic faithfulness in English-Spanish translation through the development of machine learning models that are able to predict a corresponding pragmatic representation in the other language. To evaluate performance, we developed a pipeline that utilizes a recently-developed pragmatic similarity evaluation metric to compare models. Further, we developed models that exploit HuBERT features as these have been found suitable for various prosody and pragmatics related tasks. Our models outperformed human and state-of-the-art predictions, albeit the methodology being limited to …

Metal Zonation And Evolution Of The Bronson Slope Porphyry Cu-Au-Mo Deposit In The Iskut Region Of British Columbia, Canada, Luis Jacobo Yagual

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bronson Slope is a Cu-Au-Mo porphyry deposit located within the Stikine Terrane in the Golden Triangle District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. This deposit represents a complex, multistage magmatic-hydrothermal system emplaced into sedimentary and volcanoclastic rocks of the Triassic Stuhini Group. Bronson has an inferred resource of 517.3 Mt at 0.33 g/t Au, and 0.09% Cu. This study integrates detailed and quick logging from 20 drill holes, totaling 20,296m, SWIR spectral analysis, ICP-MS geochemistry, XRF analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements, geochronology, and 3D models developed in Leapfrog Geo which define the stratigraphy, intrusive geometry, extension, alteration footprint assemblage, metal zonation, and …

Physics-Guided Strategies For Enhancing Neural Networks Trained With Limited Data, Jose Guadalupe Perez Zamora

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Deep neural networks excel at a wide range of processing tasks across various disciplines. However, the quantity and quality of data significantly impact network performance. In specialized domains, high-quality datasets are often difficult to gather, interpret, and curate for effective learning. Few-shot learning techniques, including transfer learning, data augmentation, and meta-learning, have emerged to address these constraints.

We propose three physics-guided strategies for enhancing neural networks trained with limited data: (1) combining existing models like LSTMs with Physics-Informed Neural Networks through two-branch architectures that merge their outputs, (2) deriving custom physics-informed data augmentation algorithms to expand limited datasets, and (3) …

Evaluating Healthcare Professionals’ Perceptions Of The Ist Algorithm In Maternal-Fetal Health Clinic: Usability And Satisfaction, Terri Taylor

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Background: Standardizing substance-use screening in perinatal care is essential for optimizing clinical decision-making and promoting equitable patient outcomes. To address gaps, the Integrated Screening Tool (IST) algorithm was introduced in a Maternal–Fetal Medicine (MFM) clinic. However, 2023 data revealed inconsistent utilization. Evaluation Question: This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project evaluated: (1) How do nurse practitioners, medical doctors, and registered nurses perceive the usability of the IST algorithm for standardized drug screening in pregnancy? (2) How do these providers rate their satisfaction with the IST algorithm in managing patients with positive drug screens? Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with …

Draft Final 2022 Insufficiently Reclaimed Sites Sampling: Bres No. 50 – Zelia Site Evaluation Summary Report, Pioneer Technical Services, Inc.

Silver Bow Creek/Butte Area Superfund Site

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Patterns In Hofstede’S Cultural Dimensions Towards Individual Ai Receptiveness For Affective Experiences, Maggie Yang

Master's Theses

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly advanced efficient decision-making, with trust in algorithmic decisions shown to vary by cultural upbringing [1]. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, it is essential to examine how cultural values affect trust in AI in subjective contexts that extend beyond purely quantitative analysis, like the personal interpretation of art. This work utilizes Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to investigate potential patterns in receptiveness towards AI predictions during art interpretation, providing insight into individual susceptibility to bias in AI-assisted affective analysis.

The study leveraged a cultural dimension survey and a custom Java program connected …

Associations Between Feed Efficiency And Feeding Behavior In Yearling Angus Bulls In A Competitive Environment, Amelia Katz

Master's Theses

Feed efficiency in beef cattle is a complex trait shaped by physiological, behavioral, and social factors that influence how animals access and utilize feed resources. This study examined feed efficiency classification and how it is influenced by feeding behavior, competitive interactions, and bunk approach patterns in yearling Angus bulls housed in a drylot over two years. Bulls were grouped into high and low feed efficiency categories using residual feed intake and feed conversion ratio within pen and year (n = 40 per year; n = 40 per treatment). Continuous electronic monitoring quantified feeder visitation, feeding duration, intake, and rate. A …

Is Military Service A Social Mobility Mechanism? Military Participation And Socioeconomic Benefits—Recommended Research And Data Resources, Corri Zoli, Linda Euto, Rosalinda Maury

The Lender Center for Social Justice

This research brief shares research and data resources that examine how military participation, particularly professional training and education, function as mechanisms for social mobility, leading to higher socioeconomic advantages among U.S. military members and veterans, including minorities.

The Effects Of Yoga In The Classroom On Social-Emotional Learning And Student Focus, Emily Wall

Capstones, Research Projects, and Curricula

This study investigated how students respond to brief yoga and breathwork practices being introduced in a high school biology classroom, specifically looking at the impacts to students’ social-emotional competencies, engagement, and academic focus. The theory of action guiding this inquiry was that embedding yoga practices into the classroom would decrease physical tension, decrease anxiety, increase self-esteem, and improve concentration, thus supporting their ability to engage and focus during learning tasks. The inquiry examined how students respond to a daily 10-minute yoga sequence implemented over three weeks (six class sessions). Data was collected through multiple tools, including a researcher-designed pre- and …

Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2024/2025, Tennessee. Department Of Safety & Homeland Security.

Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Nene Leakes As A Modern Medea, Jazzlyn L. White

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This paper examines how The Real Housewives of Atlanta functions as a modern form of Greek tragedy through its portrayal of Nene Leakes, whose rise and fall within the Bravo franchise mirrors the tragic arc of Euripides’ Medea. Both Medea and Leakes represent women who defy the systems that once empowered them Medea through her rebellion against patriarchal and familial structures, and Leakes through her public confrontation with the television industry that made her a star. By analyzing these two figures through rhetorical, feminist, and media studies frameworks, this paper argues that reality television operates as a contemporary stage …

Synthesis Of Phenyl-Substituted Zinc Dipyrrin Photosensitizer For Carbon Dioxide Reduction, Stephen Ankomah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The release of CO₂ from fossil fuel combustion drives the need for its conversion into more sustainable options like CO and CH₄ via photocatalytic reduction. This process requires a catalyst, sensitizer, and electron donor. Zinc dipyrrin-based complexes are promising photosensitizers, offering an alternative to expensive, rare-metal-based systems. Most first-row transition metal dipyrrin compounds have short excited-state lifetimes due to rapid nonradiative decay, but Zn(II) dipyrrin complexes stand out. With a d¹⁰ configuration, they lack deactivating ligand field states and can access long-lived triplet states through a charge-separated intermediate. A phenyl-substituted Zn(II) dipyrrin complex was synthesized and studied using NMR to …

Divergent Responses Of Branched-Chain And Straight-Chain Lipid Membranes To Butanol Stress Revealed By All-Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Joshua Olaf Aggrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Membrane integrity under chemical stress is critical to cellular survival and industrial microbial bioproduction, yet the molecular basis of bilayer resilience remains poorly understood. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulation, we compare the effect of increasing concentrations of 1‑butanol on membranes composed of straight-chain (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, DPPC) and branched-chain (1-anteiso-palmitoyl-2-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, APPC) lipids, which differ in the point of attachment of a single methyl group. In the absence of butanol, both membranes exhibit well-ordered architectures consistent with experimental benchmarks; however, under increasing solvent stress, their behaviors diverge markedly. DPPC membranes display gradual thinning, modest area per lipid …

Summer Melt: The Transition Of Rural Students To Post-Secondary Schools, Niquan Alston

Dissertations

Rural high-achieving students face unique challenges as they prepare to transition to college. While many graduate with aspirations for higher education, a significant number fail to transition to college in the fall due to barriers that arise between high school graduation and college enrollment. Rural schools, particularly those serving low-income populations, frequently lack the resources, counseling, and exposure opportunities that help students navigate the transition from high school to postsecondary education. These circumstances leave students to manage financial barriers, incomplete paperwork, limited support, and the pressures of balancing family and community responsibilities. Their lived experiences shape the way they respond …

Immersive Learning In Action: A Qualitative Case Study Of High School Teachers’ Experiences With Prisms Learning In Science And Mathematics, Hilary A. Cassidy

Dissertations

The use of virtual reality (VR) in the secondary STEM educational space is increasing as costs to access VR technology decrease. There is a current lack of research supporting the efficacy of virtual reality use in the secondary space to improve student success criteria, particularly for specific VR-based instructional products like Prisms. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of Prisms VR curriculum from the teacher perspective, with specific attention to student engagement, conceptual understanding, and instructional practices. The goal of the study was to contribute to existing research about the paradigm shift toward active student participation …

A Joint Mindfulness And Growth Mindset Intervention For Reducing Math Anxiety For Pre-Service Elementary Teachers, Evan Czysz

Dissertations

Pre-service elementary teachers (PSTs) have often exhibited high levels of math anxiety, which can negatively influence their confidence, learning, and future teaching in mathematical settings. The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to understand the influences an intervention focused on growth mindset and mindfulness-based practices has on preservice elementary school teachers’ perceptions of mathematics at a mid-sized university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States, and sought to answer the following questions: Q1 Does a joint mindfulness-based and growth mindset intervention impact pre-service teachers’ levels of math anxiety? Q2 What were pre-service elementary teachers’ experiences with a …

Making Meaning Of The Dissertation Process: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Study Exploring Counselor Education Students’ Experiences And Beliefs About The Traditional Dissertation Process, Brianne Dixon

Dissertations

The traditional dissertation is a cornerstone of doctoral education yet is a process that is surprisingly under-researched. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to explore the lived experiences of doctoral students in counselor education and supervision (CES) programs with the dissertation process. More specifically, this study sought to understand the meaning seven doctoral students made of the process and this study explored counselor educator doctoral students’ beliefs about the traditional dissertation process after they completed the dissertation This study explored three research questions. Q1 What were the lived experiences of Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) doctoral …

The Coping Of Special Education Directors In The Western United States, Emily Mrazek Jones

Dissertations

The special education director in a school district has a wide-reaching role. Directors rely on extensive knowledge of educational law, instruction, child development, employee supervision, school finance, and more to positively impact the education of students with disabilities. Due to the extensive nature of the role, the practice of special education administration has been found to be stressful, and many practitioners experience burnout. Thus far, research has explored the nature of the role, the reasons for special education director stress, and directors’ preferences on surveys of positive coping strategies, but has not stepped back to ask the directors how they …

Culturally Responsive Functional Communication Training For Asian Families: A Single-Subject Design Study, Guofeng Shen

Dissertations

Children with disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID), frequently experience challenges related to social communication and are at increased risk of exhibiting challenging behaviors (CBs), particularly when they lack effective means to express their needs and desires. Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based intervention shown to reduce CBs by teaching functional communication skills. However, limited research has explored the use of culturally responsive adaptations of FCT (CRFCT), particularly in the context of training parents from culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse backgrounds. This study addressed this gap by examining the effects of culturally responsive FCT …

Exploring The Use Of Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Practices Within The Multi-Tiered System Of Support (Mtss) Framework When Supporting Students With Disabilities At A Dual Language Immersion School, Sylvia Simmons

Dissertations

The integration of culturally and linguistically responsive practices (CLRP) within the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework has been recognized as a promising method for improving learning opportunities for diverse students. However, little to no research has been conducted on the intersection of CLRP within the MTSS framework to support students with disabilities in dual language immersion schools (DLI). This lack of research has posed challenges for educators seeking effective strategies to support diverse learners with disabilities in such settings. Therefore, the purposes of this qualitative case study were to (a) explore how a dual language immersion school utilizes the …

Student Engagement In High School Mathematics Blended Learning Classrooms, Therese A. Rinehart

Dissertations

Engagement is a student’s interest, participation, and motivation in the learning process and is a cornerstone of success in the classroom. The COVID-19 Pandemic overturned the traditional classroom, making the task of fostering engagement nearly impossible. Although pandemic-related research has largely focused on mental health and academic achievement, less attention has been given to instructional models promoting engagement in remote learning environments. Self-directed learning (SDL) is one model offering students digital autonomy and access to teachers and peers. This study examined the longitudinal data of student perceptions of their engagement through the COVID-19 Pandemic at an alternative high school and …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Administrators, Teachers, And School Personnel With Justice-Involved Students, Kandra Cosby

Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological research study examined the experiences of six educational professionals, including administrators, teachers, and support staff, as they supported justice-involved students in their reintegration into traditional public schools. The study was based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, Hirschi’s social control theory, and Glasser’s choice theory. Semistructured interviews were used and revealed six themes: (a) fighting systems while trying to serve students, (b) relationships as safety nets, (c) protecting students from the stigma of judgment, (d) fighting bureaucratic silos, (e) philosophy wars in action, and (f) seeing the whole child. The findings indicated successful reintegration was less connected to …

Teacher Leadership And Specially Designed Instruction: A Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Teacher Leaders And Special Education Teachers In Elementary Settings, Tangie M. Rahming

Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of teacher leaders and special education teachers as they implemented Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) in elementary school settings. Despite SDI being a federally mandated component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), research consistently shows wide variation in how teachers interpret, deliver, and sustain SDI in real classrooms. Limited professional development, inconsistent coaching structures, and varying understandings of SDI across schools contribute to persistent gaps in implementation fidelity. To address these challenges, this study explored how teacher leaders support SDI implementation and how special education teachers make meaning of their instructional …