Digital Commons Network^™

Incarcerated Women: Gendered Rhetoric From The Outside And Reality Inside Prison Walls., Taylor Riley Geiser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines how formerly incarcerated women navigate and resist gendered media portrayals through digital platforms, focusing on the “mad” and “bad” woman tropes that shape public perceptions. Drawing on feminist rhetorical theory—particularly Royster and Kirsch’s methodological practices and Ratcliffe’s concept of rhetorical listening—this study combines Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of mainstream headlines with Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) of TikTok content. CDA of media coverage surrounding Lori Vallow Daybell, Casey Anthony, and Andrea Yates reveals how language, imagery, and cultural logics sustain harmful binaries that portray women who commit crimes either as depraved or as excused by madness, obscuring the …

Dementia Caregiving Styles: Characterizing Dementia Caregivers Via A Novel Framework., Darby M. Simon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As dementia rates increase, effective family caregivers are crucial to meeting the increasing demand for dementia care. However, dementia caregiving is a demanding experience, and caregivers have varying strategies for providing care, leading to positive and negative outcomes and appraisals of their caregiving experience. Limited research explores this relationship, and extant work is qualitative with no clinical measure. This study adapted a pre-existing framework/measure from a different caregiver population (parents) to explore a) if the same framework applied to both caregiving populations and b) the associations between the styles and psychological well-being and other caregiving variables. Exploratory Factor Analysis tested …

Metabolic Regulation Of Cardiac Fibroblast Phenotype And Function., Collin Kleis Wells

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiac fibroblasts are central effectors of cardiac repair after myocardial infarction (MI). In response to signaling cues, they differentiate to a range of phenotypes with robust capacities to synthesize and secrete extracellular matrix (ECM) and signaling molecules. Although activated fibroblast phenotypes are associated with pronounced changes in metabolism, it remains unclear how the metabolic network upholds the effector functions of fibroblasts in the post-infarcted heart. Here, we identified that critical enzymes in the phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) cycle, i.e. pyruvate kinase muscle-2 (PKM2) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-2 (PCK2), are elevated in the heart after MI and examined their role in regulating post-MI remodeling …

Evaluating Uplift At The Leading Edge Of The Yellowstone Hotspot - A Study Of The Shoshone River Drainage, Emma Tombaugh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The stationary mantle plume (or hotspot) underlying the Yellowstone region has caused parts of the surrounding landscape to rise as the continental plate migrates over it. However, scientists do not fully agree on the spatial pattern of this uplift and few measurements of the landscape have been made to provide estimates of uplift rates. To better understand uplift patterns and rates, this study examines the Shoshone River, which flows across the predicted zone of highest uplift at the northeastern, leading edge of the hotspot. Digital-terrain analysis is used to measure channel steepness and field and imagery approaches are used to …

A Computational Study On Impact Performance Of Concrete Barriers For Protecting Transportation Assets, Ashesh Pokhrel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Highway safety is a major concern as roads accommodate increasing numbers of vehicles, including large trucks and tractor-trailers. Concrete barriers are commonly used along highways and bridges to prevent accidents by redirecting vehicles and protecting important structures like bridge piers. However, their effectiveness depends on how well they withstand vehicle impacts, how they perform after being damaged in previous crashes, and how they protect bridge piers when space is limited. This research examines these issues using advanced computer simulations to better understand barrier performance and improve roadway safety.

The first part of this study reviews how researchers and engineers use …

Pain Acceptance In Chronic Postoperative Pain: Concept Analysis, Sajini M Thekkel, Constance M Johnson, Meagan Whisenant, Deniz Dishman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Chronic postoperative pain (CPOP) is a potential outcome of otherwise successful surgery that can persist for months, with its prevalence varied by surgical type, genetic predispositions, and psychosocial factors. Pain acceptance offers better outcomes to these patient populations by fostering a willingness to experience pain without resistance. This analysis examines how pain acceptance contributes to psychological well-being, helps reduce opioid misuse, and enhances quality of life, even in the presence of CPOP.

Design: The concept analysis approach follows Walker and Avant's framework (2019).

Methods: A literature search across PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL yielded 276 articles, of which …

The Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium: Biomarker And Drug Target Discovery For Common Neurodegenerative Diseases And Aging, Farhad Imam, Rowan Saloner, Jacob W Vogel, Varsha Krish, Gamal Abdel-Azim, Muhammad Ali, Lijun An, Federica Anastasi, David Bennett, Alexa Pichet Binette, Adam L Boxer, Martin Bringmann, Jeffrey M Burns, Carlos Cruchaga, Jeff L Dage, Amelia Farinas, Luigi Ferrucci, Caitlin A Finney, Mark Frasier, Oskar Hansson, Timothy J Hohman, Erik C B Johnson, Mika Kivimaki, Roxanna Korologou-Linden, Agustin Ruiz Laza, Allan I Levey, Inga Liepelt-Scarfone, Lina Lu, Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren, Lefkos T Middleton, Kwangsik Nho, Hamilton Se-Hwee Oh, Ronald C Petersen, Eric M Reiman, Oliver Robinson, Jeffrey D Rothstein, Andrew J Saykin, Artur Shvetcov, Chad Slawson, Bart Smets, Marc Suárez-Calvet, Betty M Tijms, Maarten Timmers, Fernando Vieira, Natalia Vilor-Tejedor, Pieter Jelle Visser, Keenan A Walker, Laura M Winchester, Tony Wyss-Coray, Chengran Yang, Niranjan Bose, Simon Lovestone, The Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (Gnpc)

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

More than 57 million people globally suffer from neurodegenerative diseases, a figure expected to double every 20 years. Despite this growing burden, there are currently no cures, and treatment options remain limited due to disease heterogeneity, prolonged preclinical and prodromal phases, poor understanding of disease mechanisms, and diagnostic challenges. Identifying novel biomarkers is crucial for improving early detection, prognosis, staging and subtyping of these conditions. High-dimensional molecular studies in biofluids ('omics') offer promise for scalable biomarker discovery, but challenges in assembling large, diverse datasets hinder progress. To address this, the Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (GNPC)-a public-private partnership-established one of the …

Unveiling Insights From Complexity: Advanced Computational Techniques For High-Dimensional Medical Data, Devin P. Eddington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Healthcare generates vast amounts of data daily, from genetic profiles to hospital records, but much of it remains untapped due to its complexity. This dissertation develops new computational tools to unlock this data’s potential, aiming to improve patient care and medical research. Five projects tackle different challenges: Project 1 creates Deep MAGIC, a method to fill in missing genetic and image data accurately, vital for understanding diseases like cancer. Project 2 analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted surgeries, finding a 27% drop and temporary complication rises in 2020, guiding future crisis planning. Projects 3 and 4 study kidney disease trials, …

An Optimization Study Of Multi-Orifice Synthetic Jets, Rhett T. Parry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

From the mixing of creamer into coffee, to the dynamics of a dust storm, or smoke rising from a chimney—everything is driven by turbulent fluid motion. Experimentalists bring the complex driving mechanism that is turbulence into a laboratory setting to fundamentally understand its behavior in response to certain test parameters. Researchers may choose various drivers, or “actuators”, of fluid motion to start the turbulent regime for their applications. However, in building an entire experimental apparatus, they miss the step of ensuring that an individual driver is performing as best as possible. A common actuator used in experimental studies is a …

Metaheuristic Planning For Vehicle Fleets With Kinematic, Uncertain, And Battery Constraints, James Swedeen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The planning of vehicle actions and movements is becoming increasingly important in daily life. With the growing list of potential and current applications of autonomous planning, the field is faced with an ever-growing list of complications. These complications make the task of producing efficient plans increasingly difficult. This research studies and develops solutions for a few of the most important vehicle planning applications in recent years.

First, there is the planning of vehicle motion while considering the physical limitations of the vehicle. For many vehicles, for example, cars, airplanes, and boats, the biggest limitation is the inability to pan directly …

Development Of A Machine Learning Framework For An Irrigation Decision Support System, Eric Wilkening, Derek M. Heeren, Yeyin Shi, Laila A. Puntel, Guillermo R. Balboa, Abia Katimbo, Kuan Zhang, Precious Nneka Amori, Bruno Lena

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Currently used irrigation scheduling techniques often require significant human intervention and are time consuming, particularly for variable rate irrigation. This research aimed to develop a conceptual framework that incorporates disparate data sources leveraging both mechanistic and machine learning (ML) approaches. The overarching objective is to utilize the growing availability of data and technology to manage irrigation more precisely, which will minimize negative impacts of irrigation on our water resources. An initial irrigation machine learning model was proposed and tested in this study as a key component of an edge-cloud computing and federated learning decision-making framework. The specific objectives were (1) …

Geochemical And Stratigraphic Characterization Of The Morrison Formation And Cedar Mountain Formation Contact In The Island Park Quadrangle, Uintah County, Utah, Emily Mcdermott

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation and Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation are among the richest sources of dinosaur fossils. Despite a 24-million-year gap in time (the Jurassic–Cretaceous unconformity), these formations are difficult to distinguish due to their similar rock types and colors. In Utah's Island Park quadrangle (IPQ), these formations are not separated on existing geological maps. This study focuses on identifying and understanding the formational boundary between them using field observations, stable isotope analysis, clay mineralogy, and chemical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF).

Unlike other areas where a conglomerate layer marks the boundary, the …

Risk Perceptions And Water Governance: Experiences Of Irrigation Companies In The Great Salt Lake Basin Of Northern Utah, United States, Bailey M. Holdaway

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Irrigation companies are important water management entities in the Western US. However, these companies often face barriers when managing water. Particularly as the state of Utah grows and water resources are drying, there is much finger pointing at those in irrigation and agriculture for better water management. However, pointing fingers without the participation of these companies often does not lead to effective water management outcomes. Therefore, it is important to understand the role of these irrigation companies, and particularly how they are approaching water management.

I set out to understand the role of these irrigation companies, specifically in the Great …

The Validation Of The Patient’S Endorsement Of The Biopsychosocial Model Of Chronic Pain (Peb) Scale In Young Adults, Mathias M. Sanyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This research examined a new tool designed to measure how patients view their chronic pain. While healthcare providers increasingly recognize that chronic pain involves biological, psychological, and social factors (a "biopsychosocial approach"), no previous tool existed to assess whether patients share this perspective. This study tested the reliability and effectiveness of the Patient's Endorsement of a Biopsychosocial Model of Chronic Pain (PEB) Scale in young adults with chronic pain. Results confirmed the scale accurately measures a single, consistent concept and correlates with patients' willingness to consider new pain management approaches. Unlike in older adults, the scale didn't predict active maintenance …

Efficacy And Social Validity Of A Modified Good Behavior Game, Milad Najafichaghabouri

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Teachers regularly face challenging behavior from students in their classrooms. Research shows that the good behavior game (GBG) is a strategy teachers can use in their classrooms to improve student behavior. However, in practice, very few teachers choose to use this strategy in their classrooms. One reason why teachers may not use this intervention regularly is that they find some parts of the intervention to be difficult to implement in the long-term. The purpose of this study was to modify the procedures of the GBG to reduce implementation effort for teachers and assess if the intervention continues to be effective. …

Intra-Stand Movement Of Balsam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges Piceae) In The Intermountain West, Michael S. Wayman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Balsam woolly adelgid (BWA, Adelges piceae (Ratz.)) is an invasive insect of true firs (Abies spp.). BWA has spread from initial introductions on the west coast of North America in the 1920s through the Intermountain West and has recently invaded Utah. White fir (A. concolor) and subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa) are the two main species of concern in this region; however, subalpine fir has been found to be more susceptible to attack and subsequent damage. While long-range dispersal mechanisms and patterns are of interest for spread across regions and for predicting new infestations, very little …

The Effect Of Voter Education On Behaviors In Ranked Choice Voting, Ethan G. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The appeal of ranked choice voting has led to its recent meteoric rise throughout America, leading to adoption in a number of cities and a handful of states, but some critics and political scientists worry about its higher difficulty potentially leading to more errors and undesirable behavior. Utilizing an experiment, I find that a short voter education video is all that is required to reduce rates of errors and ideologically inconsistent behavior, while finding null results for undervoting, possibly due to its low occurrence in the sample.

As ranked choice voting’s adoption is considered in each election cycle for jurisdictions …

Role Of Quartz Grain Size And Saturation On Fault Strength And Frictional Healing, Sapana Regmi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Rocks near the Earth's surface (less than 5 kilometers deep) often break and grind against one another to create crushed rock materials known as fault gouge. These fault gouges are filled with fragmented particles and broken rocks, which vary in grain size over time and space due to repeated earthquakes. This variation in grain size distribution along fault gouge can affect the strength of the fault, how it slips during an earthquake and how it 'heals' or recovers strength between earthquakes. Further, fault gouges often contain water from underground sources, which can influence how they slip. Previous studies have examined …

Breaking Up In The Digital Age: Examining The Relational Dissolution Model On Instagram, Alana Haupert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Breakups can be an emotional time as individuals experience breakup distress and begin to explore the options and potential actions that are associated with relational dissolution on social media. This study seeks to explore how certain online behaviors, as they relate to stages of relational dissolution, affect breakup distress, relational uncertainty, social media engagement, and overall attitudes towards singlehood. Findings suggest that social media engagement plays a key role in exploring the phases of relational dissolution. Higher social media intensity linked breakup distress and behaviors of the social phase, or when individuals share information about a potential breakup. Grave-dressing behaviors …

Balancing Native Wetland Types And Ecosystem Function Conservation In The Face Of An Aggressive Plant Invader, Aubin A. Douglas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Wetlands provide a multitude of ecosystem services that are important to people including water filtration, flood attenuation, carbon sequestration, and recreational opportunities such as birding and hunting. Wetland plants support these services by performing important underlying ecological processes called ecosystem functions which include removing heavy metals from water and providing habitat for migratory birds. The provisioning of these functions varies through space and time, by vegetation type, and via impacts from other factors like climate and management actions. Wetland managers are responsible for maintaining these functions and services within their management complexes to align with their agency’s mandates. Unfortunately, managers …

Cbl Regulation Of C-Met Signaling In Corneal Epithelial Cells., Kate Elise Tarvestad Laise

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The cornea is the most anterior portion of the eye and permits light passage through to retina, allowing formation of a clear image as long as it remains healthy. If the cornea sustains damage, it creates and entrance for foreign body invasion, infection, and ultimately blindness in the immunocompromised eye. Healing the corneal tissue is critical for vision restoration and pain alleviation, as it is the most densely innervated tissue in the body. Growth factors and their cognate receptors are currently under investigation as tools to restore proper corneal physiology. We hypothesize that manipulating the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) /c-Met …

The Social Dimensions Of Aquaculture: Food Sovereignty And Indigenous Rights In Ketchikan, Alaska, Morgan J. Davis

Capstone Collection

This research project asks how the growing commercial aquaculture industry in Ketchikan, Alaska, functions to alleviate or exacerbate local food insecurity; reinforce or undermine food sovereignty among Indigenous communities, and enhance or restrict community participation in the control of marine resources. Global initiatives have responded to food insecurity through agricultural inputs and technology to create higher yields; however, conventional agricultural production has contributed to and is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. To address higher demands for food, government agencies and development experts have looked towards Blue Growth and aquaculture as a solution for food insecurity and environmental concerns. While aquaculture …

My Achilles Years., Ash William Bittner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a historically and rhetorically grounded creative project exploring the traumas of war. This project is divided into three broad chapters, each using a different (and relevant) approach to cover the content contained within that chapter. The first chapter relies on that historical grounding, exploring the history of PTSD as it is currently understood, before exploring ancient Greek poetry and theater and both the historical and military contexts for each, before finally discussing modern warfare and the “Forever War” of the American War on Terror that lasted for nineteen years. With the historical grounding set, it moves into …

Dust Observations Of Occulting Galaxy Pair Vv 191., Clayton Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The presence of dust grains as part of the the interstellar medium (ISM) in galaxies is an all-impactful entity in astronomy due its influence on light, and therefore observations. Unlike a true blackbody, dust absorbs, reflects, reddens, and scatters light within a line of sight. We quantify this phenomena with attenuation: the difference between the observed and true magnitudes of an astronomical object due to dust. Therefore, to map dust attenuation, one needs a known background source of light. In the serendipitous case of partially overlapping –occulting– galaxies, the background galaxy serves as the known light source and the transmission …

Why Are Parents Choosing Forest Preschool? A Look Into Parent Choice And Outcome Expectations In A Forest Preschool Setting., Victoria M. Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As interest in alternative early childhood education settings continues to grow, Forest Preschools—programs emphasizing immersive outdoor, nature-based learning—have gained increasing attention from parents across the United States. This qualitative research study explores the underlying motivations and decision-making processes that lead families to choose Forest Preschool settings. Guided by Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory, which examines behavior as a function of person and environment, the study investigates the dynamic interplay of personal beliefs, social influences, and contextual factors that shape parental choice. Specifically, this study addresses four key research questions: (1) How do families who choose Forest Preschools gain information about preschool …

Owl Integrations Soil Monitor, Derek Chau, Armaan Kahlon

Electrical Engineering

This paper examines the design process and results concerning the OWL Integrations soil monitor. Disaster relief relies heavily on digital communications, especially in environments where conventional methods (e.g. Wi-Fi, cellular, fiber optics) are unusable. To help emergency services assess disaster-stricken areas, a soil monitoring system was developed using LilyGo T-Beams (ESP32), programmed with specialized firmware known as the ClusterDuck Protocol to collect data pertaining to moisture and temperature. The project is sponsored by OWL Integrations, with help from the Cal Poly Electrical Engineering (EE) Department. Results show positive prospects, with the product able to make 4 km transmissions, operate for …

International Legal Guidelines For Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal Governance Under The London Convention And London Protocol, Korey Silverman-Roati, Romany M. Webb

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

For the past two decades, parties to the London Convention and Protocol have negotiated rules, decisions, and amendments related to climate change. These efforts have principally focused on two sets of technologies – sub-seabed carbon dioxide storage and marine geoengineering. Initial discussions regarding marine geoengineering focused specifically on ocean fertilization but, more recently, the parties have considered an expanded array of marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) approaches, including ocean alkalinity enhancement and ocean sinking of biomass. Throughout these discussions, the parties have invoked legal principles and guidelines, like the precautionary approach, to inform their assessment of how to apply the …

Improving Antipsychotic Compliance By Addressing Client Experience Of Metabolic Syndrome, Lurinda N. Paulsen

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Abstract

Purpose: This project was undertaken to increase medication adherence in clients diagnosed with mental illnesses that necessitate the use of antipsychotic (second generation, atypical or first generation, typical) medications.

Background: Medication compliance in the treatment of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder is essential to ensure consistent medication levels and symptom stabilization. There are many reasons clients stop taking their medications, and symptoms of metabolic syndrome are often a cause for self-discontinuation. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms including obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypoalphalipoproteinemia, and/or hypertriglyceridemia, which increases risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Methods: This project was completed …

Is There Something Schools Can Learn From Black Churches?, Samantha Marie Smith

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate and gain meaning of the experiences of families with school aged children and why they trust and value Black churches versus the school education system and if there is anything that schools can learn from roles that Black churches play in families’ lives. The research was guided by the following questions: (1) How do Black churches build relationships with families, consistently and effectively engage children, and teach children? (2) How do schools build relationships with families, consistently and effectively engage children, and teach children? (3) Is there anything that schools can …

An Examination Of Teacher Perceptions Of Middle School Behavior Management And Intervention, Raechel Brianne Roberts

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research indicates that behavior management and intervention is a complex experience in school settings. Middle school students, in particular, must contend with physical, social, and educational changes and responsibilities, which may impact their behavioral responses and relationships with their teachers. The literature suggests that teachers often report that there are limitations to support for behavioral management in regards to pre-service training, access to research-based practices, and barriers to successful intervention implementation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to privilege the lived experiences of middle school teachers and their needs for working with students with challenging behaviors. The study included …