Digital Commons Network^™

Utilizing The Horseshoe Prior In Exploratory Factor Analysis And Gaussian Graphical Networks, James Thomas Roddy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

High-dimensional data analysis frequently involves extracting meaningful structure from noisy, sparse signals. In recent years, Bayesian shrinkage priors—particularly global-local shrinkage priors—have emerged as powerful tools for inducing sparsity while preserving signal fidelity. Among these, the Horseshoe prior has gained notable attention for its capacity to simultaneously shrink irrelevant parameters and retain substantial signals. This dissertation explores the Horseshoe prior as a unified framework for sparse Bayesian inference across theory, simulation, and real-world application. The first component develops new theoretical results establishing the asymptotic Bayes optimality of the Horseshoe prior in Gaussian graphical models (GGMs). We consider sparse precision matrix estimation …

Assessment Of Mental Health Needs For Chronically Unhoused Individuals Living In A Bridge Housing Community, Isabel Furse Augur

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher rates of psychopathology and substance use are reported in individuals experiencing homelessness compared to the general population, especially in those who are chronically unhoused. Chronically homeless individuals are also less likely to access treatment for these problems because of barriers to care. Addressing housing needs is an important first step in engaging people who are homeless with the care they need. This project focused on assessing the mental health needs of a Housing First community in Northwest Arkansas, which has few barriers for entry but does not provide direct support for mental health. This project adopted a community-based participatory …

Effect Of Dietary Tryptophan Supplementation And Heat Stress On Pasture Broiler Welfare And Performance, Jaelen Matthew Cherry

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pasture-raised broiler chickens face temperature extremes that can threaten welfare. In the study, we evaluated whether a 0.26 % tryptophan-supplemented diet (T) improved heat stress (HS) resilience in Ross-708 broilers raised on pasture. At D14, birds began the T or remained on the control diet (C) and were moved outdoors. On D20 and 41, half of each group underwent six-hour HS; the remainder stayed under thermoneutral (TN) conditions. Weekly body weight, feed intake on D20 and D41 were recorded, and fear was measured using the Tonic Immobility (TI) test. Neither diet nor HS affected body weight. However, tryptophan supplementation resulted …

Lifetime Stressor Exposure, Race And Ethnicity, And Habitual Stress Processes: An Evaluation Of Repetitive Negative Thinking And Hair Cortisol Concentration, Harrison Dickens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Habitual stress processes are thought to influence acute stress reactivity and stress-related disease. Habitual stress processes have been shown to adapt in response to stressor exposure experienced across the lifespan. The current study seeks to explore whether two habitual stress processes, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and repetitive negative thinking (RNT), were associated with lifetime stressor exposure (self-reported and objective neighborhood-level stressors). Additionally, the current study attempts to quantify how this process may be moderated by race and ethnicity. Participants (N = 134, Mage = 18 [SDage= 1.69], 56.7% female) consisting of White (N = 52), Black (N = 37 ), …

Monitoring And Understanding Momentary Affect Intensity From Smartphone Sensors: Investigating The Role Of Time Resolutions And Semantic Locations, Yiqin Zhu

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Momentary affect intensity refers to the momentary strength or intensity of emotional experience and shows wide associations with critical psychological and behavioral phenomena. Traditional self-report approaches to assess affect intensity require people’s attention and are prone to missingness and recall bias. Wide and cheap smartphone access offers opportunities to monitor and understand real-time affect intensity. This study had three specific aims: (a) To evaluate the potential for a state-of-the-art explainable artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to predict momentary affect intensities without active inputs, we tested how well Temporal Fusion Transformers (TFTs) can predict momentary affect intensity in an unseen test sample; …

Examining Associations Between Internalized Racism, Psychological Flexibility, And Well-Being Among Bipoc, Cerella Chandra

Dissertations

Internalized racism has been defined as the adoption of negative stereotypes related to one’s racial/ethnic group and associated with psychological distress. There is little research on the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on diverse populations, but recent intervention studies have indicated that psychological flexibility may counter the negative psychological effects of self-stigma. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between internalized racism, psychological flexibility, and psychological distress and life satisfaction among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Self-report data was collected using Qualtrics with prospective participants recruited from a large public university in the …

Predictors Of Cyberbullying And Help-Seeking Behaviors In Rural Midwestern Schools: A Multilevel Modeling Analysis, Ashley M. Harrison-Pavlik

Dissertations

Cyberbullying is a significant problem throughout the United States. Many risk factors have been identified for cyberbullying victimization, including experiencing traditional bullying victimization, social media usage, gender, and underrepresented racial/ethnic status, although the results are inconclusive. In response to cyberbullying, youth may choose to engage in or avoid help-seeking behaviors. Individual characteristics such as age, gender, frequency of victimization, race and ethnicity, and student perceptions of school staff can influence whether a youth seeks help. School level variables, including anti-bullying policies and teacher awareness and perceptions of cyberbullying may also impact help-seeking behaviors. However, few studies have empirically assessed their …

Understanding The Experiences And Perceptions Of Faculty Supporting Undergraduate Students With Mental Health Challenges, Jenna Ranee Parbati Jamieson

Dissertations

College is a big adjustment for students, and it doesn't come without its challenges, including being in a new place with new responsibilities. This is a stressful time that presents new obstacles and frustrations that can lead to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and mental health challenges that may cause faculty to engage and support undergraduate students with mental health challenges. As students adjust and transition to college, it is vital for university faculty to feel confident and comfortable supporting students from diverse backgrounds with varying levels of distress. By interviewing faculty, a better understanding of their lived experiences and perceptions …

Difficulty In American Dramatic Literature, David Turkel

Dissertations

Speaking broadly, this dissertation explores the marginalization of American drama within the field of literary studies. In attempting to account for this marginalization, theater scholars have tended to invoke the genre’s supposed lack of “difficulty,” meaning its failure to pose meaningful interpretive challenges to its readers. However, this dissertation takes an alternative view of the matter, contending that if American drama has indeed been marginalized, it is not because literary studies departments have regarded it as intrinsically “simpler” than other literary genres; in fact, it is theater scholars who have been more likely to read the genre as simple, or …

Reimagining Education With Ai, Margherita Pagani, Steven M. Miller, Jerry Wind

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This chapter examines AI’s transformative potential in education, focusing on Generative AI (GenAI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) while at the same time emphasizing the importance of grounding and guiding AI efforts with learning science and education research findings. It synthesizes analyses and expert recommendations, highlighting opportunities like personalized learning and enhanced teacher productivity, alongside challenges such as over-reliance on AI. Practical steps for instructors include adopting a question-first approach, utilizing AI for personalized feedback, designing AI-enhanced learning experiences, fostering critical thinking, and ensuring ethical AI use. The chapter concludes with strategic recommendations for leveraging AI to sustainably improve educational …

Ai-Assisted Risk Assessment In Generative Ai Governance, Wu Jiaqi Young, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Effective risk assessment is paramount for responsible generative AI (GenAI) deployment. Traditional governance approaches that rely on manual reviews are inadequate given the scale and velocity of GenAI outputs. A risk-based approach incorporating real-time monitoring and governance is paramount. In this research, we examine how the efficacy of suggestive versus supportive explanations for AI’s risk assessment of GenAI outputs is moderated by user domain expertise and AI’s risk assessment in determining user acceptance. We hypothesize that cognitive involvement increases with AI’s risk assessment, with higher risks triggering more critical evaluation. By drawing on the elaboration likelihood model, we hypothesize that …

Role Of Social Media Mindfulness In Combatting Fake News Propagation, Gaurav Bansal, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Jason B. Thatcher

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The dissemination of fake news by social media users is a key factor in the escalation of misinformation. Research suggests that social media networks are becoming increasingly homophilic, which leads to an overreliance on social media friends that contributes to the spread of fake news. However, little is known about how social media mindfulness can reduce the sharing of fake news. To investigate this research question, we conceptualized a social media mindfulness construct and developed the social media mindfulness scale. We also hypothesize that social media mindfulness lowers overreliance on friends’ knowledge, which increases skepticism about social media news that …

Consistent Client Simulation For Motivational Interviewing-Based Counseling, Yizhe Yang, Palakorn Achananuparp, Heyan Huang, Jing Jiang, Nicholas Gabriel Lim, Cameron Shi Ern Tan, Phey Ling Kit, Jenny Xiuhui Giam, John Pinto, Ee-Peng Lim

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Simulating human clients in mental health counseling is crucial for training and evaluating counselors (both human or simulated) in a scalable manner. Nevertheless, past research on client simulation did not focus on complex conversation tasks such as mental health counseling. In these tasks, the challenge is to ensure that the client’s actions (i.e., interactions with the counselor) are consistent with with its stipulated profiles and negative behavior settings. In this paper, we propose a novel framework that supports consistent client simulation for mental health counseling. Our framework tracks the mental state of a simulated client, controls its state transitions, and …

A Systematic Review Of School-Based Behavioral Interventions And The Symbolic Labor Of Inclusion For Children With Chronic Illness, Efthymia Efthymiou, Dimitra V. Katsarou, Maria Sofologi, Kalliopi Megari, Soultana Papadopoulou, Evangelos Mantsos, Salma Daiban

All Works

Background: Chronic illness affects children’s health and disrupts the spatial and temporal aspects of schooling by complicating attendance, interrupting learning routines, and exposing institutional rigidity. While many educational systems treat chronicity as an exception to be managed, this review reconceptualizes it as a pedagogical and symbolic challenge to normative assumptions about inclusion, care, and participation. Objective: To systematically examine how school-based behavioral and psychosocial interventions support children and adolescents with chronic health conditions (CHCs) in inclusive educational settings and to analyze what these interventions reveal about institutional practices of care and recognition. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a …

Cultivating Identity, Workforce Readiness, And Heutagogical Lifelong Learning: The Case For Student-Trained Ai Agents In Postsecondary Education, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

The accelerated integration of human-centered artificial intelligence and human-computer intelligent interaction (HCII) into postsecondary education has inaugurated a paradigm shift in how learners develop cognitive, socio emotional, and professional competencies. This article argues that requiring students to iteratively build and refine custom AI agents—digital “clones” or GPTs trained on their evolving beliefs, knowledge, values, and interests addresses three pressing challenges facing contemporary higher education. First, the process of self-modeling via agent training compels deep self-reflection, fostering socio-economic development and identity formation during the critical neurodevelopmental period that extends into the mid-twenties. Second, as industry trends increasingly prioritize the creation of …

Anisotropic Object-Based Shifts Of Attention Arise From Unequal Influences Of Visual Field Meridians On Neural Attention Gradients, David H. Hughes, Adam J. Barnas, Adam S. Greenberg

Biomedical Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Object-based attention prioritizes the processing of information appearing within a selected object. We previously showed an object-based shift direction anisotropy (SDA) whereby horizontal shifts are more efficient than vertical shifts (Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. Atten Percept Psychophys 78: 1985–1997, 2016; Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. Vis Cogn 27: 768–791, 2019), an effect modulated by the visual field meridians (Barnas AJ, Greenberg AS. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 77: 2516–2532, 2024). Our present aim was to understand how the functional brain mechanisms of attention give rise to the SDA. We hypothesized that the SDA arises from attentional resources being partitioned differently by …

Teaching To Transgress: A Practice Of Justice And Healing In Teacher Education Program, Finney Cherain, Syed Ali Nasir Zaidi

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

We create deep connections with our surroundings, people and societies, and classrooms are one of such deep connections. Classrooms are spaces where the unfulfilled dreams and painful experiences of teachers and students can fester and estrange classrooms from being places of justice and hope. The absence of justice, healing and hope estranges public education of many of its democratic ideals and promises. We believe that teachers and students can heal together to deconstruct their experiences with oppression and envision new ways of coexisting with others and personally transform. Influenced by the work of Bell Hooks and Parker Palmer we offer …

The Marginalization Of Black Students And The Burnout Of Black Teachers, Jasmine N. Wilson

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Black students' language and culture should matter inside the classroom, but the K-12 education system perpetuates racist ideologies that otherwise stifle and shame Black students and their identities. There is a disproportion between the number of White teachers and Black students in minority-serving K-12 institutions, and this racial mismatch severely influences Black students’ academic success. In addition to the racial mismatch between White teachers and Black students, K-12 institutions foster a prejudiced learning environment that condemns African American English speakers. There is an abundance of research that suggests that Black teachers, Black culture, and Black English are of the utmost …

Dialogic Instruction: Teachers Can Have Their Cake, And Eat It, Too, Rebecca L. Lee

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

Dialogic instruction is a talk-intensive approach to learning and teaching that is student-centered and discussion-based, promoting collaboration and academically productive conversations. Recently, educators across the country have increased the amount of time spent preparing students for standardized assessments, which often reduces teaching and learning to test preparation. While this tension suggests that teachers must choose between good teaching or good test scores, dialogic instruction is a promising practice that can enhance students’ reading comprehension outcomes while centering student choice and valuing student voice. Research shows dialogic instruction is most effective when teachers a) co-create a conducive classroom climate, b) incorporate …

Does Ultrasound Guidance During Arthrocentesis In Women With Disc Displacement Without Reduction Reduce Procedure Time And Improve Outcomes? A Randomized Clinical Trial, Moataz Dr. Bahaa, Abdelrahman Fahmy Dr., Hisham Elsheikh Dr., Bassam Abulnoor, Amr Amin Prof., Sherif El Bahnasy, Karim Abdelmohsen Prof

Dentistry

Introduction: The goal of using ultrasound-guided (USG) arthrocentesis is to reduce number of needle insertion attempts, which is hypothesized to reduce procedure time, postoperative pain, and consequently, limitation in range of motion. Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the therapeutic and operative efficiency of USG Single-Puncture Arthrocentesis (SPA) Type 2 and SPA Type 2 arthrocentesis without ultrasound guidance in the treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangement (ID) “disc displacement without reduction (DDWOR).” Materials and methods: A double-blinded prospective randomized clinical trial (RCT) was conducted from December 2022 to December 2023 at Ain Shams University Hospital. It …

A Plithogenic Neutrosophic Hypersoft Set-Based Framework With Comparative Analysis For Measuring Teaching Practice Effectiveness In University-Level Vocal Music Instruction, Huiqiu Du

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Teaching Effectiveness In University Vocal Music Programs: A Void–Plithogenic Nexus Approach (Vpnx), Yishu Tang

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

A Neutrosophic Cognitive Map-Based Modeling Framework For Analyzing The Indeterminate Impact Of Exercise On University Students’ Mental Health, Rui Wang

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

No abstract provided.

Using Equivalence-Based Instruction And Behavioral Skills Training To Teach Social Skills, Alexander Orzeck

Theses

Social skills are an integral part of human life, so it stands to reason that teaching methodologies should be developed to instruct people in this complex topic. One method to teach social skills has been behavioral skills training, in which the four-step sequence of vocal and written instruction, modeling, roleplay, and feedback exposes learners to the social concepts until a mastery criterion is reached. Skills relevant to socialization have also been taught with equivalence-based instruction, in which the concept of stimulus equivalence is employed to generate novel relations between stimuli for the purpose of teaching some skill. No instance was …

College Leaders’ Perspectives Of Diversity At A Community College System In Texas: A Phenomenological Study Of Validation, Xandelyn Wright Washington

All Dissertations

The United States has undergone dramatic changes in student demographics over the last 40 years. Nowhere is this reflected more than in the field of education (Center for Public Education, 2012; Fabina et al., 2023). Disaggregation of student demographics is a useful and common method for measuring student outcomes, and in the United States, non-majority students consistently have lower student outcomes (Gay, 2013; Howard, 2010; Ocay et al., 2023).

Ma and Baum (2016) and McNair et al. (2015) stated that the role of community colleges is pivotal in postsecondary education. As such, college leaders and administrators have focused attention on …

Vision To Reality: Groundbreaking Impacts Of Artificial Intelligence On Key Performance Indicators In The Built Environment, Christopher Hamilton Sr

All Dissertations

As construction transitions into an era shaped by Industry 4.0 and data-driven decision-making, Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerges as a transformative tool with the potential to enhance key performance indicators (KPIs) such as schedule adherence, cost management, quality assurance, safety, resource allocation, and customer satisfaction. However, few studies have empirically assessed the direct influence of AI adoption on operational performance or examined the innovation diffusion factors that facilitate its integration. This gap underscores the need to align AI initiatives with broader organizational strategies, ensuring that technological adoption translates into measurable improvements in construction performance.

This quantitative study investigated two core research …

Breaking Ranks: Recognizing Hiring Bias Associated With Different Military Branches, La Kesha Redel Leonard

All Dissertations

This study aimed to address the gap in research on hiring biases against military veterans, with a focus on branch-specific discrimination. While prior research has examined general veteran employment challenges, no existing scholarly studies have explored how stereotypes tied to a veteran’s branch of service influence hiring outcomes. Current approaches, such as diversity and inclusion policies and skills translation programs, overlook subtle yet impactful branch-related implicit and explicit biases against candidates from different branches of the U.S military during the hiring process, leaving a critical gap in workforce reintegration strategies. The purpose of this study was aimed to examine how …

Three Essays On Entrepreneurial Orientation And Competitive Repertoire, Gang Fan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

While scholars confirm the positive relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance with meta-analyses, the mixed findings with widespread effect sizes imply that this critical relationship in entrepreneurship literature deserves further inspection. In this three-essay dissertation, I integrate the entrepreneurial orientation literature with the competitive repertoire literature. Specifically, in essay 1, I develop a theoretical framework of EO, competitive repertoire, and firm performance through the lens of capability theory. In the second essay, I examine the moderating role of competitive pressure on the EO-competitive repertoire relationship with a sample of all U.S.-listed firms. Finally, I articulate and examine how …

Navigating Spaces: Understanding Lgbtq+ Families Who Homeschool Amid Shifting Legislative And Societal Landscapes, Ana Ferrante

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study explored the motivations and lived experiences of caregivers of LGBTQ+ youth who chose homeschooling amid escalating anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the United States. Guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci and Ryan, 1980) and Queer Theory (Chevrette, 2013), the study examined how caregivers navigated educational decisions to construct affirming, identity-conscious learning environments in response to exclusionary policies and systemic marginalization. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with four caregivers residing in politically conservative states in the U.S.. The findings revealed that homeschooling functioned both as a protective measure against institutional harm and as a proactive strategy for fostering …

Associations Between Mental Health Outcomes And Discrimination And Victimization Among Adult Lgbtq+ Community Members Or Guardians Of Lgbtq+ Children, 2023-2024, Perla Gisel Mercado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

BACKGROUND: LGBTQ youth face unique challenges and experiences that can significantly impact their mental well-being. Discrimination, stigma, prejudice, and struggle for self-acceptance contribute to increased rates of mental health issues within this population. Almost one in 8 people, or 970 million individuals worldwide, were living with a mental disorder. PURPOSE: Assess the relationship between discrimination and victimization and mental health outcomes among sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) in the Paso del Norte Region. METHODS: Data was collected through a cross-sectional needs assessment survey among adult LGBTQ+ community members or parents/guardians of LGBTQ+ children/youth living in New Mexico or Texas in …