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"She Wrote Too Much": Overproduction And The Canonicity Of Victorian Women Novelists, Elizabeth Drummey

Doctoral Dissertations

Though the Victorian era is often viewed as “the age of female novelists,” many of the most prolific and popular women writers of the time have been belittled, ignored, and forgotten. While the feminist literary recovery work of the 1980s and 1990s has brought many of these women back into scholarly consciousness, they have still not gained the respect given to their more famous yet less prolific contemporaries: the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, and Elizabeth Gaskell. In this dissertation, I argue that the reason can be found in a criticism frequently applied to these women writers both in their own …

Investigations Into Prior Knowledge And Self-Efficacy As Predictors Of Exam Performance In General Chemistry, And Student Interactions With Chemistry Textbooks, Gordon Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations

The first chapter addresses the validity and reliability of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) as a tool for chemistry education research. The study shows that the original MSLQ did not meet modern standards of reliability and presents a modified version that better captures self-efficacy in chemistry-specific contexts. The revised instrument shows improved model fit, reinforcing the importance of refining assessment tools for chemistry education research.The effects of prior knowledge and self-efficacy on student performance in a first-semester general chemistry course are investigated in the second chapter. Self-efficacy, defined as a learner's belief in their capability to successfully accomplish …

Planning Responses To Drinking Water System Emergencies, Jingyan Huang

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite extensive efforts to ensure clean and safe drinking water, drinking water contamination emergencies remain a persistent challenge in the United States. These events can result in widespread public health impacts, economic losses, and long-term environmental damage, particularly when triggered by hazardous chemical releases. Effective management of such crises requires a dual focus on both technical preparedness and human decision-making. This dissertation addresses these challenges through a two-part investigation that bridges pre-incident planning and post-incident response. It is guided by two core research objectives: (1) to evaluate commonly applied emergency countermeasures from both resilience and sustainability perspectives; and (2) to …

Psychological Factors Of Acting Talent And Success: You've Got "It", Lorelei Tierney Himlin

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of an actor is to become invisible, bringing a character to life so convincingly that the audience forgets the actor exists outside the role. Different schools of acting often describe differing methods of portraying characters to this same general effect. To followers of the Meisner school, for example, “acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances” (Meisner et al., 1987). The “truthful” part involves creating a comprehensive mental model of a character’s imagined personality in order to fully embody that personality and extrapolate it to a situation. Then the actor uses a variety of acting techniques to think and …

Black Hole-Neutron Star Mergers: Numerical Relativity Studies Of Remnant Matter, Gravitational Waveforms, And Automated Simulation Workflows, Tia Kathleen Martineau

Doctoral Dissertations

Black hole–neutron star (BHNS) mergers are key sources for multimessenger astrophysics, offering insight into strong-field gravity and the behavior of matter at supranuclear densities. This dissertation presents three independent contributions to the study of BHNS systems using the Spectral Einstein Code (SpEC). First, a set of simulations spanning a range of mass ratios, black hole spins, and neutron star equations of state is used to map disruption thresholds and quantify remnant disk masses, unbound ejecta, and ejecta composition. These results are compared to predictions from remnant mass model FNH18, to assess its reliability in accurately predicting the resulting remnant masses …

Multi-Level Characterization And Testing Of Fatigue, Fracture And Creep Of The Ultra-High Strength Low-Alloy Steel Fabricated Via Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Nemanja Kljestan

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a comprehensive experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior of an high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (LPBF). The work focuses on fatigue strength, laser shock peening (LSP) effects, creep behavior, fatigue crack growth and fracture toughness. Fatigue strength was assessed using rotating bending tests, showing superior performance of LPBF specimens compared to as-cast materials due to the dual-variant martensitic microstructures. Laser shock peening enhanced fatigue life by inducing compressive residual stresses, delaying crack initiation and slowing crack propagation. Creep behavior was evaluated for different layer thicknesses, with thinner layers improving secondary creep resistance …

Simulations Of Perpendicular Electron Holes, James Patrick Mcclung

Doctoral Dissertations

Bernstein–Greene–Kruskal modes commonly manifest as electron holes and electrostatic solitary waves in space plasmas. These Debye-scale structures are nonlinear solutions to the steady-state Vlasov–Poisson system. Solutions in one dimension are highly tractable mathematically, observationally, and computationally, and are relatively well-understood. Higher-dimensional, magnetized plasmas are less amenable to study, however. Following a 20-year history of theoretical developments in two-dimensional BGK modes, this thesis presents the first high-resolution 2D and 3D simulations thereof. Stability conditions and phase-space dynamics are discovered and discussed. The simulated modes are ultimately compared to observed electron holes and modern width-amplitude relations. In addition, a significant portion of …

Missing Child Incidents Resulting In Death: Distinguishing Features Between False Allegations, Wander-Offs, And True Child Abductions, Madison N. Sundberg-Alley

Doctoral Dissertations

Children are reported missing in the United States for a multitude of reasons every year. Often, law enforcement is tasked with investigating these disappearances and recovering the missing child. In some instances, determining the reason why a child is missing can be challenging. This study focuses on three types of missing child episodes that result in fatality: child abduction homicides (CAH), false allegations of child disappearance (FACD), and wander-offs (WO). This exploratory analysis contributes to a gap in the literature by identifying some possible differences between case types that may assist police in determining the likely explanation for the disappearance. …

Analyzing Regions For The Study Of Localized Fluctuations In The Ground Magnetic Field For The Development Of A Global Risk-Assessment Forecast, Michael Kavanagh Coughlan

Doctoral Dissertations

The dynamic relationship between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field can produce rapid changes in the geomagnetic field measured on the ground ($dB_H/dt$). The fluctuations can be highly localized, with differences of up to 100s of nT/min in a small geographic area. The field of space weather is entering a more data-driven era, with enormous amounts of publicly available datasets from satellites and ground measurements. In this work modern machine learning techniques were employed to make forecasting risk-assessment predictions of large and localized $dB_H/dt$, and model explainability methods were employed to understand the non-linear connections being made. These …

Computational String Theory Using Machine Learning, Giorgi Butbaia

Doctoral Dissertations

Low-energy couplings of certain superstring theories are related to the masses of the particles. One of the most promising superstring theories is $\mathcal{N}=1$ supersymmetric $E_8\times E_8$ heterotic string theory. In a certain embedding of the standard model into $E_8\times E_8$ gauge group of the heterotic string, the particle spectrum consists of $(\mathbf{27})^3$, $(\overline{\mathbf{27}})^3$, $(\mathbf{1})^3$ and $\mathbf{1}\cdot \mathbf{27}\cdot\overline{\mathbf{27}}$ couplings. While the $(\overline{\mathbf{27}})^3$ couplings are quasi-topological, the $(\mathbf{27})^3$ explicitly depend on the Ricci-flat metric on Calabi-Yau.

In this dissertation, we explore recently developed techniques for calculating the normalized Yukawa couplings on various Calabi-Yau manifolds. In Chapter 2, we describe a novel architecture, …

Counting Kelp: Development And Assessment Of Modelling Approaches To Improve Understanding Of Kelp Bed Abundance And Resilience In The Gulf Of Maine, Constance N. Tyler

Doctoral Dissertations

Kelp habitats in the Gulf of Maine are threatened by rising ocean temperatures and marine invasions. The replacement of kelps with red turf macroalgae fundamentally alters these habitats and disrupts the ecosystem services they provide. Thorough assessment and monitoring of kelp habitats is needed for proper conservation of these habitats, but most long-term monitoring is performed using traditional survey methods that are restricted in the amount of space they can cover. Habitat modelling approaches are required to expand our knowledge of Gulf of Maine kelp habitats, and to better understand the interactions between kelp and red turf habitats across the …

Verifying Interchange Reconnection Models For Magnetic Switchbacks Using The Parker Solar Probe And Mms, Emily Owen Mcdougall

Doctoral Dissertations

Ever since their initial observation by the Ulysses probe, many models of magnetic switchbacks were put forth, but relatively little empirical evidence exists to verify these models, especially in terms of the ions that make up the accompanying plasma. I take energetic particle data from the Parker Solar Probe within switchbacks to provide experimental evidence to bolster the interchange reconnection driven models with particular interest in the interchange reconnection driven linear model. Statistical Analysis of switchbacks in the vicinity of CMEs, solar flares, and high-speed streams show properties consistent with the linear interchange reconnection model, and an analysis of switchbacks …

The Assessment Of Language, The Language Of Assessment: Understanding How Language Teachers Support Dynamic, Communicative Language Learning Through Assessment, Rebecca Kelley

Doctoral Dissertations

As language classrooms in K-12 schools in the United States seek to promote students’ proficiency in the language they teach and to prepare students for a multilingual world, the role of assessment in these classrooms is often overlooked. This study draws from theories of formative and dynamic assessment, as well as a socially-constructed view of language and language learning, in order to examine the way in which secondary language teachers plan for, elicit, interpret, and use evidence from classroom assessments in such a way that promotes and supports the language learning happening in the classroom. Through a series of three …

Bio-Acoustical Statistical Signal Processing For Detection, Classification, And Population Estimation In Wildlife Monitoring, Yue Liang

Doctoral Dissertations

Sound is a primary way for many animal species to communicate, forage, navigate, and assess their environment. As a result, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), the recording and analysis of animal vocalizations, has become a valuable, non-invasive alternative to visual surveys. However, the massive volume of acoustic data generated annually, often reaching hundreds of terabytes, presents a significant challenge for efficient analysis. Since manual inspection of every frame in such data is infeasible, it is essential to develop automated detection and classification tools.

This thesis investigates and develops several statistical signal processing and machine learning techniques to address this challenge. The …

Fine Structure Of Magnetic Reconnection: Impact On Reconnection And Dissipation Rates, Steven Ver Bryck Heuer

Doctoral Dissertations

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process in magnetized plasmas where stored magnetic energy is converted to heat and kinetic energy. The objective of this thesis is to examine the role of small-scale structure of the reconnection region and the background plasma conditions on the rate that reconnection converts and dissipates magnetic energy. This is done using in situ data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of reconnection for different regimes. First, we introduce a new technique for measuring the reconnection rate and demonstrate its accuracy for the simplest regime of reconnection. Next, we show that it …

Resolving The Role Of Wave-Induced Pressure Gradients On The Movement Of Sediments In Nearshore Environments, Melissa Marry

Doctoral Dissertations

Characterizing the hydrodynamic forces responsible for the initiation of sediment motion is fundamental for improved understanding of large-scale sediment transport processes in nearshore environments. Traditional sediment transport models assume incipient sediment motion is only driven by the force applied by bed stress (Bagnold, 1966; Shields, 1936) while more recent work has shown that incipient motion is influenced by the forcing of the horizontal pressure gradient due to surface gravity waves (Foster et al., 2006; Frank et al., 2015; Sleath, 1999). Wave-induced vertical pressure gradients can also destabilize the sediment bed through the process of momentary liquefaction (Florence et al., 2022b; …

Essays On International Trade, Aochen Xiao

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation has two chapters.In Chapter 1, I develop a model of international trade with innovation and trade surplus to examine the effects of China’s large trade surplus on productivity. I abstract from future benefits from holding a present trade surplus and focus on the present gains in productivity. I find that the average productivity increase caused by trade surplus ranges from 1.2 percentage points to 5.46 percentage points when the innovation cost changes. These results explain China’s long-term export promotion policies and align with its new policy goal of developing “new productivity forces”. I also identify a negative effect …

Technologies To Support Remote Work For Collaborative Groups, Alberta Ansah

Doctoral Dissertations

The nature of work continues to evolve, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. While a substantial number of employees have returned to traditional, in-person work environments, many continue to engage in remote or hybrid work arrangements. Online meetings are a significant aspect of remote work, and while there has been a significant increase in this area, there are still aspects of these meetings that are not fully understood. Existing research in this area has primarily focused on the development of tools to facilitate meeting execution and content management. In contrast, relatively few studies have explored the social dynamics …

Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Genomics In A Well-Mixed Estuarine System: Examining Population Structure, Viability, And Response To Stressors, Alyssa Strickland

Doctoral Dissertations

Eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, are foundational estuarine species that contribute to a variety of ecosystem services including water filtration, nutrient cycling, habitat creation, and shoreline protection. However, populations have declined due to disease, overharvesting, habitat loss, and climate change, especially in northern systems such as New Hampshire’s Great Bay Estuary (GBE), located in the Gulf of Maine, one of the world’s fastest warming waters. This dissertation uses genomic and transcriptomic approaches to understand the drivers of population structure, decline, and resilience in GBE oyster populations, aiming to aid restoration and aquaculture. Chapter 1 used low-coverage whole-genome sequencing to understand population …

Uncovering The Plant-Microbe-Permafrost Paradigm As It Relates To Soil Priming And Arctic Carbon Cycles, Sean Robert Schaefer

Doctoral Dissertations

Permafrost, or perennially frozen soil, covers approximately 25% of the northern hemisphere and contains over half of the world’s soil organic carbon stocks. Permafrost-affected regions are rapidly warming, resulting in ecosystem changes including permafrost thaw and a shift from sedge-dominated to shrub-dominated plant communities. As permafrost thaws, it releases previously unavailable compounds to plants and microorganisms. Plant root inputs can then stimulate the decomposition of thawed permafrost, increasing greenhouse gas emissions in a process called priming. Permafrost thaw increases the decomposition of previously frozen soil organic matter (SOM); however, the extent of decomposition is highly dependent on plants and their …

Addressing Economic Valuation Issues Of Outdoor Recreation: Case Studies Of Lake Michigan Invasive Carp And Plum Island Visits, Iris Tryfoni

Doctoral Dissertations

Environmental valuation is the process of assigning monetary value on environmental goods and services, which do not easily have market prices. It is, however, possible to over- or underestimate the economic valuation of outdoor recreation issues, specifically (1) recreational fishing and (2) beach recreation. Despite their different focuses, both case studies share a common objective of refining methodologies to better understand and address complex environmental issues from an economic perspective. Traditional recreation valuation techniques often lack explicit connection to ecology, which can be impacted by various factors. Addressing this gap, in the first part of my dissertation, I propose a …

Mentors The Hidden Beneficiaries Of Mentoring, Mona Behl, Sarah Clem, Colleen Mouw, Sonya Legg, Erin Hackett, Kristin Burkholder, Kristopher B. Karnauskas, Sarah T. Gille, Lauren A. Freeman, Karan Venayagamoorthy, Jerry L. Miller

Marine Science

The community-based mentorship program MPOWIR (Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women+ to Increase Retention) supports late-stage graduate students and early-career professionals who identify as women or non-binary genders. Its participants engage in mentorship training and professional development, facilitate group mentoring, and draw attention to barriers women and non-binary genders face in physical oceanography. MPOWIR was created to increase the retention of women in physical oceanography in early career stages but has unexpectedly benefited the MPOWIR community beyond graduate students and early career professionals. Senior leaders participating as mentors in MPOWIR report a renewed sense of purpose, new research collaborations, a chance to …

Long-Term Patterns In The Relative Abundance Of Common Snook As A Factor Of Shifting Environmental Conditions In The Florida Coastal Everglades, Jordan A. Massie, Ryan J. Rezek, Rolando O. Santos, W. Ryan James, Natasha M. Viadero, Ross E. Boucek, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Objective Environmental variability as a factor of climate change and water management can result in fluctuations in the abundance and distribution of fish populations from year to year, with either negative or positive effects depending on behavioral and physiological requirements and the ability to adapt to changing conditions. Variability in water levels can also influence prey availability, affecting predator abundance in seasonal foraging areas. In this study, our objective was to better understand how environmental variation has affected the relative abundance of Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis in the freshwater/estuarine habitats of Everglades National Park. Methods Electrofishing data over 17 years …

Linking Hydrology, Temperature, And Energetics: Global Change Implications For The Foraging Ecology Of A Generalist Predator, Mack White, W. Ryan James, Justin S. Lesser, Ryan J. Rezek, Jonathan R. Rodemann, Ross E. Boucek, Rolando O. Santos, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Objective: The objective of this study was to quantify the effects of temperature, hydrology, and body size on the diet and energy requirements of a generalist predator, Common Snook Centropomus undecimalis (hereafter, “snook”), to gain a better understanding of predator–prey dynamics in the wake of global change. We first ask how temperature, hydrology, and body size influence the occurrence of fish, invertebrates, and empty stomachs in the diet of snook. Next, we model the energetic requirements of snook as a function of body size and temperature. Last, we use predation simulations to test how changes in prey quality, together with …

Open Repository @ Binghamton Monthly Additions And Top Downloads - August 2025, Caitlin Holton

Library Created Resources

Newly added work in the Open Repository @ Binghamton (ORB) from 8/1/2025-8/31/2025. Top downloads from same time frame.

Open Tdm: How The Open Movement Is Transforming The Way Academic Libraries Support Text And Data Mining Research, Kate F. Boyd, John Knox

Faculty and Staff Publications

Edited volume, published by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the book provides librarians with the skills necessary to support researchers using text and data mining (TDM). Chapter 24 focuses on the open access aspects of TDM and how librarians and scholars are assisting each other in learning these new skills. Librarians from USC and UNC Wilmington share their paths to understanding and supporting TDM on their campuses.

Phishing Hunter: Phishing Domain Detection System, Connor Tess

Master's Theses and Capstones

Phishing domains are a common and effective attack vector that malicious actors use to fool users into believing that they are going to a trusted website in the hopes of compromising users. These attacks can also be referred to as phishing attacks because the domain in which malicious attackers act has a hook to trick users into going to the domain that users believe is legitimate. These malicious actors mislead users into believing they are visiting the intended site, when in reality they have been led to a website hosted by the actors. The purpose of this paper is to …

Quality Improvement Project The Role Of Targeted Education And Its Impact On Self-Efficacy And Cognitive Impairment Recognition Among Medical Assistants, Jicky Guzman

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Primary care teams develop lasting relationships with patients that can reveal subtle cognitive changes during routine visits (e.g., identity verification and brief mobility checks). Yet, cognitive decline often goes unnoticed and poorly documented, which can lead to delayed care. This quality improvement (QI) project addressed a gap in the detection of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), among frontline staff. It assessed whether an educational intervention could improve self-efficacy in recognizing early cognitive impairment, measured by the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). Guided by Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory and Lewin’s change model, a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study was conducted at …

Artificial Intelligence In Research: Compliance Implications, Rani Muthukrishnan

Office of the Provost (Archived)

With new developments in Artificial Intelligence surfacing every day, Institutional Review Boards and Human Research Protection Programs have their work cut out for them. While the possibilities are endless and great, so too are the risks, and research administrators must learn to navigate this new terrain responsibly, ethically, and in full compliance with government and institutional standards.

Mckee Minute September 2025, Southern Adventist University

McKee Minute – McKee Library This Month

The September 2025 edition of McKee Minute includes information on digital newspaper access, information literacy modules, Libby account updates, and Hispanic Heritage Month.