Digital Commons Network^™

Encircling Chains Around 4- And 6-Clusters In Fullerenes, Hannah Melissa Kimbrell

Dissertations - ALL

Fullerenes are purely carbon molecules which can be represented by a 3-regular planar graph consisting of only hexagonal and (exactly 12) pentagonal faces. Since carbon atoms have valence 4 but our graphs are trivalent we need to double the edges in a perfect matching to bring the valence up to 4. The edges in a perfect matching form a Kekulé structure and the hexagonal faces bound by three Kekulé edges are called benzene rings. A maximal independent set of benzene rings for a given Kekulé structure is called a Clar set, and the maximum possible size of a Clar set …

Gamma Ray Detection In Liquid Argon Time Projection Chambers, Thomas Murphy

Dissertations - ALL

Gamma rays are photons in excess of 100 keV of energy and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms like radioactive decay and inelastic neutrino-argon interactions. A reconstruc- tion of Compton scattering gamma rays was developed for use in liquid argon time projection chambers. This reconstruction was tested with detectors developed to demonstrate the ca- pabilities of Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Near Detector Liquid Argon target (ND LAr). In October 2024, a radioactive fluorine-18 source was placed next to the Full Scale Demonstrator. The data obtained was used to test this reconstruction algorithm. It was able to determine …

Electrochemical Performance Analysis Of A Urfc In Fuel Cell Operation Under Variable Flow And Backpressure Conditions, Kai Cho

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science Independent Study

Unitized regenerative fuel cells (URFCs) offer a compelling energy storage solution by integrating both fuel cell and electrolyzer functionalities into a single device. This study evaluates the electrochemical performance of a URFC system running in fuel cell mode utilizing bifunctional Pt-RTO and Pt/C catalysts and Nafion membranes, tested under varying flowrates and backpressures. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) measurements were performed using a Scribner URFC test station to extract maximum current density and characterize operational trends. Across the full range of experiments, increasing oxygen flowrate and applying moderate to high backpressure improved maximum current densities, while low or zero backpressure significantly …

An Unrealized Solution: The Systemic Barriers Facing Green Hydrogen In The United States, Daniella Drespel

Student Theses 2015-Present

This thesis investigates the systemic barriers that hinder the development and implementation of green hydrogen in the United States. Beginning by tracing the two-century history of hydrogen energy, from early scientific discovery and utopian visions to cycles of hype, failure, and policy stagnation, this thesis examines why green hydrogen remains unrealized despite its transformative potential. Chapter I examines the environmental consequences of fossil fuel dependence and presents green hydrogen as a transformative energy alternative. Chapter II explores the technological landscape of hydrogen energy, detailing production methods, roadblocks to adoption, and ongoing U.S. hydrogen projects. Chapter III analyzes the economic dynamics …

Breaking Down Black Beauty: Deconstructing Unsustainable Racist Practices In The Beauty Industry, Jaron Givens

Student Theses 2015-Present

The glitter of the beauty industry creates an undeniably attractive fantasy. Cosmetics and dermatology allow for finding a new sense of self through beauty. However, is beauty's fantasy world accessible to everyone, specifically the Black dance community? The beauty industry, historically and presently, has disproportionate effects on people of color communities like the Black dance community. The unsustainable practices and toxic products in the beauty industry hinder the health of Black individuals at different rates than other racial counterparts. There is still work to be done in deconstructing the racist practices of the beauty industry and in facilitating environmentally sustainable …

Breaking Down Black Beauty: Deconstructing Unsustainable Racist Practices Within The Beauty Industry, Jaron Givens

Student Theses 2015-Present

The glitter of the beauty industry creates an undeniably attractive fantasy. Cosmetics and dermatology allow for finding a new sense of self through beauty. However, is beauty's fantasy world accessible to everyone, specifically the Black dance community? The beauty industry, historically and presently, has disproportionate effects on people of color communities like the Black dance community. The unsustainable practices and toxic products in the beauty industry hinder the health of Black individuals at different rates than other racial counterparts. There is still work to be done in deconstructing the racist practices of the beauty industry and in facilitating environmentally sustainable …

Consider The Culture: The Role Of Local Engagement In Global Conservation, Nicole Bailey

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper discusses global conservation efforts, making a case for community-led conservation on the bases of efficacy and long-term sustainability. As environmental conservation grows ever-important, it’s imperative that the people local to these efforts are holistically integrated into the conservation work and considered as the stakeholders they are. Local human interests are a key condition to assess when aiming for lasting, practical conservation. This paper opens with a look at the reforestation of Gunung Palung National Park as a case study of successful community-led conservation. Chapter 1 outlines the harm of environmental degradation and habitat loss through quantitative data. Here, …

The Deterrence Dilemma: Is It Time For Canada To Abandon General Deterrence As A Sentencing Objective?, Caitlin Salvino

Dalhousie Law Journal

When Canada first codified its sentencing framework in the Criminal Code, Parliament included deterrence as a sentencing objective. The sentencing objective of deterrence encompasses two aspects: specific deterrence for the individual offender and general deterrence for other potential offenders. I engage with the concept of general deterrence and its incorporation into Canadian sentencing law throughout this article. I argue that Parliament should abandon general deterrence as a sentencing objective under the Criminal Code. After reviewing the jurisprudence on general deterrence and conducting a systematic review of its current application in Ontario sentencing decisions, I argue that general deterrence should be …

Managing Happiness In The Mexican Maquiladora Industry: A Turnover Management Challenge, Claudia M. Burgos Cruz, Reyna Virginia Barragan Quintero, Angel Contreras Cruz

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study explores a turnover management case by implementing exploratory Human-Centered Design (HCD) strategies, combining a collaborative tool in a Mexican maquiladora in Tecate, Baja California. To reduce turnover, the tool was designed, prototyped, and tested to foster the emotional well-being of employees, enhance employee engagement, and promote a sense of belonging in the workplace. The company leaders and managers were trained to use the HCD prototypes, such as the Happiness Dashboard, a visual feedback system using emojis to collect data during regular shifts, and the Gemba Walks, a method for collecting information through observing and interacting with workers. Organizational …

Ecologies Of Urban Encroachment: How La’S Built Environment Shapes Urban Ecosystems And Wildlife, Ainsley Ramin

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper examines the impact of Los Angeles’ built environment on its ecosystems and biodiversity through the destruction of wildlife corridors and habitats and the threats urbanization poses to its native species. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, Chapter 1 describes the current threats that wildlife faces and ecosystem services that are at stake in Los Angeles due to suburban sprawl and the impacts of urbanization on its ecosystems. This chapter introduces data on the decrease in population of important species and statistics on how urbanization has been encroaching on and breaking apart habitats. Chapter 2 explores the history of …

Three Essays On Improving Access To Healthcare In Ethiopia, Abdela Alite Hilo

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract Achieving universal health coverage necessitates equitable access to healthcare services. The World Health Organization estimates that nearly half of the global population lacks full coverage of essential health services, with Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) being disproportionately affected. The situation is further exacerbated by the increasing frequency and severity of climate change-induced extremes, which are deepening health equity challenges in these regions. In response, governments and various international and national organizations have implemented numerous policy initiatives to improve healthcare access for marginalized populations in LMICs. Given the growing emphasis on achieving universal health coverage in developing countries, there is …

Development Of New Oxidative Methods And Synthesis Of Small Molecules For Modulation Of Biological Systems, Robert Eric Anderson

Dissertations - ALL

Oxoammonium salts have commonly been used to oxidize alcohols to aldehydes and ketones. More recently these reagents have been employed in several different oxidative transformations. Utilizing these reagents a new tandem elimination-oxidation process of tertiary alcohols has been developed. The new process yields an allylic ether which can be transformed to the alcohol easily through a reduction with zinc metal, removing the tetramethylpipyridyl protecting group derived form the oxoammonium salt. Mechanistically the reaction likely proceeds through oxoammonium salt mediated elimination followed by allylic oxidation through an ene-type mechanism. Due to the alcohol being protected by the easily removed oxoammonium salt, …

Computational Imaging And The Shifting Ground Of Digital Journalism Ethics, Wasim Ahmad

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation investigates how United States-based professional photojournalists are using computational imaging technologies in their smartphones from a diffusion of innovations perspective. Computational imaging can be considered “on-the-fly” photo manipulation, performing tasks such as blurring out the background the way a larger Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) or Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera can, or simulating lighting that didn’t exist on the scene. As image manipulation was previously viewed as taboo in photojournalism (Reaves, 1992), the increased usage of smartphones with computational imaging embedded in software could have wide-reaching implication for ethics research regarding the industry. In-depth interviews with newspaper and …

Automated Flaw Discovery In Decentralized Systems Via Semantic Fuzzing Tools, Yibo Wang

Dissertations - ALL

This dissertation studies the security challenges of blockchain transaction processing before consensus. While prior work has focused on consensus protocols and smart contract bugs, the pre-consensus infrastructure, such as the mempool and off-chain batching, remain underexplored. This dissertation aims to bridge that gap by systematically analyzing both transaction processing in the mempool and off-chain transaction batching for cost-optimization. This dissertation focuses on two core contributions. First, it presents MPFUZZ, an automated software fuzzing tool designed to uncover denial-of-service vulnerabilities in Ethereum mempools. This work is the first to formally define the mempool fuzzing problem and introduce bug oracles that detect …

Predicting Crisis: Using Computational Methods To Forecast Crisis Conditions, Michelle Marie Johnson

Dissertations - ALL

The vast scale of digital information generated daily provides unprecedented opportunities to analyze human behavior in ways that can improve crisis prediction and response. This dissertation introduces PREDICT, a theoretical framework that reconceptualizes crises as predictable phenomena rather than unknowable disruptions. Grounded in chaos theory and complex systems theory, PREDICT operationalizes crisis prediction through three constructs: Perceived Rupture of Equilibrium (PRE), Dynamic Interactions (DI), and Crisis Trajectory (CT). These constructs enable a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive crisis forecasting by identifying early signals of instability, modeling stakeholder interactions, and mapping potential crisis trajectories. To test PREDICT, this study …

What Is The Impact Of An Education Program Designed To Remove The Healthcare Professional As A Barrier To Care For The Transgender And Gender Diverse Community?, Richard D. Dansereau

Doctoral Projects

Healthcare disparities disproportionately affect transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals, often due to implicit biases among healthcare providers. This study examines the impact of an educational intervention designed to address these biases and improve care for TGD patients. Using the Biased Care Model as a guiding framework, the intervention targeted three critical phases of bias: pre-visit assumptions, in-visit interactions, and post-visit decisions. Conducted in the intensive care unit of a mid-sized hospital in Northern California, the study employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design involving multidisciplinary healthcare workers. Participants completed a modified Jefferson Scale of Empathy survey to assess changes in cognitive and …

A Counselor’S Experience: Trauma-Informed Care When Working With Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Abbigail Rinard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to understand the lived experience of professional counselors when implementing trauma informed care to children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. There are few studies that have assessed the counselors lived experience of implementing TIC, and even fewer that have examined professional counselors experience doing so in a specialized population.

To understand the lived experience of professional counselors, the participants of the study were purposefully selected to include those who have an active professional counseling license, implement TIC, and work with children diagnosed with ASD. The study was conducted with a total of eight participants who have implemented …

Hacking Adhd: Activating Adaptations Through Technological Affordances, Victoria Masi

Dissertations - ALL

The last two decades have brought about the actualization of powerful new affordances in online information environments. Online networking platforms such as YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok have enabled individuals across the globe and in various marginalized groups to access information, take action, and form communities in ways that were never before possible. In the last decade, hacker culture has taken root in communities bound not by their passion for technology but empowered by the affordances of technology and bound by a shared need, motivation, and ethic. The accessibility of online affordances for marginalized populations combined with the re-emergence of …

Sodium Valproate-Induced Hyperemesis In A Patient Post-Bariatric Surgery, Mohammed Alsubhi, Khalid Alharb, Bandar Alrehaili

Saudi Toxicology Journal

Long-term treatment of patients with medications is associated with adverse drug reactions and continues to be a challenge. Sodium valproate is commonly used to treat bipolar disorder and epilepsy. It can induce adverse gastrointestinal effects, and its absorption may vary depending on the excipient used. In this case study, a middle-aged woman with a history of bipolar disorder developed hyperemesis after the use of a generic sodium valproate formulation. The patient had undergone gastric sleeve surgery 3 years ago and lost weight. Using generic formulation of sodium valproate stimulated vomiting 3 years after the patient had been tolerating the branded …

What Modren Dental Dna Sequencing And Tooth Analysis Combined With Historical Context Can Tell Us About The Human Experience, Brynn Butko

D.U.Quark

Dental DNA extraction and visual analysis of teeth are subjects that aid many different research fields. Odontal analysis, specifically combined with forensic science and anthropology, allows for age and sex estimations, the identification of remains, and an in-depth historical account of human history. Because tooth analysis is utilized in various fields, a lack of uniform protocol for handling, analyzing, and extracting teeth persists. This review will explore the methods of dental analysis, the individual dental characteristics that identify age and sex in remains, and a depiction of the past through tooth evaluation. Creating a standardized protocol for the process of …

Identifying Strategies In Moral Decision Making, Ilaria Siriner

Theses - ALL

This study explored the strategies used in moral decision-making, within the context of selfdriving car scenarios. Our goal was to uncover the strategies people use when faced with moral dilemmas, using methodological approaches previously applied to the study of decision-making. The strategies that we were interested in were those that align with the ethical frameworks of utilitarianism, deontology or a blend of the two. In this study, participants were confronted with a series of moral dilemmas involving self-driving cars. Their choices and decision-making processes were analyzed using Machine Learning Strategy Identification (MLSI), which incorporated features related to the information participants …

Predicting Detection Threshold Performance With Modality-Specific Sensory Profile Scores, Marie Shuter

Theses - ALL

Research on tactile psychophysics among autistic people has examined inhibitory pathways within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Both adults and children with autism are equally able to detect vibrotactile stimuli in dynamic and static task conditions. In contrast, typically developing peers find dynamic tasks harder than static tasks due to pre-stimulus inhibition. Task performance has been linked to sensory overresponsivity in children with autism (McKernan et al., 2020); however, recent literature suggests that sensory processing (e.g., overresponsivity) in autism may be better defined within sensory modalities. Here, I utilized a cross-sectional design to 1) replicate findings of similarities and differences …

Better Writers: Our Relationship To Graduate Student Writers In Rhetoric, Composition, And Writing Studies, Zakery R. Muñoz

Dissertations - ALL

My dissertation studies graduate students and how we teach them disciplinary writing conventions. Following the work of rhetorical genre theorists such as Catherine F. Schryer and Caroline R. Miller, I question how our mainstay academic genres in graduate school influence writing habits and the extent to which they are incommensurate with disciplinary genre expectations and the workload of faculty. I believe studying graduate students as writers is an ironically underexamined area of research in Rhetoric, Composition, and Writing Studies (RCWS)—a field committed to undergraduate writing. The data in this dissertation comes from a large national study that I distributed to …

Exploring Higher-Order Networks, Hao Tian

Dissertations - ALL

Networks are natural representations of interactions in the real world (social networks, bio-networks, road networks, and the like) and are utilized across various disciplines. By default, network interactions are pairwise; in recent years, the demand for model ing higher-order interactions has kept increasing. For example, in collaboration networks, we aim to distinguish between one publication coauthored by three or three publications coauthored by two in a triangle. In this work, we perform higher-order network analysis in the following two directions. First, we explore the influence of higher-order structures on dyadic (pairwise) graphs; second, we model higher-order interactions by ordered hy …

Becoming A Counselor: Applying Critical Phenomenology To Uncover Narratives From Black Women Counselors About Wounds And Healing, Linzy Sunshine Andre

Dissertations - ALL

The purpose of this Critical Phenomenological dissertation study was to explore the lived experiences of becoming a counselor for Black women with self-identified personal histories with woundedness and engagement in processes of healing. In doing so, the experiences of becoming a counselor were explored for 11 Black women counselors at various points in their professional counselor identity development journey (e.g., counselors-in-training, practicing counselors, pre- and post-doctoral counselor educators). Data collection followed Seidman’s critical-in-depth interviewing model and the three main areas of Critical Phenomenological inquiry – The Life History, Experiences in Details, and Reflection on Meaning. Three individual semi-structured interviews were …

The Impacts Of Social Context For Women In Cybersecurity Degree Programs, James Joseph Enwright

Dissertations - ALL

The cybersecurity workforce has a major problem in that it is comprised of only approximately 25% women. This shortage of women is a contributing factor to the growing field’s considerable overall lack of qualified candidates and has also resulted in a critical gender diversity deficiency. Our adversaries tend to come from more various backgrounds. As such, it is essential that those of us in the cybersecurity field embrace diverse perspectives so we can defend and protect our organizations more effectively. This study was influenced by the researcher’s area of practice, Cybersecurity Education, and the desire to help broaden women’s participation …

Disabling Structures: Disability And Graduate Student Professionalization, Gabriella Wilson-Kopko

Dissertations - ALL

While scholarship on graduate education and graduate teacher assistant training has emerged as a growing trend in the field of rhetoric and composition, perspectives from disabled graduate students about their navigation of academic spaces remain understudied and undervalued (Lutkewitte, Kitchens, Scanlon; Macaulay; Badenhorst, Amell, Burford; Brown). An often neglected and precarious student population, disabled graduate students’ experiences are critical to graduate education scholarship because their lived experiences offer insight into critiques of normative and disabling academic structures. This IRB-approved study contributes to scholarship on graduate education by carefully analyzing the cultural expectations of normativity, ability, and productivity that are implicitly …

Exploring The Longitudinal Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Aces) On Later Psychological Outcomes, Linghua Jiang

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract Experiencing adversity in childhood (ACEs) can significantly affect an individual’s health across the lifespan. However, most prior research has relied on a cumulative risk approach, focusing on the association between the total number of ACEs and psychological outcomes. Additionally, limited studies have explored how ACEs influence depression across different developmental stages. Meanwhile, most research focuses on individuals’ health outcomes without considering the profound impact of ACEs on parenting, which can affect the developmental outcomes of future generations. Furthermore, few studies have examined how protective factors at multiple levels (e.g., family, school, and neighborhood) buffer the effects of various ACE …

Geometry And Mechanical Response Of Twisted Thin Tubes, Pan Dong

Dissertations - ALL

Nature provides many examples of thin sheets and shells, from flower petals to graphene sheets. Such materials can exhibit complex deformations such as creases, folds and wrinkles, particularly in thin, flexible structures like cylindrical shells and ribbons. Here we investigate the geometric transformation and mechanical response of a twisted thin tube, which is made from a thin polymer sheet. In Chapter 2, an interesting "locking behavior" was found in a thin cylindrical shell. After an initial compression, the shell can be twisted with little resistance until it reaches a “locking angle”, which coincides with the appearance of an ordered wrinkle …

Black Girls Graduating High School: Advanced Courses, Career Technical Education, And Extra Curricular Opportunities, Tara Michelle Gourdine-Jennings

Dissertations - ALL

Abstract This dissertation examines the impact of advanced coursework, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and extracurricular participation on the graduation outcomes of Black girls in a midsized urban school district in Central New York. Grounded in Quantitative Critical Race Theory (QuantCrit), this study addresses how systemic barriers and inequities influence access to educational opportunities that are often gatekeepers for postsecondary success. Despite the longstanding underrepresentation of Black girls in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and STEM-based CTE pathways, this study highlights the academic and social benefits of these experiences when access is equitably provided and supported. Using district-level data …