Digital Commons Network^™

Embracing An Online Literary Identity: How Booktok Makes Literature More Accessible, Elizabeth Kaufmann

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis I examine conversations that occur on TikTok’s literary corner, “BookTok.” My research involves focusing on the multimodality of BookTok, following comment sections and search options, as well as analyzing the components of the videos themselves. BookTok content creators focus on these features in order to spark literary conversation in an approachable way. These influencers heavily sway the app itself and the books being recommended. Extending my research beyond BookTok influencers, this essay seeks to understand the value of influencer backing on products towards their social legitimacy. Some users on TikTok are not fans of how the algorithm …

Severity Profiles Of Preschool-Aged Children And Their Associations With Maternal Help-Seeking: A Latent Profile Analysis, Samuel T. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of preschoolers are more likely to seek treatment for childhood depression compared to anxiety and behavioral disorders. Atypicality and stability have been implicated in relation to help-seeking, but it is not known how they differ between disorders and whether such differences impact help-seeking. The current study grouped mothers based on their atypicality and stability appraisals across disorders; tested for differences in appraisals between disorders; and then tested for differences in help-seeking based on group membership. Participants were 272 adult mothers of preschool-aged children. Mothers read a series of vignettes describing preschool-aged children with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, and then …

Recognizing Speculative Literature: Conceiving Identity In The Archives Of Enslavement, Gabriella Greco

Theses and Dissertations

One of the key problems of the archive of enslavement, borne out of the violent erasure of enslaved identities, is the struggle to reconstruct and honor those lost identities. Recognizing Speculative Literature: Conceiving Identity in the Archives of Enslavement investigates postcolonial archival processes and the resulting documents to identify a spectrum of speculative literary genres that can be used to supplement traumatic archival erasures, often of female voices and identities, to further understand the power dynamics. To clarify, I use the term ‘speculative literature’ here to refer to a mode of literature that relies on the few fragments that may …

How Therapists’ Perceptions Impact Disseminating And Implementing Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Maddi R. Gervasio

Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, 60% of youth experience a traumatic event before the age of 18 (Lawrence-Sidebottom et al., 2024) and childhood trauma is associated with a range of psychopathology. Although evidence-based therapies like Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT; Cohen et al., 2017) are available, only 14-22% of traumatized youth receive trauma-specific practices during treatment (Borntrager et al., 2013). Barriers to disseminating and implementing TF-CBT and similar interventions exist at the micro (e.g., therapist and client) and macro (e.g., systemic) levels (e.g., Gervasio & Herren, 2020). Emerging research focused on training in trauma therapists found that therapists’ negative perceptions about the …

Predicting Price Movements Of The S&P 500 Using Conventional And Alternative Market Indicators, Patrick M. Scarborough

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates whether integrating alternative data sources with conventional financial indicators enhances S&P 500 forecasting accuracy in modern financial markets characterized by increased complexity and rapid information flows. The study analyzes daily S&P 500 returns using twelve predictor variables comprising conventional indicators (VIX volatility index, WTI crude oil, gold futures, AAA bond yields, Federal Funds Rate, Treasury yield spreads) and alternative data sources (Bitcoin returns, Daily News Sentiment Index, Indeed job postings, Economic Policy Uncertainty Index) across 1,341 observations from February 2020 to June 2025. The methodology employs ordinary least squares regression and ARIMAX(5,5) modeling with rigorous preprocessing including …

Evaluating Task Demands And Task Characteristics Analysis Among School Psychologists, Alessandra Miceli

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive ability assessments are central to psychoeducational evaluations, informing decisions regarding interventions and supports for students. While cognitive assessment theories have historically emphasized quantitative data in score interpretation, they have increasingly reflected the need to consider qualitative information, a longstanding tenet of neuropsychological assessment. Frameworks such as the Integrated School Neuropsychology/Cattell-Horn-Carroll (SNP/CHC) Model and the Cognitive Hypothesis Testing (CHT) Model emphasize the importance of analyzing subtest task demands and task characteristics to explain unexpected score discrepancies. Despite these recommendations, little is known about school psychologists’ familiarity with these analyses and their use in the interpretation of test performance. This study …

Sustainability Risk In Guyana’S Oil Sector: An Analytical Framework For Balancing Environmental And Economic Impacts, Kayla B. Moonsammy

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the sustainability risks posed by Guyana’s rapidly expanding oil sector, with particular focus on balancing economic benefits against environmental vulnerabilities. The primary aim is to develop a Sustainability Risk Index (SRI) that captures the multidimensional impacts of offshore oil development using an integrated data-driven framework. Specifically, this thesis examines how emissions, biodiversity loss, oil spill exposure, economic volatility, and social development indicators interact to influence sustainability outcomes in the context of Guyana’s transition into a major petroleum-producing nation. The research does not involve human participants; instead, it draws on publicly available datasets collected from 2015 to 2024. …

“Makings Of A Teenage Revolutionary”: An Analysis Of Power Through The Lenses Of Gender And Institution Within The Universes Of Frank Herbert’S Dune And Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, Ayah Cruzado

Theses and Dissertations

It is my objective within this paper to lead us through an in depth analysis of both Katniss Everdeen and Paul Atriedes, investigating every feature of their lives especially in the ways that they compare and differ to one another, after all, it is their written depth and complexity that makes them and their novels so fascinating to the public and earning them fame. Through my exploration, I hope to shed some light on the ways these three elements work and coincide with one another within both narratives. To separate them from one another and simply examine them as independent …

Associations Between Psychoeducation And Measures Of Treatment Engagement In Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Shari Lieblich

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the efficacy of TF-CBT, its effectiveness is compromised by high premature dropout or attrition rates. Psychoeducation, the first component of TF-CBT, provides both a rationale for engagement in treatment and normalizes symptoms to instill hope in youth and their caregivers. This component has been minimally examined as a predictor of later-phase symptom outcomes, mostly in adult trauma treatments, with mixed results. The goal of the current study is examine the influence of psychoeducation on participation-related variables in TF-CBT. Results indicate a positive association between the percentage of sessions of with psychoeducation and attrition and negative association with percentage session …

The Relationship Between Psychotherapist Self-Disclosure And Occupational And Emotional Variables, Kay Nikiforova

Theses and Dissertations

The effect of therapist self-disclosure practices on patients and the therapeutic relationship has long been debated. The historical trend of viewpoint toward self-disclosure began from predicting a negative, therapy-interfering stance to a growing openness towards the consideration that therapists sharing about themselves in session can have a positive effect on the patient. Evidence exists for both potential patient benefit and harm from therapists engaging in self-disclosure. Still, there is an increasing body of evidence that demonstrates that therapist self-disclosure benefits the therapeutic process, increases patient disclosure, and provides a more positive view of the therapeutic relationship. However, at present, there …

Nutrition Assessment Of Substance Use Population Compared To Control Population, Lalitha Indrani Dasari

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study aims to evaluate and compare the nutritional status of individuals undergoing treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) with a matched control population. Poor nutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and malabsorption are common in individuals with SUD, potentially affecting recovery outcomes. This study involves collection of biometric data, demographic information, conducting a structured nutrition survey and performing a one-time blood draw of 35ml to assess key nutritional markers such as lipid panel, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), magnesium, selenium, chromium, zinc, copper and lithium. While the original protocol was designed to recruit approximately 110 participants across …

A High-Order Eulerian–Lagrangian Runge–Kutta Finite Volume (El–Rk–Fv) Method For Scalar Nonlinear Conservation Laws, J. Chen, Joseph Nakao, J.-M. Qiu, Y. Yang

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Works

We present a class of high-order Eulerian–Lagrangian Runge–Kutta finite volume methods that can numerically solve Burgers’ equation with shock formations, which could be extended to general scalar conservation laws. Eulerian–Lagrangian (EL) and semi-Lagrangian (SL) methods have recently seen increased development and have become a staple for allowing large time-stepping sizes. Yet, maintaining relatively large time-stepping sizes post shock formation remains quite challenging. Our proposed scheme integrates the partial differential equation on a space-time region partitioned by linear approximations to the characteristics determined by the Rankine–Hugoniot jump condition. We trace the characteristics forward in time and present a merging procedure for …

Securing Iac:Comparing Checkov, Terrascan, And Tfsec On Aws And Azure, Maliha Binte Ruhul Amin, David White

Academic Poster Collection

Securing IaC:Comparing Checkov, Terrascan, and Tfsec on AWS and Azure

Analysis Of The Influence Of Telomere Length Variation On Flowering Time And Plant Fitness In Arabidopsis, Brianna Spadavecchia

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Telomeres are conserved structures at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that promote genome stability. In most eukaryotes, the DNA found within these protective end caps consists of short, G-rich nucleotide repeats. Cells with critically short telomeres face a variety of potential adverse outcomes such as end-to-end chromosome fusion, apoptosis, etc. The length of telomeric DNA varies substantially between different plant species and even between genotypes of the same species. A previous study using T-DNA mutants of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana with long or short telomeres suggested that telomere length may be an adaptive trait. Specifically, for reproductive fitness, the …

Comparison Of Kafka Operators: Strimzi Vs Koperator Vs Confluent: A Comprehensive Industry Analysis, Ankit Anthony, Gary Clynch

Academic Poster Collection

Comparison of Kafka Operators: Strimzi vs Koperator vs Confluent: A Comprehensive Industry Analysis

Analysis Of Impact Of Configuration Choice Upon Azure Service Bus Performance, Brian Skehan, Mary Rose Donnelly

Academic Poster Collection

Analysis of impact of configuration choice upon Azure Service Bus performance.

Comparative Analysis Of Mysql And Mongodb In A High-Concurrency System, Gabriel Solares, Cormac Keogh

Academic Poster Collection

Comparative Analysis of MySQL and MongoDB in a High-Concurrency System

Analysis Of Functional Programming Languages For Use In Serverless Lambda Functions On Aws Platform, William Spain, Gary Clynch

Academic Poster Collection

Analysis of functional programming languages for use in serverless lambda functions on AWS platform

A Comparison Of Terraform And Bicep Quality Attributes, Colm O'Hara, Kevin Bayliss

Academic Poster Collection

A Comparison of Terraform and BICEP Quality Attributes

Comparing Kubernetes And Nomad For Hosting .Net Legacy Workloads In Azure, Luke Osbourne, Omar Portillo

Academic Poster Collection

Comparing Kubernetes and Nomad for hosting .NET legacy workloads in Azure

Evaluating Kubernetes Security Mechanisms For Dos Prevention: A Comparative Analysis Of Multi-Layer Protection Strategies, Sergej Dikun, Omar Portillo

Academic Poster Collection

Evaluating Kubernetes Security Mechanisms for DOS Prevention: A Comparative Analysis of Multi-layer Protection Strategies

Improving Iac Script Quality: Evaluating Static Analysis Tools And Establishing Best Practices, Isha Rai, Kevin Bayliss

Academic Poster Collection

Improving IaC Script Quality: Evaluating Static Analysis Tools and Establishing Best Practices

Comparative Cost And Capacity Analysis Of Managed Service And Non-Managed Service Api Gateway Architectures On Leading Cloud Platforms, George Brown, Cormac Keogh

Academic Poster Collection

Comparative Cost and Capacity Analysis of Managed Service and Non-Managed Service API Gateway Architectures on Leading Cloud Platforms

The Irish Food Manufacturing Industry’S Preparedness For Nis2 Cybersecurity, Niall Mcgowan, Mary Rose Donnelly

Academic Poster Collection

The Irish Food Manufacturing Industry’s Preparedness for NIS2 Cybersecurity

Comparison Of Asynchronous Architectural Patterns On Aws & Gcp Using Terraform, Alan Mcgee, Mary Rose Donnelly

Academic Poster Collection

Comparison of Asynchronous Architectural Patterns on AWS & GCP Using Terraform

Calculate Your Vernal Window, Haley F. Wicklein, Globe U.S. Coordination Office

Phenology

No abstract provided.

Raising Cybersecurity Awareness In Central Florida Communities, Jacob S. Freeman

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2025

The threat of cyberattacks is larger than ever. As our lives move further into the digital age, attackers become smarter, learn new techniques, and exploit subtler vulnerabilities. If we want to train a generation that is protected from these threats, it is our responsibility to start educating people early, not just after they enter the workforce.

To do this, I partnered with a non-profit student organization called the Collegiate Cyber Defense Club, better known as Hack@UCF, to teach the UCF student body and others in the Central Florida area about cybersecurity. Our focus was on both understanding modern threats and …

Winter 2025, Augustana College, Rock Island Illinois

Augustana Magazine

No abstract provided.

Species-Specific Discrimination Of Bacterial Biofilms Using A Ratiometric Fluorescence Sensor Array And Machine Learning, Ritika Gupta, Aayushi Laliwala, Elena Muldiiarova, Kenneth W. Bayles, Denis Svechkarev, Marat Sadykov, Aaron M. Mohs

Journal Articles: Pathology and Microbiology

Biofilms are intricate bacterial communities encased in a self-produced extracellular matrix (ECM) of DNA, lipids, proteins, and polysaccharides. The diverse ECM composition across bacterial species significantly influences the progression of biofilm-associated infections, making precise identification crucial for effective treatment. Traditional methods such as biochemical assays, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, DNA sequencing and culturing provide valuable insights but have notable drawbacks, including time-consuming procedures, high costs, and the need for specialized equipment and trained personnel. These limitations hinder the rapid and widespread adoption of biofilm identification in clinical settings, underscoring the need for more streamlined, accurate, and accessible methods. In this study, …

Assessing The Impact Of Key Environmental Factors On Caretta Caretta Nesting Patterns In Sarasota County, Matthew Senecal

Theses & ETDs

Environmental factors can impact development for oviparous species during incubation. For sea turtles temperature can influence the sex ratio of the hatchlings and can decrease survival. The substrate the eggs are incubated in can differ between nests thus, impacting nests differently. This study examines the impact of sand characteristics, specifically grain size, color, calcium carbonate, change in sand surface temperature, and hydraulic conductivity, on overall nest viability in Sarasota County, Florida. Darker sands, such as those found further to the south, may lead to higher incubation temperatures and faster hatching rates, potentially increasing the proportion of female hatchlings. Laboratory analysis …