Digital Commons Network^™

Effectiveness Of Pcit With Toddlers In A Community-Based Sample: Special Considerations For Youth With Neurodevelopmental Conditions, Rebecca Scott Bradley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The early caregiving environment serves as the context in which young children develop emotional regulation abilities. While supportive, responsive caregiving is crucial for helping children regulate their own emotions in times of stress, disruptions to the parent-child relationship may set the stage for poor emotion regulation throughout childhood. Emotional and behavioral problems, particularly in children with neurodevelopmental conditions, may stem from early difficulties with emotion regulation. If left untreated, emotion dysregulation in children can mark a trajectory towards continued social-emotional concerns and family disruption; as such, the toddler years represent an ideal time for intervention. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Toddlers …

Cellulose Membrane Performance And Properties With Focus On Dialysis Application, Juliana Marçal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Chronic kidney disease affects approximately 35 million individuals in the United States, with nearly 550,000 patients dependent on dialysis for survival. Chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease impose substantial burdens on patients and healthcare systems, driving demand for improved dialysis membranes with enhanced flux, selectivity, and biocompatibility. The performance of dialysis membranes plays a critical role in treatment efficiency, governing solute transport, fluid removal, and overall therapeutic outcomes. In hemodialysis, membranes must achieve an optimal balance between high permeability and selective solute rejection while maintaining mechanical stability and long-term biocompatibility. Conventional dialysis membranes are commonly fabricated from polymeric …

Designing Functional Nanolaminates From Complex Atomic Layer Deposition Reactions, Joseph Joel Muhanga

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) enables precise cycle by cycle control over film thickness and composition. This kind of control is ideal for the engineering of functional nanolaminate coatings with tailored optical properties. Since ALD synthesized composite films are deposited as discrete, stratified layers and not as homogeneously intermixed solids, it is not yet clear when such composites can be be treated with the effective medium approximation (EMA). EMA is simplification that is important to the design of mixed oxide coatings. This dissertation addresses that question using a model system, and then asks whether the same approach can be used to …

Arkansas’ Crippled Children’S Homes & The Politics Of Polio, Rylie Ford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Most of the work in the field of disability history has centered on the Northeastern part of the United States and regions with large urban centers, therefore, excluding Southern and rural perspectives. This omission is particularly problematic when roughly 79% of the Black population in the United States lived in the South in 1940. The aim of this study is to contribute a Southern perspective to disability studies and Black medical history by tracing the development of services and aid for children with physical disabilities in Arkansas. Employing the frameworks from the social model of disability and Black disability politics, …

Advancing Student Success By Implementing Research-Based Challenges In Capstone Design, Eleazar Marquez, Hiram Moya, Jesus Gonzalez

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, a team of faculty members from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), participating in a research collaboration with two National Laboratories, created and implemented a set of capstone projects that aligned with the research demands and expectations of the funding entity. The objective of the collaboration effort between the three entities is to: 1) explore innovative manufacturing techniques that support the national security and scientific missions of the laboratories, and 2) prepare UTRGV students to secure internships and employment in high research areas. The capstone projects were implemented on the senior design curriculum and served …

Vehicle Autonomy To Ecosystem Intelligence: A Systematic Review Of Dynamic Vision Architectures In Surface Mining Operations, Nana Yaa Damtewaa Anti, Samuel Frimpong, Muhammad Azeem Raza

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Autonomous Haulage Systems (AHS) have significantly transformed surface mining operations by improving safety, productivity, and operational consistency. Currently, AHS predominantly rely on vehicle-centric perception architectures. Onboard LiDAR, radar, cameras, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) perform sensing, interpretation, and decision-making within individual systems. These processes enable collision avoidance and path tracking. However, they are limited in their ability to consider the broader, dynamic mining environment characterized by dust, terrain degradation, geotechnical instability, heterogeneous traffic, and rapidly evolving operational conditions. This paper presents a systematic review of dynamic vision systems of AHS in surface mining. It critically analyzes the transition from …

Decision Model For The Application Of Circular Economy In The End-Of-Life Management Of Power Transformers, Maha Mansour Nadhari

Theses

Power transformers are critical assets within utilities characterized by high capital and material intensity and long operational lifetimes. Traditionally, end-of-life management strategies for these transformers are very linear, limited to recovery or basic recycling and disposal. Although circular strategies can be integrated into the end-of-life management of these transformers, a key challenge to implementation is the absence of a structured, multi-criteria framework that can support decision-making in this context. This study addresses this gap by developing a decision model using a hybrid Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference …

Strengthening The Shield: Exploring Post-Traumatic Growth In Law Enforcement, Aaleiyah C. Spaulding

Dissertations

Law enforcement officers are routinely exposed to traumatic incidents that can lead to psychological distress, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, emerging literature highlights the potential for posttraumatic growth (PTG), a positive psychological change following adversity. This study examined the prevalence and predictors of PTG in a sample of 33 police officers from a Midwestern department. Using validated self-report measures, the study assessed the role of trauma exposure, cognitive restructuring of core beliefs, and perceived organizational culture, particularly supervisor support. Results indicated that both internal (core belief reflection) and external (supervisory support) factors significantly predicted PTG. Additionally, involvement in a …

Benchmarking Spatial Niche Identification Tools On High-Resolution Xenium Single-Cell Transcriptomic Data, Sabiq Shahab

Theses

Spatial niche identification tools recover the tissue microenvironments that shape cell function, but existing benchmark studies typically rely on a single accuracy metric or focus on a single tissue type. This thesis benchmarks six niche identification tools, including Seurat, NicheDE, BANKSY, scNiche, Novae, and Quiche, which span composition based, spatial embedding, differential expression, graph fusion, foundational model, and differential abundance approaches. A five dimension evaluation framework was used to evaluate the six tools, which was applied across three resolutions using two 10x Genomics Xenium datasets with contrasting spatial organization, including a HER2+ breast cancer tumor and the mouse brain. While …

Learning-Based Multi-Objective Operation Of Microgrid With Renewable Uncertainty And Demand-Side Management, Zeina Bahij

Theses

A microgrid is a small-scale power grid that can operate in either the grid-connected mode or the islanded mode. It consists of energy generation and storage devices for both power and thermal demands, where the thermal energy from the exhaust heat that cannot be transmitted over long distances can be utilized locally. The supply side may include dispatchable generation units with adjustable outputs and energy storage, alongside non-dispatchable renewables that depend entirely on resource availability. On the demand side, thermal loads are satisfied through waste heat recovery from exhaust gas (to maximize overall system efficiency) and direct fuel combustion. Electrical …

Rooted Worlds, Eli Groborchik

Theses

Plant Awareness Disparity (PAD) describes a widespread cognitive bias where plant life is systematically overlooked in favor of its animal counterparts. This disconnect is acutely visible in natural history museums where plant life is notoriously difficult to display. Rooted Worlds is an interactive, physical-digital installation designed to combat this bias by bridging the emotional and educational gap between audiences and Earth’s diverse ecosystems. Rejecting traditional flat screens and passive dioramas, the exhibit utilizes a fourteen-foot, 270-degree cylindrical projection screen to immerse visitors in six distinct, digitally rendered global biomes, creating a restorative and engaging space that leverages Attention Restoration Theory …

Comparing Deposition-Dependent Variations In Tungsten Oxide Thin-Film Composition Using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, Tevfik Ozkaynak

Theses

In this work, tungsten oxide thin films were fabricated using magnetron sputter deposition and electron beam evaporation under varying oxygen conditions to produce a range of stoichiometries, including substoichiometric compositions near WO₂.₇. The primary goal was to evaluate how reliably X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) can quantify the stoichiometry of WOₓ thin films, determine how deposition conditions influence measured composition and oxidation states, and assess how argon ion sputtering, used for surface cleaning, alters tungsten oxidation states and affects XPS based stoichiometry. The films were analyzed using XPS under ultra-high vacuum conditions. Survey spectra were used to identify elemental composition, while …

What’S Kept, Caitlin Smith

Theses

This thesis examines the collective psychological aftermath of de-industrialization in a rust belt city, processed through perspectives of nostalgia and betrayal. By reframing childhood memories of instability and inherited narratives, a framework is established for investigating the modalities through which love and attachment may obscure entangled harm, and how grief operates across both collective and personal registers. Found objects are situated as sites of projection where memories are abstracted and reconstituted. The processes of decay and weathering serve as analogues for psychological trauma, reframing deterioration as an inevitable and generative condition. Natural elements act as metaphors for neutrality, challenging imposed …

Too Big, Too Soon: Investigating Black Hole Masses In High-Redshift Jwst Agn Using Belmac, Katrina Mcmaster

Theses

The masses of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in high-redshift quasars are commonly estimated using virial mass estimations calibrated on active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the local universe. However, when applied to new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations at high redshift, these methods often yield SMBH masses that exceed theoretical growth limits, implying the need for heavy black hole seeds or periods of high mass accretion rates, also known as super-Eddington accretion. This tension highlights potential limitations of the virial approach at early cosmic times. This work investigates an alternative method for estimating high-redshift SMBH masses using the Broad Emission …

Understanding The Lubrication Mechanisms Of Environmentally Compatible Protic Ionic Liquids, Davis Kipkania Kiboi

Theses

The development of environmentally sustainable lubricants is increasingly important as industries seek to reduce friction, wear, energy losses, and environmental impact. Choline amino acid protic ionic liquids (PILs) have emerged as promising candidates due to their bio-based constituents, tunable molecular structures, and favorable lubrication properties. However, the influence of amino acid structure on their lubrication mechanisms and tribological performance remains poorly understood. This dissertation investigates the physicochemical properties, tribological behavior, and tribofilm formation mechanisms of choline amino acid PILs to establish structure–property–performance relationships for sustainable lubricant design. Ten choline amino acid PILs containing glycine, alanine, lysine, leucine, isoleucine, aspartic acid, …

Improving Neutron Scattering And Fission Modeling With Modern Machine Learning, Karl Daningburg

Theses

We describe the development of a novel emulator for the fission fragment decay code, $\texttt{CGMF}$, which calculates the emission of prompt neutrons and $\gamma$ rays from fission fragments.  The emulator described in this work uses a combination of a noisy emission model and mixture density network to model the neutron and $\gamma$-ray multiplicities and energies.  In this manuscript, we display the power of this type of emulator for not only modeling average prompt fission observables but also correlations between fission fragment initial conditions and these observables, using both neutron-induced and spontaneous fission reactions. We find that neutron ($\gamma$-ray) multiplicities can …

Wooster Magazine: Summer 2026, Caitlin Paynich Stanowick, The College Of Wooster

Wooster Magazine: 2021-2030

 The summer 2026 issue of Wooster magazine explores the role of mentorship in shaping inquiry, confidence, and lifelong learning at The College of Wooster. Features examine how personalized guidance supports student research through Independent Study, including projects by psychology and music, classical studies, physics, and computer science and neuroscience students that explored music cognition, ancient texts, consciousness, and distant galaxies. Additional featured stories highlight a faculty professional learning community focused on strengthening mentoring practices across campus and alumni Amber Rice ’01, Austin Russell ’19, Marcel El Kouri ’21, and Emily Beuter ’20, who carry forward the lessons and values of …

A Word From The Writing Team (July 2026), Pam Walter, Mfa, Laura Deloretta, Phd

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

No abstract provided.

High-Resolution Lidar Observations For Coupled Effects Of Dry-Air Entrainment And Haze-Cloud Interactions On Cloud Vertical Structure, Jae Min Yeom, Suryadev Pratap Singh, Fan Yang, Hamed Fahandezh Sadi, Jesse Anderson, Yong Meng Sua, Manikandan Rajagopal, Steven Krueger, Will Cantrell, Raymond Shaw

Michigan Tech Research Data

Clouds act as crucial regulators of the Earth's radiation budget by reflecting shortwave solar radiation and absorbing longwave thermal emission. However, they continue to represent a major source of uncertainty in the climate models due to the subgrid-scale processes of cloud microphysics. A particularly complex mechanism is dry-air entrainment at cloud boundaries, which alters local supersaturation levels and drives droplet activation-deactivation cycles. Despite its significance, capturing these fast, small-scale processes remains an ongoing challenge.

In-situ airborne instruments provide only localized, intermittent spatial sampling along flight paths, whereas traditional ground-based remote sensing techniques lack the fine spatial resolution necessary to observe …

When Ecology Encounters Industry: Dynamics Of Local Community And Floodings In The Bahodopi Morowali Mining Area Of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Yahya Yahya, Muhammad Junaidi

Forest and Society

The expansion of extractive industries, particularly nickel mining, has become a major driver of socio-ecological transformation and forest loss in the Global South. In Bahodopi, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, downstream industrial policies and global energy transition demands have rapidly transformed forested, agrarian, and coastal landscapes into industrial frontiers. This study exposes the green transition paradox, wherein global decarbonization efforts inadvertently produce severe environmental destruction and localized ecological crises at the resource frontier. Drawing on a political ecology framework and ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines recurrent flooding as a socio-ecological process shaped by mining expansion, political deforestation, and unequal power relations among …

South Dakota County Population Trends : Population Estimates And Components Of Change, April 1, 2020 - July 1, 2025, Weiwei Zhang

Center for Rural Vitality and Community Well-being Project Reports

DOI: 10.62812//GRRV1852

Interactive map:  https://arcg.is/1jeTb83

This report is in relation to this interactive map that shows how population change varied across South Dakota’s 66 counties between April 1, 2020 and July 1, 2025. It distinguishes overall population gain or loss and the demographic components behind those changes: natural change—births minus deaths—and net migration—people moving into a county minus those moving out.

Overview: 
South Dakota’s population increased from an April 1, 2020 estimates base of 886,656 to 935,094 on July 1, 2025, a gain of 48,438 residents, or 5.5%. This base-to-2025 growth rate ranked 13th among the 50 states. Measured instead …

La Ciencia Hermanada Con El Arte”: El Escultor Anatómico Laureano Coll Soler (1856–1916), Chloe Sharpe

Artículos científicos

Este artículo examina la figura y la obra del escultor anatómico Laureano Coll Soler (1856–1916), uno de los principales representantes de la escultura anatómica en España en la segunda mitad del siglo xix. En un contexto en el que los modelos anatómicos tridimensionales desempeñaron un papel esencial en la enseñanza médica, España se distinguió por la contratación sistemática de escultores anatómicos en sus facultades de medicina, aunque estos profesionales recibieron un reconocimiento limitado y su producción ha sufrido procesos de pérdida y dispersión. A partir del análisis de fuentes de archivo inéditas, prensa histórica y diversas colecciones museísticas, el artículo …

Fostering Inclusion: Supporting Children With Hearing Loss In Social Interactions, Danielle Kaletta, Mary Jan Greer

Summer 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

This project provided an open-access online program for caregivers of children with hearing loss to facilitate social engagement. Qualitative methods were used to conduct a needs assessment and identify areas of concern, barriers, and limited resources that affect participation in social activities. Based on the needs assessment, a 6-module website was created and published. Occupational therapy-based evidence, research, interventions, and best practices were compiled and adapted to target identified areas. Participants reported overall favorable feedback, stating an increase in knowledge, confidence, and participation.

Llu Dentistry 2026 Summer Edition, Loma Linda University School Of Dentistry

Articulator (Dentistry)

In this issue:

4 | Dean's Message
9 | LLUSD Homecoming 2026: A Celebration of Legacy & Future Growth
19 | Celebrating 48 Years A Tribute to Kathleen Moore Rychman
21 | A Natural Calling: Dr. Yawen Peng, Program Director
22 | A Legacy of Excellence R. David Rynearson, DDS'71, MS'87 honored with the O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award
25 | CDA Presents Anaheim
32 | Dental Hygiene Pinning Ceremony
36 | Called to Serve Baccalaureate and the Class of 2026
40 | Commencement
45 | President's Award
46 | Prince Award
54 | Dental Hygiene Student Awards
56 | …

Pragmatic Measures In Aided Language Measurement: Aac Clinical Expert Perspectives, Makayla Hydiea Smith

Speech and Hearing Sciences ETDs

Purpose: The augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) discipline currently lacks psychometrically sound aided language measures. This thesis is designed to address one step in developing such measures: to begin to establish the clinical feasibility of three pragmatic measures – communicative intent, independence/co-construction, and imitation/non-imitation. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to identify the useability of these pragmatic measures.

Method: A qualitative approach in the form of a focus group was used to examine the perceptions of SLP practitioners who are experts in AAC. Rapid qualitative analysis (RQA) was used to identify relevant themes and subthemes.

Results: Overall, the themes …

Understanding Student Success Campaigns, Regina Wine-Nash

Student Success Analytics

Slides from Student Success Stories session on Understanding Student Success Campaigns at James Madison University

Tales Of The Empathic Support Provider: How Emerging Adult Women Make Sense Of Providing Empathic Support To Female Friends, Emma R. Eslinger

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study explored the stories and reflections of 33 emerging adult women who made sense of their empathic support provider (ESP) identity in the context of female friendships. From the standpoint of the retrospective storytelling heuristic, within communicated narrative sense-making theory, participants told stories about their ESP identity, including how they provide support to others and reflect on the benefits of drawbacks of serving in this role (CNSM, Koenig Kellas, 2022). Under Proposition 1 of CNSM theory, meanings, values, and beliefs (MVBs) that ESP women expressed in this role were depicted as key takeaways gathered. Findings illuminated how ESP …

Doctor Decision Making And Patient Outcomes, Janet Currie, W. Bentley Macleod, Kate Musen

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Doctors often treat similar patients differently, which affects health outcomes and medical spending. We assess the recent literature on doctor decision making through the lens of a model that incorporates diagnostic and procedural skills, beliefs, incentives, and differences in patient pools. Decision making is affected by beliefs, training, experience, peer effects, financial incentives, and time constraints. Interventions to improve decision making include providing information, guidelines, and technologies like electronic medical records and algorithmic decision tools. Economists have made progress in understanding doctor decision making, but applications of that knowledge to improving health care are still limited.

Implementing A Sensory-Informed Protocol For Fall Prevention In A Skilled Nursing Facility, Riley R. Scholberg, Amy Lyons-Brown, Elizabeth Force

Summer 2026 OTD Capstone Symposium

This capstone project developed and implemented a sensory-informed admission protocol to support fall prevention at a skilled nursing facility. The development of this protocol aimed to improve the early identification of vision and hearing impairments and integrate sensory considerations into resident care planning and fall prevention. Participants included newly admitted residents and interdisciplinary staff members from rehabilitation, nursing, and administration. Methods included administering the Screening for Severe Dual Sensory Loss (SDSL), reviewing resident characteristics and fall-related indicators, educating staff on sensory-informed care, and developing practical resources to support consistent screening, documentation, and intervention. Expected outcomes included increased staff knowledge, improved …

Impacts Of Climate Hazards On Employment And Earnings By Hazard Type, Industry, Race, And Ethnicity, Dania V. Francis, Keren M. Horn

Sustainable Solutions Lab

We examine the relationship between climate-related disasters and subsequent county-level aggregate employment and earnings. We combine earnings and employment data from 2000 to 2023 with data on disasters to estimate local projection impulse response functions relating extreme disaster events to cumulative percent changes in employment and earnings. On average, disasters appear to reduce employment growth three to five years post disaster. There are small positive impacts on earnings. These results are largely driven by responses to hurricanes and tropical storms. Key rebuilding industries such as construction see short-term gains in employment that turn to losses in the longer-term that are …