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Aged 539 Graduate Internship Report – Bakersfield Del Oro High School, Xena M. Millan

Agricultural Education: Graduate Internship Reports

This AGED 539 portfolio documents the comprehensive development, management, and continuous improvement of the Bakersfield–Del Oro High School Agricultural Education Program. The portfolio demonstrates alignment with California Agricultural Education Quality Criteria through evidence of curriculum planning, Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) implementation, FFA leadership development, program management, recruitment strategies, advisory committee collaboration, professional development, and long-term program planning. As a newly established agricultural education program, emphasis is placed on creating sustainable systems, increasing student access to experiential learning opportunities, and building a strong foundation for future growth.

A central component of the portfolio is the Quality Criteria Improvement Project, which focused …

How Does Five Days Of Tapering Effect Rates Of Fatigue And Recovery In Collegiate Male Swimmers?, Riley Yerks

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

This study was conducted on the members of the 2025-26 St. John's "Johnnies" swim and dive team. This study used both subjective surveys and objective HRV readings that the swimmers took before and after practice. The first day of testing occurred on the last day of the regular training season, and the second day of testing occurred on the last day of tapered training. Results of the surveys and HRV readings were compared between pre and post-practice, and pre and post-taper. The subjective surveys showed how the swimmers themselves felt in terms of physical and mental energy and fatigue, and …

Service Through Empowerment, Emma Schuele, Faith Robak, Samantha Oritz Perez

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

As our community-engaged learning project for our Community Psychology class, we volunteered at the Overcomers International Fellowship (OIF) Dream Center. The OIF Dream Center is a nonprofit organization that provides previously incarcerated men with resources and programs to help them as they enter back into society. Among these resources are housing, food, medical care, support groups, and treatment. Additionally, the Dream Center helps men overcome mental health obstacles, disabilities, and chemical dependencies. These programs enable residents to prepare for life outside of prison. They are given opportunities to further their education, find jobs, attend therapy, and reconnect with their families. …

Effects Of Dietary Nitrate And Caffeine On End Power And Work Above End Power During A 3 Min All-Out Test In Trained Male Cyclists, Anthony M. Hagele, Kyle Sunderland, Petey W. Mumford, Chad Kerksick

Faculty Scholarship

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of acute dietary nitrate (NO3−) and caffeine (CAF) supplementation on end power (EP) and work performed above EP (WEP) in trained male cyclists during a 3 min all-out test (3MT) on a cycle ergometer.

Methods: Fifteen healthy, trained male cyclists (28.5 ± 5.3 years, 79.2 ± 9.1 kg, VO2peak 55.2 ± 5.6 mL·kg−1·min−1) completed four exercise trials in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study design separated by 3–7 days. The four experimental conditions were placebo beverage (nitrate-depleted) + placebo capsule, nitrate-rich beetroot juice + placebo capsule (BR), …

Shedding Light On The Invisible Work Of Peer Recovery Support Specialists Through The Design Of A Point Of Care Technology., Jessica A Pater, Elisabeth Andrews, Michelle Drouin, Mindy Flanagan, Dana Albright, Rachel Pfafman, Jeanne Carroll, Erik Hess, Tammy R Toscos

Health Services and Informatics Research

Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSSs) are certified professionals that provide social, informational, and logistical supportto people in recovery fromsubstance use disorders. In this study, we report the findings from design work completed with a teamof PRSSsto define workflowand informationalneeds for the developmentofa novel point of care software. Through our qualitative research we uncovered a significant amount of undocumented work that is necessary for a PRSS to provide individualized support to their clients. Thus, much PRSS work is not quantified and rendered "invisible." We present technology design strategies that help quantify these tasks and illuminate the complexity of PRSS work.

Tom: Toward A Design Language For Object Personality, Mike Minerva

Theses

Design has been chasing seamless efficiency for decades, creating smoother interactions, more compliant objects, and experiences that disappear entirely. When an object is frictionless, it does not lack personality. It has a personality. One that is obedient, meaningless, and remarkably boring. An object that pushes back has boundaries, and that resistance comes from a position of caring. Objects have always been able to refuse. What is new is that the refusal can now come from inside the object, from memory, adaptive thinking and a disposition toward the person using it. Expressed consistently over time, that agency is perceived as personality. …

Bio-Based Materials In Adaptive Reuse: Assessing Durability, Disassembly, And Reuse Potential, Gloria Barry

Theses

This study evaluates the performance of bio-based and conventional wall assemblies in relation to their ability to be disassembled and reused after exposure to environmental stress. While durability is often prioritized in construction, this research examines whether materials that resist change are also those most suitable for reuse. Four wall assembly types, two conventional (CMU with EPS insulation) and two bio-based (compressed earth blocks with hemp insulation), were constructed, each with two specimens to establish control and test conditions, using different connection strategies, including 1/2-inch mortared systems and a combination of thin mortar-slip joints with mechanical fasteners. Assemblies were subjected …

I Like The Color Pink Because It Is Pretty, Jennifer Smyczynski

Theses

This thesis investigates what it means to be hyper-visible yet completely overlooked in relation to appearance, gender, and intellect. The work embraces the decorative as it appears in visual art and in the surrounding domestic environment, as well as the often-dismissed aesthetics of girlhood—including the glitter, rebellion, and contradictions that accompany its cultural formulation. My intention is to navigate the expectations placed on femininity and its representation in both art and society. This includes the concept of feminized labor; the ways in which work associated with women is treated and valued; and how pop culture catered toward women is more …

At The Crossing, Timothy Mulhall

Theses

At the Crossing is a body of photographic work that stemmed from daily walks through the Genesee Valley Park. Having moved to a new and unfamiliar place, these walks were a way of drawing closer to the city of Rochester and the people who call it home. In the process, I discovered the vitality and democratic function of the park and its relationship to the larger city. In this space, people gather, celebrate, rest, and dream. It exists as a wild refuge, a pressure valve within the overall function of the city. In this way, it is one of the …

Future-Ready Talent: A Strategic Framework For Upskilling The Uae’S Gen Z Workforce, Walaa Al Fares

Theses

This study investigates workforce preparedness among Generation Z in the United Arab Emirates, aiming to identify current and emerging skills gaps and develop a strategic framework aligned with national agendas such as We the UAE 2031. Grounded in Human Capital Theory and Generational Theory, the research examines digital transformation, employability skills, and workforce development within the UAE’s knowledge-based economy. The study addresses three key research questions: What are the primary skills gaps affecting Gen Z workforce readiness? What systemic and institutional factors contribute to these gaps? How can a strategic framework enhance employability by 2030? A qualitative research design adopting …

Shaping Dubai’S Tourism Workforce Readiness 2035: Foresight On Skills And Talent Development, Samar Alzarouni

Theses

This study investigates tourism workforce development in Dubai, focusing on enhancing workforce readiness to meet the evolving demands of the sector by 2035. Positioned within the context of the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 and the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), the research addresses the growing misalignment between current workforce capabilities and the future skills required in a rapidly transforming tourism landscape shaped by digitalization, sustainability imperatives, and shifting visitor expectations. Guided by the central research question of how Dubai can strategically enhance workforce readiness, the study adopts a strategic foresight approach to explore long-term workforce transformation. A mixed qualitative design is …

Migration Of The Spirit, Yaqub Shabazz

Theses

Migration of the Spirit examines interior transition through sustained painting practice. While migration is often understood as geographic displacement, this thesis reframes it as an interior reorientation shaped by halted time, disciplined solitude, and the act of reclaiming one’s own narrative. Grounded in lived experience within institutional systems and sustained decades of teaching and studio practice, the work reflects a movement from externally imposed narratives toward self-authored clarity. The paintings are marked by architectural compression, repeated motifs, and restrained palettes dominated by sienna, umber, and muted blues. Figures emerge within densely structured spatial fields shaped by assertive linear frameworks that …

Vectra: Medication Cart System Designed For Nurses, Chris Dimovski

Theses

Medication administration is a critical phase of patient care where errors are most likely to occur, often contributing to adverse drug events and increasing risk to patient safety. At the same time, rising levels of nurse burnout highlight the growing cognitive demands placed on healthcare professionals. Although systems such as medication carts, digital records, and safety protocols are intended to reduce errors, they operate independently rather than as a connected system. This leaves nurses responsible for connecting each step, relying on memory and constant adjustment throughout the workflow. This thesis focuses on the medication administration phase and looks at how …

An Lstm-Based Framework For Predictive Power Quality Monitoring, Ian Aiken

Theses

Rapid integration of photovoltaic (PV) systems introduces significant power quality challenges, including voltage sags and harmonic distortion, yet existing approaches either perform post-hoc classification or rely on computationally expensive meteorological forecasting unsuitable for real-time edge deployment. In this paper, a resource-efficient framework is developed for short-term power factor sag prediction using only on-line electrical measurements via a dual-track methodology. A regression model is first established to define the predictive limits of direct value estimation. The analysis of drop-event-specific metrics reveals that sensor features are lagging indicators incapable of regressing immediate drop magnitude, motivating a classification re- framing. A binary Long …

Asl Language Development And Interpreting Instruction: A Nationwide Study Of American Sign Language Interpreter Education Programs With Comparison To Spoken‑Language Interpreter/Translation Education, Alianna Giudice

Theses

Interpreter training programs in the United States vary in how they structure language development and interpreting instruction, with particularly stark differences between American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter training programs (ITPs) and spoken‑language interpreting and translation programs. In many ASL ITPs, students begin interpreting coursework before achieving foundational fluency, resulting in language acquisition and interpreting skill development occurring concurrently. In contrast, spoken‑language programs typically require incoming students to demonstrate functional fluency prior to beginning interpreting training. These structural differences may overwhelm ASL learners, constrain their linguistic development, and contribute to the graduation of interpreters who are not yet prepared to meet …

Topological Perspective On Temporal Climate Networks, Daniel Oleynikov

Theses

Networks are highly effective tools for analyzing the dynamics of Earth’s climate system. In this approach, nodes represent geographical locations and edges represent correlations or causal relationships with respect to climate fields, such as air and sea surface temperatures. We extend this technique by integrating it with topological data analysis (TDA), which shifts the focus from pairwise relationships—typical of conventional network methods—to higher-order interactions among geographic locations. Through techniques such as persistent homology and simplicial distributions, we investigate how the global climate dynamics—summarized by this representation—have evolved over the last 75 years. Additionally, we evaluate changes in oceanic connectivity with …

Towards Effective And Efficient Robot Learning From Demonstrations Via Human-Robot Interaction, Xiwen Dengxiong

Theses

Robot learning from demonstrations is critical in industrial and service robotics applications, where robots must acquire diverse skills and adapt to human workflows in complex, unstructured environments without relying on exhaustive manual programming. Although robots have been widely deployed in industrial settings, acquiring new skills and adapting to novel tasks remain significant challenges due to (1) the large volume of demonstration data typically required, (2) the limited reusability of previously learned knowledge, and (3) the high cost of collecting high-quality demonstrations.  This dissertation aims to address key challenges in robot learning from demonstrations in complex and unstructured environments by making …

Mathematical Models Of The Kinetic Release Of Therapeutics From Contact Lenses And Their Effects On The Ocular Immune System Response To Allergic Conjunctivitis, Narshini D. Gunputh

Theses

Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) is one of the most common ocular disorders caused by exposure to airborne allergens such as pollen. It is typically treated with eye drops, but only about 5% of the drug in an eye drop reaches the target tissue. Drug-eluting soft contact lenses have been proposed as an alternative delivery method, but one limitation of a contact lens is the burst-release. In this thesis, we develop multiple mathematical models to support the design and evaluation of drug-eluting contact-lenses for the treatment of SAC. In the first part of the thesis, we build a diffusion-based model to …

Asymptotic And Series Methods For Nonlinear Differential Equations With Applications In Mathematical Physics, W. Cade Reinberger

Theses

This work advances a general framework to obtain the solution of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) via power series methods. The approach is demonstrated through problems relevant to mathematical physics. Power series solutions can offer advantages over other numerical techniques in many applications, including increased convergence and computational efficiency. The theoretical basis for power series and their convergence rests in the complex-analytic structure of the function being computed. The existence of convergence-limiting singularities in the complex plane, their location, and their asymptotic behavior motivate analytic continuation techniques to overcome their influence. This work demonstrates some methods to manage singularities, not …

Mathematical Modeling Of Ocular Surface Deformation Due To Contact Lenswear That Accounts For Intraocular Pressure, Riley K. Supple

Theses

Myopia is one of the most common ocular disorders, and is expected to affect approximately five billion people worldwide by 2050. One treatment currently available for myopia is soft contact lenses. In general, about one in ten Americans wear contact lenses, however one in three will stop wearing them due to discomfort. The goal of this dissertation is to develop a mathematical model that predicts the mechanical interactions between the contact lens and the ocular surface. Assuming the ocular tissue is a linear elastic material, we first develop a mathematical model to predict ocular deformation that is anatomically accurate in …

The Houston Eclipse, Korey Hans

Theses

The Houston Eclipse is a sports branding project for a fictional WNBA team, built on the idea that design can shape the fan experience. In a market where consumer attention is constantly being fought over, the brands that stand out are the ones that make people feel something. Sports already carries that emotional weight, but most fan-facing products don't take full advantage of it, often reducing team identity to a logo placed on top of a product without regard for the form it's applied to. This project approaches branding as a full system rather than a single mark. Drawing on …

Material Selection In The Mountain West: A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (Mcda) Based Approach For Architects, Melissa Bach

Theses

With modern advancements in technology and the expansion of a globally interconnected network, architects have access to a large range of building materials. Increasing public concern for the environment has prompted architects to prioritize materials that are more sustainable, but varying definitions of sustainability, coupled with unclear guidelines for material selection, repeatedly lead to uncertainty and decision-making challenges within the profession. To address this, a comprehensive methodology such as Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is needed for the material selection processes. Furthermore, a gap in the literature demonstrates that the application of MCDA for material selection in the Mountain West region …

Quantifying Exterior Ecological Performance In Biomimicry, Bioclimatic, And Biophilic Architecture: A Comparative Framework Across Climatic Zones, Ruqayyah Siamwala

Theses

Historically, sustainability research in architecture has focused on interior comfort and operational energy efficiency, leaving the ecological performance of the immediate building façade relatively unexplored. By creating a comparison framework to assess the performance of biomimetic, bioclimatic, and biophilic architecture under external ecological conditions across four climatic zones—hot-humid, cold-humid, hot-dry, and cold-dry—this thesis closes that gap. Using quantitative data such as NDVI, land surface temperature, PM2.5, NO2, infiltration rates, and species count in addition to qualitative analysis of these three architectural strategies at the building-site interface, twelve case studies are evaluated against four ecological indicator groups: air quality, soil quality, …

Mathamr+: A Unified Graph Neural Network Framework For Multimodal Mathematical Information Retrieval, Jacob Yoon

Theses

Mathematical Information Retrieval (MIR) focuses on developing systems that enable users to search for and retrieve documents containing mathematical content. A key challenge in building effective math-aware retrieval systems lies in jointly modeling the symbolic and operational structure of mathematical expressions together with their surrounding linguistic context. Existing approaches often use linear token sequences, losing structural information, or rely on separate models for text and math, limiting their ability to capture cross-modal patterns and learn contextualized representations. This thesis proposes MathAMR+, a graph neural network-based retrieval framework that jointly models Abstract Meaning Representation (AMR) graphs, Operator Trees (OPTs), and Symbol …

Predicting Customer Churn In Telecommunication Companies: A Predictive Analytics Case Study Inspired By E&, Nadia Almheiri

Theses

Customer churn is a significant challenge in the telecommunications industry, particularly in competitive markets such as the United Arab Emirates, where customers can easily switch between providers such as e& and du. Telecommunications companies must move beyond reactive approaches and adopt data-driven strategies that enable early identification of churn risk and support proactive retention. This study develops an interpretable churn prediction framework using logistic regression and decision tree models within IBM SPSS. Following the CRISP-DM methodology, the research identifies key demographic, behavioural, and service-related factors that influence churn, and evaluates model performance using accuracy, precision, recall, and ROC-AUC. The findings …

The University Of 2035: Rise Of On-Demand Learning And Alternative Credentials, Abdalla Bassaleh

Theses

Higher education is changing fast with new technology, shifting job market needs, and the growing popularity of alternative learning options like executive education, microcredentials, and short-term programs. Traditional degrees still matter, but flexible, industry-focused credentials are often seen by employers as more in tune with what the workforce needs. This study examines how universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can integrate microcredentials into their institutional frameworks to stay competitive by 2035. It addresses a gap in UAE-centered research by combining stakeholder data with a structured foresight analysis. The research reviews national policy documents, including the UAE National Strategy for …

Enhancing Control Charting Schemes And Exploring New Assessment Metrics To Advance Quality Control And Cyber-Attack Detection In Manufacturing, Ahmad Al Majali

Dissertations

The increasing integration of digital technologies and industrial control systems in modern manufacturing has introduced new cybersecurity vulnerabilities within cyber–physical production environments. Malicious actors can exploit these vulnerabilities to induce subtle process deviations that degrade product quality while remaining undetected by conventional statistical monitoring tools. Such attacks can be deliberately engineered to manipulate process behavior through transient shifts that vary in magnitude, duration, and frequency. Despite extensive research on transient shifts caused by assignable causes in Statistical Process Control (SPC), limited attention has been given to intelligently designed cyber–physical attacks that exploit the structural characteristics and limitations of control charting …

Behavior Of A Mildly Skewed Network Tied-Arch Bridge During Construction And Early Service Life, Harsha Amunugama

Dissertations

This dissertation work investigated the structural performance of the 2nd Avenue Bridge in Detroit, Michigan, the first skewed, unbraced network tied-arch bridge in the U.S. The 245-ft long, 96.5-ft wide bridge features an 18-degree skew. The bridge was constructed using accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques, including off-site fabrication at a bridge staging area (BSA) and installation via self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) and lateral launching, enabling the completion of construction with minimal disruptions to I-94 traffic and improved safety.

Given the unique structural configuration of the bridge, the use of innovative construction techniques, and differences observed in structural responses predicted by …

Black Faces In White Spaces: Understanding School Belonging Among Black Adolescents At Nais Independent Schools, Letetsia Angelica Fox

Dissertations

Even though the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) has been committed to diversity for the last 30 years, they often focus their diversity efforts on all students of color instead of specific groups such as Black students (Brosnan, 2001). By not focusing on the specific experiences of Black students at independent schools, independent schools cannot truly foster a strong sense of school belonging for Black students because they do not understand the distinct barriers and factors that contribute to the development of school belonging for Black students who attend their schools (Hall & Stevenson, 2007).

This qualitative study sought …

The Effects Of Fluency Building On Undergraduate Student Performance, Lauren B. Shibley

Dissertations

Online learning has become integral to higher education, with enrollment steadily increasing over the past decade and accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research highlights the importance of flexibility, learner autonomy, and self-regulated learning skills in this environment, with studies demonstrating that strategies such as mastery-based, self-paced instruction, fluency training, and timely feedback support student engagement and academic success. Early work adapting personalized instruction for online use (Pear & Crone-Todd, 1999) and subsequent studies on fluency practice (Quigley et al., 2018; Urbina et al., 2019) emphasize how these supports can improve concept retention. Despite these advances, more quantitative research is needed …