Digital Commons Network^™

Belonging In Context: An Exploration Of Sense Of Belonging Among College Students, Ladonna L. Gleason

Theses and Dissertations

Feeling a sense of belonging is essential to human health and functioning and has been well documented in the literature. However, questions of context remain. Research in belonging has focused on social aspects of belonging, leaving broader contextual frames unexplored. There has been little work in identifying and differentiating the contexts in which belonging is experienced or in developing an understanding of how the experience of belonging differs across contexts. Current belonging theory lacks this important contextual perspective that could inform the ways in which belonging is constructed and reconstructed through disruption. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, new …

Impacts Of Preferential Vaporization Of Multi-Component Liquid Fuels On Near-Limit Combustion Behaviors, Seungjae Lim

Theses and Dissertations

Combustion technologies used in energy conversion devices involve multi-phase and multi-component combustion behaviors associated with chemical kinetic characteristics coupled with spray dynamics. For reliable engine operation, the engine operation envelope is necessarily required to be determined by near-limit combustion behaviors such as flame flashback, lean blowout, ignition, and extinction, which are influenced by both fuel chemical and physical properties. Liquid fuels are composed of a wide range of molecular structures and weights, therefore exhibiting relatively large distillation temperature range. When fuel chemical properties change during fuel vaporization, preferential vaporization effects could play a considerable role in near-limit combustion behaviors. In …

Supporting Black Children Within A Eurocratic Educational System: Making Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Foundational To The Role Of The Literacy Coach, Jennipher C.K. Frazier

Theses and Dissertations

This critical qualitative study documented what was learned about the process of making culturally relevant teaching foundational to the commitment of a literacy coach while working closely with a kindergarten and first grade teacher for one school year. Critical Race and Black Critical (BlackCrit) theories were the driving theoretical frameworks used to design the study, represent findings, and provide insight into the process of working to make culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) foundational to the role of a literacy coach with a particular focus on supporting the Black child. The methods used to gain knowledge about CRP as foundational to the …

Self-Assembling Porous Supramolecular Networks Capable Of Post-Synthetic Modification With A New Approach To Reticular Design With Semiconductor Potential, Steven A. Sloope

Theses and Dissertations

In past decades, research in self-assembling supramolecular frameworks have been produced with vast surface area, inherent from their porous nature. Predesigning monomers in a reticular manner allows a framework’s structure to be known before self-assembly occurs. This is very helpful since high porosity is sought after for many purposes such as hosting guests within the framework, post-synthetic modifications, sensing and detection, selective catalysis, semiconduction, etc. Methods of design usually focus on forming intrinsic porosity and unfortunately, sometimes the network formed is not as expected and porosity is lost.

In Chapter 1, we discuss novel ways of network formation, their potential …

Gratitude Buffers The Effects Of Stressful Life Events On Early Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction And Externalizing Behaviors But Not Internalizing Behaviors, Mimi Scott Webb

Theses and Dissertations

Identifying psychological strengths that foster healthy development in youth has become a topic of exploration in the field of positive psychology (e.g., Suldo & Huebner, 2004; Valle et al., 2006). Gratitude is a promising trait-like characteristic with qualities indicative of a potential psychological strength that may serve as a protective factor for early adolescents in the face of stressful life events. This study utilized data from a sample of 1,880 middle school students from the Southeastern United States. Hierarchical regression analyses investigated gratitude’s role as a moderator in the relationship between stressful life events and adolescent well-being. Specifically, gratitude’s ability …

Perceived Sexual Intent: Power, Relationship Status, And Gender, Joseph Eric Padgett

Theses and Dissertations

Does lacking power cause people to think potential partners are less interested in engaging with them sexually? Do men and women perceive the interests of potential sex partners differently? Does the amount of sexual intent perceived by people who are in a romantic relationship differ from that of singles? Power has been shown to impact perceptions in other contexts, and the way people rate the attractiveness of potential mates is shown to differ depending upon their own relationship status. Similarly, gender differences are a central theme in discussions of sex related perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. In this study, I utilize …

When And Why Targeted Products For Underserved Consumers Backfire, Ruoou Li

Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for creating and embracing a diverse marketplace increases, marketing strategies that over-generalize the needs of different consumer groups are no longer viable. Thus, many brands and companies have begun offering inclusive products that accommodate the specific needs of historically underserved consumers (e.g., women, people of color). One important question for marketers to answer is how these inclusive products should be promoted to appeal to these previously undervalued consumers. While prior research suggests that consumers will favor products with more explicit descriptions of the target consumer (i.e., blatant targeting) because doing so makes the targeted identity salient, I …

“The Time Has Not Been Wasted”: The Accounting Diaries Of Marian Evans And Louisa May Alcott, Ashley A. Alvarado

Theses and Dissertations

In the nineteenth century, the Victorian desire for utility, respectability, and self-improvement became deeply ingrained in daily life, and consequently, the diary grew to be a popular tool to measure and evaluate time management and personal development. Accounting diaries, in particular, set out to provide a record of activity and achievement (or conversely, inactivity and failure). This thesis performs a case study of the accounting diaries of Marian Evans (George Eliot) and Louisa May Alcott, exploring how they document progress towards their personal goals of utility, morality, and productivity. Specific diary-writing techniques—such as an efficient style, income tracking, illness recording, …

Mimo Antenna Systems For Wireless Handheld Devices, Ahmed H. Abdelgawwad

Theses and Dissertations

Mobile communications have seen tremendous growths in the last decades in the form of smartphones, watches, wireless enabled Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and so on. The current and future wireless communication systems require high data-rate capabilities to support high speed needs of users in modern applications. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna systems have become the most promising candidate to support the increased data demand. Therefore, they have emerged as an integral part of the new 5G wireless standard. One key challenge regarding MIMO systems for the handheld is to be able to successfully accommodate multiple miniature platform integrated antennas within a …

Investigating Bifactor Models And Fit Indices For Unidimensionality: An Illustration With Method Effects Due To Item Wording, Elizabeth A. Leighton

Theses and Dissertations

The use of unidimensional scales that contain both positively and negatively worded items is common in both the educational and psychological fields. However, dimensionality investigations of these instruments often lead to a rejection of the theorized unidimensional model in favor of multidimensional structures, leaving researchers at odds for how best to treat their data. One modeling technique that has gained attention in recent years related to item wording effects is the bifactor model, which specifies a general construct that explains the covariation among all items, and two method factors that explain additional covariation among items with similar wording.

Recent applications …

Closed Form Implicitly Integrated Models For Computationally Efficient Simulation Of Power Electronics, Andrew Wunderlich

Theses and Dissertations

This work describes novel closed-form, implicitly integrated (CF-implicit) models of switched-mode power converters which feature implicit integration but require no iterative numerical solving algorithm for evaluation because they are explicitly solved prior to model execution. The derived models capture the large-signal dynamic behavior of the power converters, so their use and accuracy are not limited to any one set of operating conditions. These models can be implemented in any computational environment, including directly on an existing embedded controller as a digital twin. Since no iterative solver is required, the models are highly computationally efficient and have a very predictable worst-case …

Empirical Studies On Automated Software Testing Practices, Alireza Salahirad

Theses and Dissertations

Software testing is notoriously difficult and expensive, and improper testing carries economic, legal, and even environmental or medical risks. Research in software testing is critical to enabling the development of the robust software that our society relies upon. This dissertation aims to lower the cost of software testing without decreasing the quality by focusing on the use of automation. The dissertation consists of three empirical studies on aspects of software testing. Specifically, these three projects focus on (1) mapping the connections between research topics and the evolution of research topics in the field of software testing, (2) an assessment of …

Urban Flooding Accelerates The Affordable Housing Shortage: A Case Study In Columbia, South Carolina, Mary Hannah Lindsay

Theses and Dissertations

The state of South Carolina stands at the corner where climate change and the housing crisis meet. The affordable housing stock across South Carolina continues to deplete as its major cities experience urban flooding events due to outdated and weakened infrastructure, compounded by an intensification of storm systems brought on by a changing climate. Lower income communities are forced to accept lesser living conditions and less resilient housing options because these options are more affordable. Renters are often met with more challenges when navigating disaster recovery compared to homeowners. Using a case study established in Columbia, South Carolina of the …

Exploring African American Girlhood Perceptions And Experiences Of Self Esteem, Monica Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Furthering the cultural competence of counselors around emotional wellness for minority groups, this research explored the intersectionality of race and gender through counter storytelling of experiences of Black girlhood that are often not told. To fill the existing gap in literature describing perceptions of emotional wellness, I explored African American adolescent girls perceptions and experiences of self esteem for girls who participated in an empowerment organization called Dream Girls. This qualitative study used a phenomenological analysis to gain understanding of the influences that impact the way these adolescents understand themselves.

Towards Modeling Of Induction Welding Of Thermoplastic Laminates With A Mixed Finite Element Boundary Element Approach, Florentius Johannes Van Zanten

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increased interest in induction welding of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite laminates within the aerospace industry. Currently, optimal manufacturing process parameters (e.g., current, power, and frequency settings, coil movement speed, etc.) are determined through an experimental trial-and-error approach. To reduce the need for an experimental approach that can determine the manufacturing process parameters, which would be expensive in both time and money, accurate and computationally efficient numerical tools are desired. This research is focused on improving the existing numerical tool, WelDone, in regard to its speed and accuracy.

WelDone utilizes a hybrid element formulation that combines traditional …

The Divine Consumptive: The Depiction Of Tuberculosis In Jane Eyre, Haley Highfield

Theses and Dissertations

Disease was a constant and unavoidable facet of life in British society during the Victorian Era. Despite the overwhelming prevalence of disease, the true cause of these illnesses remained mysterious until the turn of the century. With the origins of many of these diseases being either unknown or ascribed to mistaken sources, effective treatment was an impossibility. Tuberculosis is a prime example of this conundrum. Even with an estimated twenty-five percent of the British population dying from this particular disease during the nineteenth century, the actual provenance for infection was not discovered until 1882 with Robert Koch’s identification of the …

Magnetic Field Directed Self-Assembly Of Colloidal Nanoparticles Via Extreme Field Gradients Of Magnetic Recording Media, Abdul Rahman Mohtasebzadeh

Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic nanoparticles have been extensively studied over the last half century and continue to sustain interest due to their potential use in different fields. This research explores Magnetic Field Directed Self-Assembly of magnetic nanoparticles using a magnetic disk drive. The magnetic fields generated by the bits in a magnetic disk drive have rapidly changing field gradients that can self-assemble magnetic nanoparticles into various shapes. We demonstrate the ability to record and read field gradients on a commercial disk drive medium and to use monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles to achieve self-assembly. We use image analysis techniques to quantify parameters related to …

Adherence To Screening And Management Guidelines Of Maternal Group B Streptococcus Colonization In Pregnancy, Sabine Pangerl, Deborah Sundin, Sadie Geraghty

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aims: To investigate Group B Streptococcus (GBS) colonization in pregnancy; adherence to antenatal GBS screening and adherence to the intrapartum antibiotics protocol within two models of care (midwifery and non-midwifery led). Design: This retrospective quantitative study has employed a descriptive design using administrative health data. Methods: Data from five maternity hospitals in metropolitan and regional Western Australia that included 22,417 pregnant women who gave birth between 2015 and 2019 were examined, applying descriptive statistics using secondary data analysis. Results: The study revealed an overall GBS colonization rate of 21.7% with similar rates in the different cohorts. A lower adherence to …

Automating Discrimination: Ai Hiring Practices And Gender Inequality, Lori Andrews, Hannah Bucher

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protecting Ma And Pa: Bond Workouts And The Trust Indenture Act In The 21st Century, Stephen J. Lubben

Cardozo Law Review

Revlon, the well-known cosmetics manufacturer, has labored under a massive debt load since the 1980s, when it was the subject of a classic hostile takeover battle. As with many recent distressed firms, it decided to address its debt not through the Bankruptcy Code and chapter 11, but rather in an “exchange offer.” That is, it offered to buy its old bonds back with an offer of new securities. One implication of its decision to proceed this way was that it was able to pay its retail bondholders much less than its institutional bondholders.

The Trust Indenture Act of 1939 was …

The Lord Is My Strength And My Shield: The Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine In In Re Diocese Of Lubbock, Kerri A. Matulis

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Takings Property And Appropriative Water Rights, Luis Inaraja Vera

Cardozo Law Review

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.”1 While courts and academics have put considerable amounts of effort into discussing the meaning of “taken” or “public use,” they have given far less attention to the phrase “private property.” Notable scholars have provided a set of definitions and frameworks to determine when a particular right qualifies as takings property. However, courts and commentators have yet to define the types of rights that are entitled to constitutional protection with sufficient precision to avoid an …

Physico-Mechanical Characterization Of Prototype Earth Block Material For Constitutive Modeling, Erika Lorena Rengifo-López

Theses and Dissertations

The comprehensive understanding and experimental characterization of the overall compressive behavior of earth masonry block materials, such as compressed and stabilized earth blocks (CSEBs), are essential for developing analytical and numerical tools to predict the mechanical response and designing earth masonry structures. Furthermore, advancing the understanding of the extent of the influence of testing parameters on the material's response, such as specimen geometry, is a critical step towards standardization.

CSEBs are produced by compressing a mixture of soil, water, and a stabilizer (e.g., Portland cement). The heterogeneity of the material accrues from the variety of soil particle morphology and potential …

Validation And Verification Of The Wray-Agarwal Turbulence And Algebraic Transition Models For 2d External Airfoil Flows, Dean Ryan-Simmons

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Validation and verification benchmark test cases are employed in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to determine the best practices in application of various CFD tools. These cases focus on the geometry modeling, mesh generation, numerical algorithms, and turbulence models to ensure consistent and accurate numerical simulation of physical phenomena. Assessing model accuracy is essential to identify areas of improvement in various turbulence models. Flow past several symmetric NACA airfoils, namely NACA 0012, NACA 0015 and NACA 0018 are standard test cases for validating and evaluating turbulence models’ accuracy since the experimental data is available for these airfoils. Available wind tunnel data …

Characterization And Determinant Factors Of Critical Illness And In-Hospital Mortality Of Covid-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Of 1,792 Patients In Kenya, Isinta M. Elijah, Endawoke Amsalu, Xuening Jian, Mingyang Cao, Eric K. Mibei, Danvas O. Kerosi, Francis G. Mwatsahu, Wei Wang, Faith Onyangore, Youxin Wang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Limited data is available on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), critical illness rate, and in-hospital mortality in the African setting. This study investigates determinants of critical illness and in-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients in Kenya. We conducted a retrospective cohort study at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Kenya. Multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard regression were employed to determine predictor factors for intensive care unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital mortality, respectively. In addition, the Kaplan-Meier model was used to compare the survival times using log-rank tests. As a result, 346 (19.3 %) COVID-19 patients were admitted to ICU, and …

A Virtual Reality Educational Game For The Ethics Of Cultural Heritage Repatriation, James Hutson, Ben Fulcher

Faculty Scholarship

The technology of virtual reality and the gamification of education has had proven educational benefits and has the ability to immerse students in a participatory learning experience. To capitalize on the strengths of the new digital medium, including immersion, engagement, and presence, a new educational game aims to teach the ethics of cultural heritage repatriation through the lens of art history. The use of games to address current issues and conceptualize a framework for understanding the complexities of geopolitics is not new but aligning these considerations with the pressing need to protect cultural heritage as seen in modern-day Ukraine is. …

Equivocal Originalism, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

"Originalism" is a term shrouded in ambiguity and ripe for equivocation. A recent article by Stephen Sachs in the Harvard Law Review tries to clarify the discussion by distinguishing between originalism as a decision standard, or a set of criteria for ascertaining the truth conditions for propositions, and a decision procedure, or a mechanism for ascertaining whether those truth conditions are satisfied in any given context. That is a helpful distinction, but it still leaves much room for multiple and confusing uses of the term originalism. Jumping off from comments on Professor Sachs's article by Mitchell Berman and Judge Andrew …

Colorblind Capture, Jonathan Feingold

Faculty Scholarship

We are facing two converging waves of racial retrenchment. The first, which arose following the Civil Rights Movement, is nearing a legal milestone. This term or the next, the Supreme Court will prohibit affirmative action in higher education. When it does, the Court will cement decades of conservative jurisprudence that has systematically eroded the right to remedy racial inequality.

The second wave is more recent but no less significant. Following 2020’s global uprising for racial justice, rightwing forces launched a coordinated assault on antiracism itself. The campaign has enjoyed early success. As one measure, GOP officials have passed, proposed or …

January 6, Ambiguously Inciting Speech, And The Overt-Acts Rule, Alan Z. Rozenshtein, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

A prosecution of Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol would have to address whether the First Amendment protects the inflammatory remarks he made at the “Stop the Steal” rally. A prosecution based solely on the content of Trump’s speech—whether for incitement, insurrection, or obstruction—would face serious constitutional difficulties under Brandenburg v. Ohio’s dual requirements of intent and likely imminence. But a prosecution need not rely solely on the content of Trump’s speech. It can also look to Trump’s actions: his order to the remove the magnetometers from the entrances to the rally and …

Overcoming The Peremptory's Greatest Challenge, Brian A. Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

Four decades after the Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") first proscribed certain group-based peremptory challenges, eradicating unlawful discrimination in jury selection has gained renewed interest. Yet so long as Massachusetts retains the inherently flawed three-step "Batson-Soares" test, lawyers seeking to exclude jurors for impermissible reasons will proceed virtually undeterred.

The solution is not to abolish peremptory challenges, as Arizona did in 2022. When exercised lawfully, they enable litigants to remove jurors they legitimately perceive as biased where a challenge for cause, due to its narrow scope, legally cannot. Eliminating peremptories would provide the parties little opportunity to influence who decides the …