Digital Commons Network^™

Genomic Insights Into Mechanisms Of Microbial Evolution And Evolution-Inspired Strategies To Combat Pathogen Diversity, Saymon Akther

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

We live in an era of emerging infectious diseases that are increasingly common, rapidly spreading, and gravely devastating. Lyme disease, caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Borreliella, is rapidly rising in the Northern Hemisphere because of geographic range expansion of both the tick vectors and the pathogens. Evolutionary comparative analysis of Borreliella genomes is a key to understanding the phylogeographic history and mechanisms of their global diversification. Moreover, genomic variations in Borreliella associated with human pathogenicity, e.g., at loci encoding cell-surface antigens interacting with the vertebrate hosts, have not been fully identified. Similarly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Multiple-Exemplar Training For Visual Analysis Of Ab-Design Graphs, Verena S. Bethke

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In behavior analysis, data are usually analyzed using visual analysis of the graphed data. There are a wide range of methods used to visually analyze data, from a basic ‘textbook’ style approach to the use of visual aids, decision-rubrics, and computer-based approaches. In the literature, there have been some comparisons of the efficacy of different approaches. Visual analysis as a behavior can be taught using a variety of methods, independent of how the skill itself is to be performed. Teaching methods include lecture, online instruction, and equivalence-based instruction. There is not much research on the teaching of visual analysis specifically, …

Protecting Peace? Analyzing The Relationship Between The Protection Of Civilians And Peace In Un Peacekeeping Settings, Jenna Russo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since 1999, the protection of civilians (POC) has become central to UN peacekeeping, included in the mandates of most multidimensional missions. In 2009, the Security Council designated POC as a priority among mandated tasks, in part because of the assertion that protecting civilians creates conditions that are conducive to peace. Yet, to this point, there has not been a thorough examination of the relationship between the protection of civilians in conflict settings and the broader peace process. The purpose of this research project is to investigate whether protecting civilians from violence serves to shorten conflict duration and/or create more durable …

Streets Of Grievance: Everyday Poetics And Postcolonial Politics In Urban Algeria, Stephanie Victoria Love

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes the intersections of language, settler-colonial and postcolonial politics, and urbanism in North Africa (Algeria). It is an urban and linguistic ethnography of Oran, Algeria’s second-largest city, based on sixteen months of ethnographic, linguistic anthropological, and archival research conducted in Arabic and French. I show how contemporary Oranis mobilize language as a key resource in contemporary urban politics, which are inextricably tied to French colonialism’s material remnants, rubble, and legacies. In contemporary Oran, the connection between the colonial past and the postcolonial present remains palpable, even sixty years after independence; however, while the postcolonial Algerian state has long …

Sunbelt Schooling: Publics And Politics Of Education Advocacy In Phoenix, Arizona, Matthew Chrisler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For the past forty years, public education in the United States has been the target of both neoliberal and conservative education reforms that have imposed austerity and privatization, set limits on racial, gendered, and sexual citizenship, increased school responsibility for social reproduction, and winnowed visions of public education as both a universal social entitlement and site of participatory democracy. These reforms emerged from, and remain powerfully anchored in, the United States Sunbelt, a crescent of metropolitan suburbs spanning southern California to Florida. This region propelled the conservative revolution in American politics but is also the site of progressive organizing that, …

The Zariski-Riemann Space As A Universal Model For The Birational Geometry Of A Function Field, Giovan Battista Pignatti Morano Di Custoza

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Given a function field $K$ over an algebraically closed field $k$, we propose to use the Zariski-Riemann space $\ZR (K/k)$ of valuation rings as a universal model that governs the birational geometry of the field extension $K/k$. More specifically, we find an exact correspondence between ad-hoc collections of open subsets of $\ZR (K/k)$ ordered by quasi-refinements and the category of normal models of $K/k$ with morphisms the birational maps. We then introduce suitable Grothendieck topologies and we develop a sheaf theory on $\ZR (K/k)$ which induces, locally at once, the sheaf theory of each normal model. Conversely, given a sheaf …

"You Can't Be Shakespeare And You Can't Be Joyce": Lou Reed, Modernism, And Mass Production, Daniel C. Jacobson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation proposes a reevaluation of the overlooked connections between American popular music and modernist literature’s scope and formal experimentation which arose in the mid-20th century. Because Lou Reed’s ever-changing persona situates his work uncomfortably between high art and pop-culture, modernism and “post-modernity,” literature and music, and ethics and aesthetics, I intend to consider Reed as this dissertation’s empty, refracted center. One that will allow for a critique of several major intellectual movements, both inside and outside the academy, that continue to influence thinking about art, ethics, and material culture. Additionally, I hope to show that the work of a …

Modelling And Forecasting Methods In Financial Economics, Shuo Gao

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters.

Chapter 1: Behavioral heterogeneity among investors has been shown to explain the volatile nature of stock markets. In this chapter, I investigate the different behaviors of investors by proposing a heterogeneous agent model based on Chiarella et al. (2012) which involves fundamentalists, chartists, and noise traders with two-state hidden-Markov regime switching expectations. By applying the S&P 500 and CPI data from January 1990 to December 2020, the model shows strong evidence of behavioral heterogeneity among different groups of traders. After an in-sample backtesting and out-of-sample forecasting which further evaluate the capability of the model, …

Drift Net: The Social And Political Agency Of The Migratory Text, Chris Campanioni

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Through a discursive model I call a “migratory text”—migrant-produced media that includes notebooks, correspondences, self-portraiture, diaristic video, auto-archival installation, and immersive performance—Drift Net gleans connections between world literature, literary translation, academic scholarship, and public policy. Alongside close readings of texts from the interwar period through today and intimate archival fieldwork with refugees and shelter staff across Europe, this study mobilizes queer theory and gender and sexuality studies as well as performance studies and media theory to critique migrant-assimilation techniques by state actors and NGOs. In centering the Cold War throughout its five chapters, Drift Net broaches the different political …

Elucidating Mechanisms Of Biofluorescence And Bioluminescence In Marine Organisms, Andrew M. Guarnaccia

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Biofluorescence and bioluminescence are two methods of light emission that entail separate mechanisms of action but end at the same process: a colorful display that have tremendous ecological and behavioral benefits, whether it be used to communicate with conspecifics, camouflage into a multicolored background, attract unsuspecting prey, or alert others to a predator. In biofluorescence, higher-energy, shorter wavelength light is absorbed then re-emitted as lower-energy, longer-wavelength light. Bioluminescence on the other hand entails a chemical reaction in which a small molecule is oxidized by an enzyme, creating a high-energy intermediate that sheds the excess energy in the form of visible …

Robert Rosen And Relational System Theory: An Overview, James Lennox

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Relational system theory is the science of organization and function. It is the study of how systems are organized which is based on their functions and the relations between their functions. The science was originally developed by Nicolas Rashevsky, and further developed by Rashevsky’s student Robert Rosen, and continues to be developed by Rosen’s student A. H. Louie amongst others. Due to its revolutionary character, it is often misunderstood, and to some, controversial. We will mainly be focusing on Rosen’s contributions to this science. The formal and conceptual setting for Rosen’s relational system theory is category theory. Rosen was the …

Creating An Interactive Virtual-Reality Game As A Method For Vestibular Rehabilitation, Jessica Kaganskiy

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Virtual reality is an innovative form of technology that has been used more and more in vestibular rehabilitation therapy programs for individuals with chronic balance problems. Blender and Unity game engines were used to create a 3D interactive virtual reality video game intended for Oculus devices in order for individuals to utilize the game to perform vestibular rehabilitation exercises. The activities in the video game are based on the Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises commonly used in vestibular rehabilitation. The exercises target eye movement, head movement, stretch movement, and bilateral coordination; repetitive motion is used to help train and treat the individual’s vestibular …

Tell Me A Story: Exploring The Use Of Narratives To Reduce Backlash To Organizational Diversity Initiatives, Desmond W. Leung

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Diversity initiatives represent key priorities for many organizations, but research and recent high-profile examples suggest that diversity initiatives can generate significant backlash, particularly among organizational members. The primary aim of this study is to investigate how narrative forms of diversity initiative messaging may attenuate backlash among organizational members compared to more traditional expository forms of diversity initiative messaging. Drawing on research related to narrative communication, persuasion, and diversity, I proposed a first-stage dual moderated mediation model where psychological reactance and perceptions of realistic threat mediate the negative effect of narrative (vs. expository) diversity messaging on backlash. Additionally, I examined whether …

Economic Policy Uncertainty And Non-Gaap Reporting, Ryan H. Wynne

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigates the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on non-GAAP reporting. Prior research documents that numerous factors influence the frequency and quality of non-GAAP earnings disclosures, but the expected association between EPU and non-GAAP reporting is unclear. On the one hand, greater EPU may increase investor demand for additional financial information, while on the other hand, more EPU may lead to less non-GAAP disclosure by making core or recurring earnings more difficult to predict. Additionally, greater EPU may provide increased opportunity for managers to use non-GAAP reporting to mislead investors. I document a significantly positive association, on average, …

When The Elite Control Public Education: A Critical Inquiry On Charter Schools, Marisela Palafox

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis takes a critical look into charter schools in New York City. Through this thesis, I want to answer questions regarding who benefits from the current charter school model in NYC and why this current state of schooling is detrimental to marginalized children. As a former NYC public school student, I know first-hand that good intentions by white educators (and thus white systems) do not always result in beneficial outcomes for the most vulnerable.

A Diagnostic Pocket Guide For Audiologists: Outer, Middle, And Inner Ear Disorders And Chronic Diseases, Ashley Andino

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Given the Scope of Practice for Audiologists as outlined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), the diverse occupational settings audiologists belong to, and the varied multidisciplinary collaboration necessary, audiologists are tasked with needing, at minimum, a baseline understanding of a wide range of disorders. This includes not only otological diseases, but multisystem disorders that affect the auditory system. While an abundance of diagnostic audiological information on various disorders and their impacts are available, there exists a gap in the availability of condensed and accessible diagnostic information for everyday use. The goal of the resulting diagnostic pocket guide is to provide …

Neurocardiovascular Instability (Ncvi) Risk As A Predictor Of Cognitive Function In The Long Life Family Study, Rebecca Abraham

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In aging populations, the abnormal neural control of the cardiovascular system has been examined within the construct of neurocardiovascular instability (NCVI). The main research aim addressed whether baseline features of NCVI could predict cognitive function (i.e., decline) at follow-up within long-lived families. Across 941 subjects, baseline NCVI risk was indexed by two features: (1) self-reported syncopal or fall events and (2) average seated BP. The Low NCVI risk group included those who were normotensive (e.g., within normal BP range) and reported no NCVI features (n=379). The Moderate NCVI risk group included those who elicited pre-hypertensive (elevated BP) or hypertensive (high …

Public Policy And The Business Life Cycle, Hugo Barreca

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study uses a business life cycle perspective to investigate and compare three different approaches to urban economic development policy, each of which focuses on a particular stage of company development. Well-meaning urban policies might be more effective if they were aligned with all the common stages of the business life cycle. This study compares programs that address specific stages of the business cycle to demonstrate that it is possible to address each stage. While it is not possible with a small number of cases and many dimensions of variation to validate a causal model of which packages of policies …

A Python Implementation Of The Quasi-Harmonic Approximation: Ab-Initio Study Of The Thermoelastic Properties Of Magnesium Oxide And Calcium Oxide, Adewumi Bakare

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

When heated up, materials change volume, typically they expand, and they also change their elastic properties, typically by softening. Computational methods to calculate materials properties at finite temperature are needed to compensate for the lack of experimental data, as well as to predict materials properties at conditions difficult to be reached in experimental labs. In this research project, I designed a set of Python codes implementing a quasi-harmonic approximation (QHA) method to calculate thermodynamic functions at constant volume, equation of state, and the isothermal Bulk modulus of cubic materials. To validate the new computational tools, this implementation of QHA has …

Symmetries, Zero Modes And Light Transport In Non-Hermitian Photonics, Jose David Hernandez Rivero

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

We approach some fundamental aspects of photonic dissipative systems treated by a non-Hermitian theory. Inspired by the possibilities provided by some major non-Hermitian symmetries, we study systematically the properties of the novel pseudochirality, pseudo-anti-Hermiticity, and supersymmetry. We analyze other aspect of photonics, the zero mode, which has a profound connection to non-Hermitian physics. We propose a scheme to realize a zero mode that exists even in the absence of symmetries. Finally, we approach light transport in non-Hermitian photonic systems, where the introduction of gain and loss can modify drastically the propagation speed of wavepackets.

Thickened Surfaces, Checkerboard Surfaces, And Quantum Link Invariants, Joseph W. Boninger

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation has two parts, each motivated by an open problem related to the Jones polynomial. The first part addresses the Volume Conjecture of Kashaev, Murakami, and Murakami. We define a polynomial invariant, J^T_n, of links in the thickened torus, which we call the nth toroidal colored Jones polynomial, and we show J^T_n satisfies many properties of the original colored Jones polynomial. Most significantly, J^T_n exhibits volume conjecture behavior. We prove a volume conjecture for the 2-by-2 square weave, and provide computational evidence for other links. We also give two equivalent constructions …

Phase Transitions, Critical Phenomena, And Correlation Functions In The 2d Ising Model And Its Applications To Quantum Dynamics: A Tensor Network Approach, Sankhya Basu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis explores several aspects of the 2D Ising Model at both real and complex temperatures utilizing tensor network algorithms. We briefly discuss the importance of tensor networks in the context of forming efficient representations of wavefunctions and partition functions for quantum and classical many-body systems respectively, followed by a brief review of the tensor network renormalization algorithms to compute the one point and two point correlation functions. We use the Tensor Renormalization Group (TRG) to study critical phenomena and examine feasibility of accurate estimations of universal critical data for three critical points for three critical points in two dimensions …

Monolingual Versus Bilingual Use Of Context To Facilitate Speech Recognition In Background Noise: A Systematic Review, Rachel Abucasis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Introduction: Previous literature has shown that bilingual listeners face more challenges than monolinguals during speech recognition in adverse listening conditions. As noisy environments degrade the acoustic stimuli and leave the listener with a partial or ambiguous signal to pair to a lexical representation, it is not possible to do so with the acoustic and phonological features alone. Bilinguals consistently use a significant amount of their cognitive resources during the early stages of speech processing, partially due to their need to navigate between the two languages. With exhaustion of most of their cognitive resources, there is limited capacity available to use …

Fostering College Students’ Fact-Checking Skills: Three Studies Assessing Lateral Reading Instruction In A General Education Course, Jessica E. Brodsky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While online information is abundant and easily accessible, its quality varies widely. Fact-checkers evaluate online information by reading laterally, i.e., opening a new browser tab to research sources and verify claims. This dissertation consisted of three studies that used course outcomes assessment data to examine the impact of a lateral reading curriculum on college students’ fact-checking skills. The curriculum was first implemented in Fall 2018 as part of a general education civics course. It has been taught every semester since then, though the content and format of implementation have changed. Data used in the current studies were collected during the …

Legislating Against Liberties: Congress And The Constitution In The Aftermath Of War, Harry Blain

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

How far can a democracy go to protect itself without jeopardizing the liberties upon which democracy depends? This dissertation examines why wartime restrictions on civil liberties outlive their original justifications. Through a comparative historical analysis of five major American wars, it illustrates the decisive role of the U.S. Congress in preserving these restrictions during peacetime. This argument challenges the prevailing consensus in the literature, which identifies wartime executive power as the main threat to postwar freedoms. It also reveals broader narratives of American constitutional development, including the rise and fall of intrusive congressional investigations, the decline of sedition legislation since …

Audiologists' Perspectives On Noise Induced Hearing Loss, Rachael L. Cleary

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Excessive noise has long been established in the literature as a prevalent workplace hazard. The high prevalence of occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has led to high economic costs and has produced many physical and mental health effects on workers exposed to occupational noise. Standards set by OSHA are implemented in the workplace in order to protect employees. Despite these regulations set by OSHA, millions of workers in the United States are still exposed to excessive occupational noise, with limited use of hearing protection. The high prevalence of occupational NIHL and low use of hearing protective devices (HPDs) brings into …

Homage To Eleanora: A Musical Journey Through The Billie Holiday Songbook, Keith A. Dames

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Billie Holiday was a singer, songwriter, vocalist, bandleader and composer in the fields of music, black culture and more specifically the genre of jazz. The primary focus of this study is Billie Holiday’s discography, music, and compositions as treated in relation to the black culture of production. This study will explore a secondary content analysis of Billie Holiday’s music, musicianship, musicality and compositional skills within the American jazz mainstream, broader jazz audience and world at large. This project will take an analytical look at the structure and form of the compositions of Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday is credited with composing …

“El Inglés Y El Spánich”: Translating The Heterolingualism Of La Frontera–A Critical Translation Of Luis Humberto Crosthwaite’S Estrella De La Calle Sexta, Nora E. Carr

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation offers an original translation and critical analysis of Crosthwaite’s Estrella de la calle sexta. In so doing it engages with recent work on contemporary Latin American literature, translation theory, and border theory, while also offering a version of Crosthwaite’s text—itself a seminal work in studies of the Tijuanan imaginary—that will be accessible to anglophone readers. The critical chapters, too, will allow scholars of the border to revisit the stories of Estrella through the lenses of language, translation, and heterolingualism. Chapter One offers a reevaluation of the mode of translation theory that posits translation as a textual transfer from …

Individual Differences In Coping With Large Multimodal Conflicts In A Spatial Orientation Paradigm, Cassandra J. Engstrom

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined how humans respond to large 180º disparities between internally generated self-motion cues and external landmarks in a navigation task. Subjects learned the locations of 4 objects in a virtual environment, navigating back to these sites in a testing phase that probed their sense of direction at dead-ends. In select (incongruent) trials, subjects’ virtual rotations were mirrored relative to their physical turns, forcing them to navigate along separate virtual and physical trajectories. On these trials, subjects were either instructed to navigate using their memory of the required turn sequence (proprioceptive instructions) or the external environment (visual …

After The Renaissance: Art And Harlem In The 1960s, Maya Harakawa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For almost a century, Harlem has carried a symbolic weight that transcends the physical confines of upper Manhattan. In 1925, the philosopher and critic Alain Locke dubbed Harlem a “mecca,” a spiritual home that attracted people of African descent from around the world. Locke dubbed the cultural movement he chronicled in Harlem a “renaissance”—a term that describes both the “rebirth” of Black people as modern subjects and the resulting artistic effluence. In so doing, he cemented the neighborhood’s indelible connection to racial progress and artistic experimentation. Even as Harlem’s reputation has oscillated between the twined discourses of “mecca” and “ghetto,” …