bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) System Design for Freely-Moving Animals for Optogenetic Neuromulation Applications
Authors:   , Sudhakar Ramya
Published: January 2025

Wireless power transfer (WPT) is currently the most efficient way for transmission of power from one port to another, that is popularly used in various applications.This technique can change the previous energy utilization methods in various applications such as electronic devices, implanted medical devices, electrical vehicles and so forth.It mainly helps overcome the limitations of short battery life, limited storage, heavy weight, and high cost of batteries.This paper is based on the design of a transmitter and a receiver to achieve wireless power transfer for applications like optogenetic stimulation in rodents. With inductive coupling, a very high efficiency can be achieved between the transmitting and receiving coils of an antenna at small distances. When the transmitter and receiver are strongly coupled and are working at their resonant frequencies, the range of efficient WPT can be extended. In this work, the simulations are performed in HFSS at a resonating frequency of 13.56 MHz.A 4-port transmitter and a single-port planar receiver model are developed in HFSS, and the simulations are performed to graph the S parameters with a separation distance of 4cm. A Wilkinson power divider is designed using ADS to split the power from the four ports of the transmitter. The design is simulated to compare the S21 at different positions on the TX.
Multi-Fidelity Study of Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Characteristics of a Quadrotor Biplane Tailsitter
Authors:   , Heydari Morteza
Published: January 2025

Recent advances in manufacturing and growing concerns on the sustainability of aviation environment have led to a remarkable interest in electrical unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in the past decade. Among various UAS types, the newly designed quadrotor biplane tailsitter class is capable of delivering a wide range of civilian and military tasks, relying on its Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capability as well as great maneuverability. Nevertheless, as such UASs employ rotors to generate thrust, and wings to generate lift, and operate at less-understood low to mid-Reynolds flow regime, they experience complicated flight aerodynamics with a noise generation mechanism which is different from common aircrafts. The present work aims at addressing this knowledge gap by studying the aerodynamics and aeroacoustics of a UAS of this type designed by the Army Research Lab. High-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are carried out for a wide range of operating conditions to understand the physics involved in the UAS aerodynamics and characterize its performance. Relying on the CFD results, a physics-informed reduced order model (ROM) is developed based on machine learning algorithms, to predict the propellers effects on the wings and calculate the dominant loads. The results of this study indicate that the UAS aerodynamics is significantly influenced by the propeller-wing interaction, which makes it challenging to estimate the loads by classic methods. The proposed physics-informed ROM shows a promising performance based on its computational cost and accuracy. Additionally, it is found that the aeroacoustics of the UAS is ruled by a two-way mechanism through which the propellers and the structure impose unsteadiness on each other.
Design of a Low-Cost Spirometer to Detect COPD and Asthma for Remote Health Monitoring
Authors:   , Olvera Alejandro
Published: January 2025

This work develops a simple and low-cost microphone-based spirometer with a scalable infrastructure that can be used to monitor COPD and Asthma symptoms. The data acquired from the system is archived in the cloud for further procuring and reporting. To develop this system, we utilize an off-the-shelf ESP32 development board, MEMS microphone, oxygen mask, and 3D printable mounting tube to keep the costs low. The system utilizes the MEMS microphone to measure the audio signal of a user's exhalation, calculates diagnostic estimations and uploads the estimations to the cloud to be remotely monitored. Our results show a practical system that can identify COPD and Asthma symptoms and report the data to both the patient and the physician. The system developed can provide a means of gathering respiratory data to better assist doctors and assess patients to provide remote care.
Successful Retirement Transition Planning: Influences of Decision Support Factors and Socio-Demographics
Authors:   , Tinofirei Charity
Published: January 2025

Some people experience cumulative advantages or disadvantages at birth and during their lifespan that determine future life course outcomes. Health disparities and systemic inequity can define a negative trajectory for some minority and underserved communities. Without intervention, such inequity can spiral and eventually affect more and more areas of an older person's life, much like cumulative disadvantages. This research proposes that older adults can improve their situation through targeted support factors that systematically improve lifespan areas. Eventually, more adults can experience the cumulative advantage effect as life progresses. The dissertation consists of a systematic literature review to evaluate literature that isolates degree-level education as a predictor of successful retirement transition planning. This foundational information is used as a basis for identifying constructs in two follow-on studies of the longitudinal National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) Wave 9 public dataset. We explore factors supporting readiness for retirement and retirement transition in later life using data of older adults aged 65+. Multiple regression, exploratory factor analysis, and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) are used to gain a multi-angle view. The results showed that degree-level education influences higher salaries, improved healthcare access, and financial literacy. In addition, old age has an increased risk of physical pain and chronic diseases that affect activities of daily living and independence in retirement, regardless of financial resources. Declining health can lead to social isolation and depression for older adults.
Saudi Male Athletes' Experience Using Mental Skills and Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Assistance in Sport
Authors:   , Abdulshakur Alhassan
Published: January 2025

The primary aim of this research was to assess Saudi Arabian male athletes' attitudes toward seeking sport psychology services and determine their previous experience using mental skills. As a part of the study, an Arabic version of the Sport Psychology Attitudes – Revised form (SPA-R) was developed. Transcultural translation procedures (e.g., back translation) were used to translate the SPA-R into Arabic version. Saudi male athletes (N = 222) ranging from 17 to 25 years of age with various individual and team sport experiences completed the Arabic version of SPA-R survey twice over two-weeks. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the original theoretical structure of the phenomena existed in the version created for Arabian athletes. Follow-up analyses revealed that Saudi male athletes had high sport psychology consultant confidence and personal openness, moderately high cultural preferences, and low in stigma tolerance. Although the Arabic version of SPA-R may be useful for assessing Saudi male athletes, further research is needed with different Arab populations to verify the factor structure of the observed constructs.
This Man is Your Friend: Knowing "Us" and "Them" in Ethnic American Literature of the Pacific Theater
Authors:   , Matsuda Takuya
Published: January 2025

This dissertation examines representations of the Pacific theater in World War II in ethnic American literature, with a focus on its rendition of US and Japanese racism and imperialism in the mid-twentieth century. Reading a range of African, Asian, Jewish, Mexican, and Native American literary writings, I investigate their modifications of the American master narrative that the Second World War was "good" and "necessary," a war fought against fascism and for democracy, justice, and freedom. Instead of such a simplistic and reductive view, ethnic American writers envision the Pacific theater as a race war between whites and persons of color and as a conflict between two imperialist nations, the United States and Japan. Ethnic Americans' racial double consciousness functions to resist an oversimplification of the Pacific theater. In these ethnic writers' work, American characters from diverse backgrounds create friendships with those of Asian nationalities, including Chinese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Japanese. These texts are necessary because ethnic Americans' experiences are underrepresented in the traditional WWII narrative of Western masculinity, originated by Ernest Hemingway and completed by President Truman and Douglas MacArthur. As opposed to the typical white American literary and cinematic treatment of the war as fought in the land of the diabolical and inscrutable enemy, ethnic American authors depict diverse experiences of both soldiers and civilians in the Pacific theater. While rendering Asia as a multifaceted but close and relatable place, they depart from both the Orientalist concept of Asia as a single entity and the Eurocentric production of WWII knowledge in the US.
Not What "Almost Famous" Made It Out to Be: Gendered Harassment of Female Music Journalists
Authors:   , Carter Simone
Published: January 2025

As with women journalists in other male-dominated fields, female music writers have long endured gendered harassment. In the newsroom, this sexist treatment is foisted upon female music journalists by their male editors and colleagues; in the outside world, it often occurs at the hands of male sources, readers, and online trolls. Unfortunately, the victims of such abuse are frequently left to cope with it alone, and many report that their mental health suffers in the process. Some may even ultimately decide to quit pursuing music journalism entirely. These women report wanting to feel more supported within their work environment, as well as through informal means, such as via a network of fellow female writers. Feminist media theory, utilitarianism, and ethics of care will serve as the study's theoretical bases. This research, based on in-depth interviews with women music journalists, suggests that the vast majority of participants had faced sexism and/or gendered harassment during their time as a female music journalist, experiences that left many of them feeling frustrated and devalued. Based on the research, I offer recommendations on how to make the industry more inclusive for women writers.
In vitro Biomedical Application and Photothermal Therapy Evaluation of Gold Complexes and Gold Nanoparticles
Authors:   , Shennara Khaled A
Published: January 2025

Plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT) has a rising promise for treating different cancer cells such as lymphoma or stomach cancer. Technique development of PPTT using metallic nanoparticles is developed upon a modification of the irradiation therapy using two major changes: using a less harmful visible amber light (excluding blue light) and using gold-loaded biocompatible nanoparticles. Acrylate nanoparticles were loaded with desired types of gold nanoparticles at different sizes. The gold-loaded gold nanoparticles were conjugated to cancer cells. By selectively delivering the gold nanoparticles into cancer cells, irradiating a harmless amber visible light will achieve thermal ablation of the cancer cells. Based on imaging spectroscopy, flow cytometry, and cell viability assays, results showed reduction of gold-loaded viable cancer cells upon irradiating with amber visible light, no change in the number of cancer cells with irradiating with light only. On the other hand, DNA intercalation of a trinuclear gold(I), [Au(3-CH3,5-COOH)Pz]3 (Au3) is contrasted with the standard organic intercalators ethidium and ellipticine, as investigated computationally. Frontier molecular orbital energies of intercalators and DNA base pairs were determined and found that all intercalators are good electron acceptors with Au3 being the best electron acceptor having the lowest LUMO. DNA base pairs are better electron donors having the lowest HOMO values, and from the intercalators and base pairs' HOMO/LUMO energies, it is evident the intercalators will overlap with the HOMO of DNA stabilizing the intercalators. Interaction energies (kcal/mol) were obtained as a function of distance, r (angstroms). Results show that the theoretical treatment SDD-WB97XD outperforms SDD-LSDA in both adenine-thymine (AT) systems with ethidium and Au3 intercalators. In both guanine-cytosine (GC) and AT pairs, the Au3 has the lowest interaction energies among these common intercalators, suggesting a potential intercalating drug. Experimental DNA intercalation studies were attempted and methods of finding intercalation binding constants were established, showing gold complexes have better binding constants to DNA than common intercalators to support the computational results.
Franz Schubert's op. 59, Performance Edition: A Vocal Approach for the Novice Bass Tuba Player
Authors:   , Humphreys David Kyle
Published: January 2025

The purpose of this project is to help bridge the gap of available solos for the novice bass tuba player. It is necessary for the growing tuba player to transition to the bass tuba for solos at the professional level, but the majority of pieces that are written for the bass tuba are at the professional level, and it leaves very little for the transitional phase from a repertoire standpoint. Through transcribing vocal works, an aspiring bass tuba soloist can focus on fundamental aspects of tuba playing like tone quality, breathing, intonation, and musicianship. Generally speaking, tuba solos are written for the contrabass tuba and accessible to late high school and early college musicians, or they are written at the professional level for bass tuba. There is a gap in the repertoire for the solo tuba, pieces that can help transition young students to the later repertoire demands of the bass tuba. This project will address the need for more novice solo works accessible to the young collegiate tubists transitioning to the bass tuba by identifying current deficiencies in the repertoire available for the developing solo tubist. This project concludes with a transcription and performance edition of Franz Schubert's Op. 59, Nos. 1-4: No. 1, Du liebst mich nicht; No. 2, Dass sie hier gewesen; No. 3, Du bist die Ruh'; and No. 4, Lachen und Weinen.
The Extended Lydian Locrian Theory of Harmony
Authors:   , Bandy Chris
Published: January 2025

The extended Lydian Locrian theory of harmony (ELL) is a system of analyzing harmonies and progressions according to their position along a vast spectrum of colors. The musical premise is that chords and progressions spanning upwards around the circle of fifths sound brighter, whereas chords and progressions spanning downwards around the circle of fifths sound darker. This simple premise gives rise to a complex but unified system of harmonic structures and relations, a system which provides a valuable tool for analyzing and composing music, especially of advanced tonal genres. ELL not only provides fruitful techniques for analyzing certain kinds of traditional harmonies and progressions but also provides a framework for discovering more exotic and colorful harmonies and progressions.
Essential and Flexible Expression: Strategies for Pronoun Use among Nonbinary-Identified Individuals
Authors:   , Moeder Jessica Elise
Published: January 2025

Drawing on in-depth, semistructured interviews with 42 nonbinary-identified individuals in Texas, I examine both the relationship between pronouns and identity and how individuals use pronouns in interaction. Some individuals speak about their pronoun set as a crucial component of their gender identity, adopting what I refer to as an essential expression strategy, while others discuss their pronoun set as more loosely connected to their non-binary identity, adopting what I refer to as a flexible expression strategy. Whether an individual adopts an essential or flexible expression strategy informs pronoun use in a particular context. Specifically, I find that respondents adopting an essential expression strategy are more likely to emotionally invest in using/enforcing a particular pronoun set and report strong emotions from the use of correct or incorrect pronouns in interaction. In contrast, respondents adopting a flexible expression approach are less emotionally invested in a particular pronoun set. As a result, these respondents are more likely to defer pronoun choice to the audience and prioritize the ease of interaction with less emotional consequences.
Inflammatory Biomarker Levels and Vaccine Response
Authors:   , Alkire Christopher B
Published: January 2025

This study was conducted as part of a parent grantwhich examined the relationship between components of sleep and antibody responses to the flu vaccine in a population of 392 nurses working at two large hospitals. During/after sleep data was collected, nurses had blood drawn at four time points: immediately pre-vaccination, 1-, 6-, and 11-months post vaccine to obtain serum for detection of anti-influenza antibodies measured with an HI (hemagglutination inhibition) assay. Additionally, the inflammatory biomarkers IL6, IL1-β, TNF-α and CRP were measured at the pre-vaccine time point only to determine any correlation between the markers and antibody response. Data was analyzed using a hierarchical regression. In the first step, analyses assessed whether each change/average in cytokines over the one-month period had an impact on vaccine response for each of the four viral strains in the flu vaccine. In a second step, analyses assessed whether variables such as insomnia, stress, age, smoking, BMI, and race had any impact on vaccine response beyond the effects exerted through inflammation. The change in association (β) between the primary independent variable and primary dependent variable were examined in order to determine whether there are any suppression effects caused by baseline covariates on the relationship between inflammation changes or averages and antibody response. No relationship was discovered between circulating inflammatory changes or circulating inflammatory averages and antibody response. There was a weak correlation between CRP at Timepoint A and CRP at Timepoint B. No relationship was observed between age and circulating inflammation. The lack of relationship was likely due to the use of circulating inflammatory biomarkers; this may be an insufficient approach to determine chronic inflammatory status.
Adoption of Wearable Devices by Older Adults
Authors:   , Enamela Pranathy
Published: January 2025

This dissertation is organized in a traditional format while including three essays that address specific research questions. Essay 1 examined the relationship between physical activity and community engagement and their effect on mental well-being among older men and women. Data from National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) from 2018 to 2020 were explored and the posited relationships were tested. This essay provides empirical support that older adults who are reasonably active and involved in the community have greater mental well-being than those who isolate themselves. Essay 2 provides insight into older adults' motivation to improve their physical activity through the use of a fitness tracker. The key finding from this study is that wearables, especially fitness trackers, can significantly facilitate increased physical activity. Essay 3 is a mixed-methods study to understand older adults' perception of the usefulness of fitness trackers and interaction with such devices. Findings suggest that to increase the adoption of fitness trackers among older adults, makers could improve the esthetics and quality of the wristband in addition to the battery life of the tracker.
Student Perceptions of Literacy Learning with Digital Storytelling
Authors:   , Brom Krystle
Published: January 2025

This qualitative case study examined how integrating technology, specifically digital storytelling, influenced secondary student perceptions of literacy learning and student engagement in an English language arts and reading classroom in a rural district. Understanding student perceptions of literacy learning can offer insight into which technological tools can support literacy development and classroom engagement. Through the implementation of case study design and thematic analysis, overarching themes highlight participant experiences and equip education professionals to make more informed choices regarding technology integration decisions.
Three Essays on the Role of Social, Legal and Technical Factors on Internet of Things and Smart Contracts Adoption in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors:   , Guerra Katia
Published: January 2025

I extended and adapted the current technology acceptance models and privacy research to the peculiar context of the COVID-19 pandemic to ascertain the effective "power" of IT in fighting such a pandemic. The research models developed for the purpose of this study contain peculiar modifications to the technological-personal-environmental (TPE) framework and privacy calculus model because of the unique technologies implemented and the peculiar pandemic scenario. I developed three studies that investigate the interaction between social, legal, and technical factors that affect the adoption of IoT devices and blockchain systems implemented to fight the spread of COVID-19. Essay 1 systematically reviews existing literature on the analysis of the social, legal, and technical components in addressing phenomena related to IoT architecture and blockchain technology. The employment of a comparable coding method allows finding which of the above components is prominent in relation to the study of IoT and blockchain. Essay 2 develops a technological acceptance model by integrating the TPE framework with new constructs, i.e., regulatory environment, epidemic ecosystem, pre-epidemic ecosystem, perceived social usefulness, and technical characteristics. Essay 3 further explores the interplay between social, legal, and technical factors toward the adoption of smart contracts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Essay 3 integrates the privacy calculus model by introducing new constructs, i.e., technical characteristics, regulatory environment, and perceived social benefits. For both Essays 2 and 3, research surveys were developed and distributed to undergraduate and graduate students in a major university located in the US. The research hypotheses were tested using partial least square modeling.
Determinants of Portfolio Manager Ownership
Authors:   , Sun Liang
Published: January 2025

This paper investigates the determinants of mutual fund portfolio manager ownership and its association with fund performance. Using hand-collected data of 1,420 U.S. equity funds from 32 fund families, we find that variations in fund manager holdings are broadly consistent with optimal contracting theory instead of the result of managers' personal investment consideration. Portfolio manager ownership is positively and significantly correlated with variables that proxy for intensity of agency conflicts. Specifically, portfolio managers hold more mutual fund shares when the size of concurrently managed hedge fund increases and when the advisor is affiliated to the bank. In addition, fund managers invest more in funds with primary investment in growth stock, non-index funds, and solo-managed funds. Regarding to the alternative governance mechanism, higher threat of dismissal for outsourced funds, stronger monitoring from institutional investors, and long-term performance based bonus work as substitutes of fund manager ownership while director ownership works as a compliment. Finally, we find little evidence supporting the notion that funds with higher portfolio manager ownership perform better.
Older Adult Loss, Bereavement, and Grief Experiences: Influences on Adjustment and Resilience after Loss
Authors:   , Noah Amanda M
Published: January 2025

Loss is an inevitable part of life. The actual process of grieving is unique and can be hard to quantify. Grief interventions can address the relationship quality and attachment status between the griever and the deceased and how memories are interpreted and carried into the present and future. This three-essay dissertation explores variations of loss and the factors that contribute to a resilient recovery.
Leadership Styles that Contribute to African American Male Students' Discretionary Disciplinary Incidence Rates
Authors:   , White Samantha L
Published: January 2025

Factors that influence a school leader's disciplinary determination for student discretionary decisions are many times difficult to measure. The purpose of this study was to investigate leadership style factors that may be linked to contributable factors for African American male disciplinary incidents. The following leadership factors were examined: (a)self -awareness, (b) collaborative dialogue, (c) drive to achieve, (d) internalization of campus disciplinary vision, (e) building relationships, and (f) proactive decision making. This study focused on identifying various leadership styles of administrators that impact the disciplinary rates of African American males at each campus studied. Data for this explanatory sequential mixed methods research study included a survey, a focus group, and one-on-one semi structured interviews. Participants were campus administrators having more than one year of experience as a campus administrator and were completing at least one full year at their current campus site. The analysis of quantitative data collected from the survey of campus administrators' leadership emotional intelligence provided insight into the research questions. The qualitative findings revealed that for campus administrators in the selected urban north Texas school, their leadership style does not significantly contribute to African American male's discretionary disciplinary incident rates. However qualitative data revealed discrepancies in administrators' perceptions and application of student discipline decisions. Research literature and this study support the school leader as the pivotal decision maker for discretionary outcomes for all students, particularly African American male students.
Gender Role Conflict and Religion/Spirituality
Authors:   , Norton Jolene
Published: January 2025

Relatively few studies have explored the relationship between gender role conflict (GRC) and an individual's religious/spiritual identities. This study sought to add to the research on GRC by exploring the experiences of female and male GRC, and expand the understanding of the influence of religion/spirituality (R/S) variables on GRC. Participants (N = 359) were recruited from social media and undergraduate courses and completed an online survey that assessed GRC, a variety of R/S variables, and life satisfaction. Overall, there were some significant differences found between male and female experiences of GRC. In general, the R/S variables did not have a large impact on GRC. However, religious fundamentalism and extrinsic and quest religious orientations were related to specific subscales of GRC. Maintaining congruency between one's personal values and one's religious institution was related to lower levels of specific subscales of GRC. Additionally, GRC was related to lower levels of life satisfaction. Regarding the subscales of GRC, restrictive emotionality was the strongest predictor of lower life satisfaction. By furthering research on the interplay between GRC and R/S, clinicians will be more equipped to handle the repercussions of stereotypical roles within gender and religion, address negative attitudes and behaviors, and lead discussions about finding congruency between one's gender and R/S identities.
Understanding the Time to Recidivism Relationship Based on Offense Severity for Determinate Sentenced Juveniles
Authors:   , Brinkley Francheska L
Published: January 2025

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between a juvenile's serious or violent offenses and the time to recidivism among the determinate-sentenced offenders. Concentrating on this group of juvenile offenders is beneficial because they are considered to be the most serious group of offenders among juveniles. Since these serious offenders will become a part of their community again, it is important to understand or determine if there is a discernable pattern to inform intervention and target rehabilitation practices. Crime severity makes a considerable impact on the commitment and punishment for a juvenile and an important question rests on how offense severity influences recidivism-related outcomes.
Chinese Art Songs in the 1930s: An Analysis and Interpretive Guide of Six Selected Songs by Huang Zi (1904-1938)
Authors:   , Peng Bin
Published: January 2025

Chinese art songs—which are derived from over four thousand years of Chinese culture and combine unique Chinese literary and musical flavors with Western compositional techniques—remain largely unknown in the Western world. Chinese art song, a treasure of a genre, deserves more attention from Western singers and scholars. With a population of 1.41 billion, China has the largest potential market for bel canto singing. Not only will studying Chinese art songs enrich a singer's worldview and repertoire choices, doing so will also be advantageous when singing internationally. In order to assist non-Chinese-speaking singers overcome the difficult language barrier that often prevents them from studying Chinese art songs, I have chosen six songs by the renowned early twentieth century Chinese composer, Huang Zi (1904–1938) to analyze. Although he remains virtually unknown in the Western scholarly world, Huang's Chinese art songs, which include both ancient and contemporary Chinese poetry as well as Chinese and Western musical characteristics, are representative of this genre. By analyzing the poetry and musical settings of six Chinese art songs by Huang Zi, providing pronunciation instructions for Mandarin Chinese, word-for-word and poetic translations, practical International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions from the Pinyin system, and creating an interpretive guide of these songs, this project aims to help singers worldwide to prepare and perform Chinese art songs in a more expressive and authentic way. Taking this project as the first step, singers and scholars worldwide will be able to study and research more Chinese art songs and explore a new artistic world.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Experiences of Caribbean Immigrant Families Living in the United States
Authors:   , Roberts Caroline R
Published: January 2025

Compared to non-immigrant families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), immigrant families tend to experience more challenges securing an evaluation, obtaining a diagnosis, and accessing services for their child/children diagnosed with ASD. Several studies investigated the experiences of various groups of immigrant families. They found that the delays can be attributed to cultural differences in the way families interpret the meaning of ASD and their perceptions of the causes and treatment for ASD. Additionally, a lack of knowledge about ASD and fear of the stigma associated with ASD impacted immigrant parents' willingness to seek a diagnosis. However, few studies examined how Caribbean immigrants living in the United States experience a diagnosis of ASD for their child/children. This qualitative study explored Caribbean immigrant families' perceptions and experiences with ASD. A semi-structured, in-depth interview was used to collect data on families' experiences about symptoms, causes, and treatments of ASD, as well as their sources of support. The data were coded and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA. Four themes were identified and discussed: A new world, emotional and physical burden caring for a child with ASD, attitudes about ASD in native cultures, and adapting to the new situation.
"Mending the Gaps"
Authors:   , Muller Mark D.
Published: January 2025

Mending the Gaps examines the failures and deficits that have occurred in education both historically and today. These gaps that already existed in learning, equality, opportunity, and technology have all been made worse after two years of a global pandemic. Focusing on students in the state of Texas, which has the 2nd largest economy in the United States, but currently ranks 34th in quality of education, now students face the reality of the COVID 19 health crisis in an already overburdened public education system. People in every area of the community, including local, state, and national policy makers, are questioning if it is time to rethink what is considered a quality education. This documentary project will take viewers from the classroom to the boardroom, as stakeholders from all levels of the educational spectrum have an earnest conversation and answer the hard question, can the current system close the gaps and salvage a generation of students?
Ongoing Developments on Continuum Solvation Models
Authors:   , Truscott Matthew Anthony Si Ren
Published: January 2025

This work explores a continuum representation for diffuse layer models, thereby endowing continuum embedding models the ability to capture electrostatic phenomena in the environment such as the existence of electrolyte ions, and the nature of ionic liquids. It introduces a new field-aware continuum model that adjusts the size of the quantum regime per atom based on the distribution of charge in a system. The model accounts for the asymmetric nature of solvent distribution when applied to cations versus anions; it also overcomes the need to parameterize continuum interface models for different charged systems. The continuum representation of cavitation in water does not account for the tendency for water to form a hydrogen bonding network that is broken due to the formation of cavities. This effect is a major contributor to hydrophobic solvation and is an important precondition to the investigation of solvated proteins with continuum embedding. A new model inspired by machine learning advances is trained on molecular dynamics simulations due to the difficulty of isolating the cavitation energy term in experiment. Thermodynamic integration is used to calculate the energy from a step-like repulsive potential from cavities in TIP4P water, cavities ranging from small organic molecules, to small proteins. Predictions from this new model show a small improvement for small molecules and scale much better with respect to the size of the system.
Selected Art Songs of Chinese Composer Huang Zi: Music, Poetry, and Social-Historical Considerations
Authors:   , Liu Xiaoyue
Published: January 2025

This dissertation examines the contributions of the early twentieth-century Chinese composer Huang Zi to the genre of Chinese art songs. It discusses how he combined Western compositional techniques with traditional Chinese music and ancient or contemporary Chinese poetry, focusing on his works 花非花 Flowers in the Mist, 点绛唇, 赋登楼 Ode to Ascending the Tower, 思乡 Missing Homelands, and 春思曲 Spring Nostalgia. Huang's songs, which created a bridge between East and West, are still significant today in China and deserve performance in the West, too. Translations and a phonetic guide to the four songs are provided so that Western singers have the tools they need to perform these songs.
Data Quality Evaluation and Improvement for Machine Learning
Authors:   , Chen Haihua
Published: January 2025

In this research the focus is on data-centric AI with a specific concentration on data quality evaluation and improvement for machine learning. We first present a practical framework for data quality evaluation and improvement, using a legal domain as a case study and build a corpus for legal argument mining. We first created an initial corpus with 4,937 instances that were manually labeled. We define five data quality evaluation dimensions: comprehensiveness, correctness, variety, class imbalance, and duplication, and conducted a quantitative evaluation on these dimensions for the legal dataset and two existing datasets in the medical domain for medical concept normalization. The first group of experiments showed that class imbalance and insufficient training data are the two major data quality issues that negatively impacted the quality of the system that was built on the legal corpus. The second group of experiments showed that the overlap between the test datasets and the training datasets, which we defined as "duplication," is the major data quality issue for the two medical corpora. We explore several widely used machine learning methods for data quality improvement. Compared to pseudo-labeling, co-training, and expectation-maximization (EM), generative adversarial network (GAN) is more effective for automated data augmentation, especially when a small portion of labeled data and a large amount of unlabeled data is available. The data validation process, the performance improvement strategy, and the machine learning framework for data evaluation and improvement discussed in this dissertation can be used by machine learning researchers and practitioners to build high-performance machine learning systems. All the materials including the data, code, and results will be released at: https://github.com/haihua0913/dissertation-dqei.
Special Education Experiences for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors:   , Barron Will
Published: January 2025

Millions of students with disabilities in the United States have access to educational programming to assist and provide special education support services. In existence for mere decades, special education as it currently stands was founded on groundbreaking legislation and refining law in the form of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The most recent revision of this law in 2004 significantly extended parents' rights to be decision-makers in the educational planning process for children with disabilities. A litany of research into parent experiences of the IEP and special education process reveals that parents consistently report feelings of being marginalized in the decision-making process. A systematic literature review conducted by the author revealed that parents and family members of children with ASD report broadly similar themes of dissatisfaction with the special education process and communicating with staff. The current research proposal seeks to investigate the interaction experiences with Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) personnel of parents and family members of elementary-aged children with ASD. LSSPs, recognized as possessing expertise on autism spectrum disorder amongst special education evaluation personnel, often conduct evaluations for students with ASD.
Life Coaches, Communities of Practice, and Everyday Life Information Seeking and Practices: An Exploratory Case Study
Authors:   , Klein Janette Dorlene
Published: January 2025

Life coaching is a rapidly expanding industry that focuses on client development, enhancement of life experience, and goal attainment often when clients are experiencing personal, professional, and social change. Online communities of practice (CoPs) provide opportunity for individuals to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other under the auspices of a unifying theme or subject. Since the 1990s, CoPs have spread from education to other areas of business and industry and continue to shape participant professional development. However, the everyday life information seeking and practices of life coaches remains unexplored within information science literature from the perspectives of life coach engagement in seeking information, life coach engagement in CoPs, and life coach interactions with other coaches. The purpose of this research study was to explore life coach perspectives of coaching, the diverse information needs of life coaches, the types and strength of relationships between life coaches and CoPs, the role of coaching certification and/or licensing as contributing to the professionalization of life coaching, and the means of communication exchange by life coaches through information communication technologies. This mixed method study focused on life coaches who self-identify as belonging to a CoP and those that do not. Theoretical frameworks for this study included Savolainen's everyday life information seeking (ELIS) and Wegner and Lave's characterization of CoPs. Methods utilized for this study included an online survey, semi-structured interviews, and social network analysis.
"Before This Memory Will Make Sense": Essays
Authors:   , Brandt John
Published: January 2025

This work contains a series of essays examining childhood trauma through the lens and experience of the author.
Students' Perceptions of Learning Environment and Achievement with Augmented Reality Technology
Authors:   , Alenezi Abdulilah Farhan H
Published: January 2025

The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of using AR in the Computer Architecture unit for male 11th grade students in a school in the eastern area of Arar City in Saudi Arabia through monitoring its impact on student achievement and students' perceptions of the learning environment. Two research questions are explored: What is the effect of using AR on student achievement, and what are students' perceptions of the learning environment when they use AR? Two instruments were used to collect the data in this study: an achievement test taken from the official teacher book issued by the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia and the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI) modified questionnaire "actual form." Statistical analyses employed to answer the first research question included an independent-samples t-test and descriptive statistics. To investigate the second research question, descriptive statistics and a paired t-test were used. These results from the first question indicate a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the two groups' mean values: the students who used AR achieved a higher level of learning compared to the students who learned in the traditional way. The study found that using AR helped the students to increase their achievements through many aspects, one of which was being able to feel in contact with objects and events that were physically out of their reach. In addition, AR offered a safe environment for learning and training away from potential and real dangers. The results for the second research question show statically significant increases in seven out of eight TROFLEI scales. This suggests that there was a positive feeling among the students regarding the teacher's interaction and his interest in providing equal opportunities to the students to answer the questions.
The D-Variant of Transfinite Hausdorff Dimension
Authors:   , Decker Bryce
Published: January 2025

In this lecture we introduce a new transfinite dimension function for metric spaces which utilizes Henderson's topological D-dimension and ascribes to any metric space either an ordinal number or the symbol Ω. The construction of our function is motivated by that of Urbański's transfinite Hausdorff dimension, tHD. Henderson's dimension is a topological invariant, however, like Hausdorff dimension and tHD the function presented will be invariant under bi-Lipschitz continuous maps and generally not under homeomorphisms. We present some original results on D-dimension and build the general theory for the D-variant of transfinite Hausdorff dimension, \mathrm{t}_D\mathrm{HD}. In particular, we will show for any ordinal number α, existence of a metrizable space which has \mathrm{t}_D\mathrm{HD} greater than or equal to α and less than or equal to \omega_\tau, where τ is the least ordinal which satisfies α < \omega_\tau.
Ionized Molecular Hydrogen Confinement Using Electron Space-Charge: A Plasma Trap
Authors:   , Kiester Allen Scott
Published: January 2025

An ion trap has been constructed that creates a potential well suitable for confining ions with the space charge of an electron cloud. The trap uses the concept of artificially structured boundaries, regions of overlapping electric and magnetic fields, to confine particles in a relatively field free volume. Measurements are presented from the build-up of ionized molecular hydrogen over time. Molecular hydrogen is introduced into the confinement volume by direct electron bombardment ionization of neutral background H2 leaked into the trap. Detailed analysis of the data is conducted using particle-in-cell simulations of trap operation and rate mechanics analysis. Pressure dependent estimates of ion lifetimes in the trap are on the order of milliseconds. Along with discussion of the trap a full introduction to the particle-in-cell technique is conducted through an original code implementation.
Program Evaluation of Districtwide Literacy Intervention Programs: Implications for District Leaders
Authors:   , Reynolds Danielle Foss
Published: January 2025

This mixed methods study was designed for two purposes: (1) to provide district and campus leaders data about the effectiveness of how the studied district's READ 180 and System 44 literacy intervention programs were implemented, and (2) to assess the programs' impact on student outcomes to determine whether the district was meeting literacy goals and if recommendations identified in the previous program evaluation report were addressed. Archival de-identified student achievement data and focus group interviews comprised gathered data. Although quantitative data show some growth from both programs since the prior program evaluation, the programs failed to meet the 2018-2019 intended outcome of at least 70% of participating students meeting expected Lexile growth except for READ 180 participants at four elementary and six secondary campuses. System 44 participants failed to meet the district's intended outcome at any campus level. Data showed that placement of elementary English learner (EL) students in both literacy programs was disproportionate to the district's EL population. System 44 students with an EL indicator had a negative correlation with growth in Lexile score, indicating that ELs are not being served well by this program. Qualitative data presented little evidence that the 2017-2018 program evaluation recommendations were effectively implemented. Emerged themes related to monitoring and controlling program processes by district and campus leaders were perceived fidelity, data alignment, and immutable factors. Both quantitative and qualitative data highlighted areas in which program fidelity was lower than expected; therefore, district administrators were not able to achieve the intended purpose of the programs.
A First Look at Mankiyali Morphology
Authors:   , Englert Eric G
Published: January 2025

This thesis is the first comprehensive description and analysis of the inflectional morphology of Mankiyali — an endangered Indo-Aryan language spoken by under 500 people in rural Mansehra District, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The study primarily focuses on the morphological patterns involved in inflecting nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs, and discusses the inflectional requirements in forming postpositional and adverbial phrases. With documentary efforts still in early stages and prior research focusing primarily on the phonological characteristics of the language, the study contributes to addressing the absence of linguistic materials available on this language and provides ground for further investigations.