In my dissertation, I elaborate on the work that I have done to extract temporally-anchored spatial knowledge from text, including both intra- and inter-sentential knowledge. I also detail multiple approaches to infer spatial timeline of a person from biographies and social media. I present and analyze two strategies to annotate information regarding whether a given entity is or is not located at some location, and for how long with respect to an event. Specifically, I leverage semantic roles or syntactic dependencies to generate potential spatial knowledge and then crowdsource annotations to validate the potential knowledge. The resulting annotations indicate how long entities are or are not located somewhere, and temporally anchor this spatial information. I present an in-depth corpus analysis and experiments comparing the spatial knowledge generated by manipulating roles or dependencies. In my work, I also explore research methodologies that go beyond single sentences and extract spatio-temporal information from text. Spatial timelines refer to a chronological order of locations where a target person is or is not located. I present corpus and experiments to extract spatial timelines from Wikipedia biographies. I present my work on determining locations and the order in which they are actually visited by a person …

Integrating digital pedagogy into instruction in a manner that promotes critical thinking and drives increased student achievement and engagement in all classrooms is a goal of many campuses and districts that invest heavily in hardware, software, and professional development on an annual basis. Digital pedagogy goals tend to center around preparing students for the 21st century workforce, promoting instruction that is more engaging, and providing deeper learning for all students; however, achieving these goals is not possible without teachers willing and able to effectively implement instructional technology into the content they are teaching. The conceptual framework consists of digital leadership, teacher engagement, and resources and supports. This case study focused on the district-wide integration of technology into instruction through the elements found in the conceptual framework. Educators, from kindergarten through twelfth grade were surveyed about their attitudes, self-efficacy perceptions and willingness to integrate digital pedagogies into their current teaching practices. The online survey that utilized Likert-like scales to gather demographic information as well educator perceptions on digital integration, teaching philosophy, digital self-efficacy, and leadership's focus and expectations regarding instructional technology. Additional data, from a variety of district documents, was also gathered on leadership, professional development, and infrastructure supports utilized to …

Training autonomous agents that are capable of performing their assigned job without fail is the ultimate goal of deep reinforcement learning. This thesis introduces a dueling Quantile Regression Deep Q-network, where the network learns the state value quantile function and advantage quantile function separately. With this network architecture the agent is able to learn to control simulated robots in the Gazebo simulator. Carefully crafted reward functions and state spaces must be designed for the agent to learn in complex non-stationary environments. When trained for only 100,000 timesteps, the agent is able reach asymptotic performance in environments with moving and stationary obstacles using only the data from the inertial measurement unit, LIDAR, and positional information. Through the use of transfer learning, the agents are also capable of formation control and flocking patterns. The performance of agents with frozen networks is improved through advice giving in Deep Q-networks by use of normalized Q-values and majority voting.

As population increases and urbanization occurs, watershed management will be critical in the protection of water resources in North Central Texas. By 2040, Denton County will nearly double its 2010 population. The Upper Hickory Creek Watershed lies west of Denton and empties into Lake Lewisville. Lake Lewisville provides drinking water for Denton, Dallas, and other neighboring cities. Mitigation of non-point source pollutants as a result of urban and agricultural practices is essential to protecting Lake Lewisville water resources. A common best management practice used to mitigate pollutants is the protection of riparian ecotones that occupy river corridors; however, recent agricultural and urban practices are diminishing these ecosystems and their services. In this paper, the riparian buffer delineation equation (RBDE) is used to assess the current state of Upper Hickory Creek Watershed to aid in the monitoring of the riparian buffers along stream corridors. While the RBDE was used as pre-assessment tool for the riparian buffer effectiveness in the watershed, a new form of the equation was used to evaluate riparian buffer improvement potential (BP) in conjunction with Denton County parcel data to provide insights into buffer effectiveness and identify areas for improvement on a landowner scale.

This manuscript includes an investigation of decision making in alternative modes of transportation in order to understand consumers' decision in different contexts. In essay 1 of this study, the motives for participation in situated ridesharing is investigated. The study proposes a theoretical model that includes economic benefits, time benefits, transportation anxiety, trust, and reciprocity either as direct antecedents of ridesharing participation intention, or mediated through attitude towards ridesharing. Essay 2 of this study, focuses on self-driving vehicles as one of the recent innovations in transportation industry. Using a survey approach, the study develops a conceptual model of consumers' anticipated motives. Both essays use partial least square- structural equation modeling for assessing the proposed theoretical models.

Employing a textual analysis within an auteur theory framework, this thesis examines Frederick Wiseman's films At Berkeley (2013), National Gallery (2014), and Ex Libris (2017) and the different ways in which they reflect on the theme of time. The National Gallery, University of California at Berkeley, and the New York Public Library all share a fundamental common purpose: the preservation and circulation of "truth" through time. Whether it be artistic, scientific, or historical truth, these institutions act as cultural and historical safe-keepers for future generations. Wiseman explores these themes related to time and truth by juxtaposing oppositional binary motifs such as time/timelessness, progress/repetition, and reality/fiction. These are also Wiseman's most self-reflexive films, acting as a reflection on his past filmmaking career as well as a meditation on the value these films might have for future generations. Finally, Wiseman's reflection on the nature of time through these films are connected to the ideas of French philosopher Henri Bergson.

Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have a great potential to enhanced situational awareness in public safety operations. Many UASs operating in the same airspace can cause mid-air collisions. NASA and the FAA are developing a UAS traffic management (UTM) system, which could be used in public safety operations to manage the UAS airspace. UTM relies on an existing communication backhaul, however natural disasters may disrupt existing communications infrastructure or occur in areas where no backhaul exists. This thesis outlines a robust communications alternative that interfaces a fleet of UASs with a UTM service supplier (USS) over a mesh network. Additionally, this thesis outlines an algorithm for vehicle-to-vehicle discovery and communication over the mesh network.

The doctrine of sovereign immunity in the Commonwealth of Virginia has evolved over time and the redefinition of the doctrine has been subjected to the interpretation by courts involving cases with varied facts and circumstances that have challenged the boundaries and flexibility of this legal concept. Determining the protection that a state agent was entitled to was the guiding principle in case law regarding sovereign immunity; however, understanding the purpose and intent of the doctrine of sovereign immunity was critical to determining the boundaries and criteria of the doctrine of immunity. In this dissertation, the researcher analyzed tort law as it applied to educators and public-school districts through the Virginia court system under common law and the Virginia Tort Claims Act (VTCA, 1981). The case analysis provided an overview of lawsuits heard and decisions rendered in negligence cases brought against educators and educational entities prior to and after the enactment of the Virginia Tort Claims Act in 1981.

In nature we find many instances of complex behavior for example the dynamics of stock markets, power grids, internet networks, highway traffic, social networks, heartbeat dynamics, neural dynamics, dynamics of living organisms, etc. The study of these complex systems involves the use of tools of non-linear dynamics and non-equilibrium statistical physics. This dissertation is devoted to understanding two different sources of complex behavior – non-poissonian renewal events also called crucial events and infinite memory of fractional Brownian motion. They both generate 1/f noise frequency spectrum. Thus, we studied examples of both processes and also their joint action. We also tried to establish the role of crucial events in biological and physiological processes like biophoton emission during the germination of seeds, the dynamics of heartbeat and neural dynamics. Using a statistical method of analyzing the time series of bio signals we were able to quantify the complexity associated with the underlying dynamics of these processes. Finally, we adopted a model that unifies both crucial events and memory fluctuations to study the rhythmic behavior observed in heart rate variability of people during meditation. We were able to also quantify the level of stress reduction during meditation. The work presented in this dissertation …

The Lie algebra Vec(ℝ) of polynomial vector fields on the line acts naturally on ℂ[]. This action has a one-parameter family of deformations called the tensor density modules F_λ. The bounded indecomposable modules of Vec(ℝ) of length 2 composed of tensor density modules have been classified by Feigin and Fuchs. We present progress towards describing the annihilators of the unique indecomposable extension of F_λ by F_(λ+2) in the non-resonant case λ ≠ -½. We give the intersection of the annihilator and the subalgebra of lowest weight vectors of the universal enveloping algebra (Vec(ℝ)) of Vec(ℝ). This result is found by applying structural descriptions of the lowest weight vectors of (Vec(ℝ)).

A collection of poems that explores notions of disability, family, and belief, with a preface that meditates on questions related to the ethical ramifications of various approaches to the making of poetry and art that takes up the suffering of others as subject matter.

Many factors have prompted the adoption of partial-market exit strategies in retail as a means of reducing cost and minimizing risk. These mass closures have become more frequent in recent years. Marketers and economists have offered explanations for these closures linked to the rise of e-commerce, the real estate cycle and general changes in consumer taste. The research here marks an attempt to apply geospatial and econometric methods to better understand what factors explain the spatial variation of these closures across the United States. Specifically, the analysis examines the store networks of Sears, J.C. Penney and Macy's- large, established department stores that, collectively, announced over 100 closures at the beginning of 2017. By treating each store as a unit of observation, and a closure as a limited dependent variable, this analysis will attempt to quantify the relationship between place-specific factors and retail closures using Probit modeling. This application of modeling marks a deviation from traditional analyses in retail geography which, up until the early 2000s, have focused almost entirely on store development and growth. The results reveal patterns of spatial clustering of closures in and around the Rust Belt and demonstrate the strong negative effect of competitive agglomeration on the …

Union is a novel about a Super AI that takes over all human technology.

Using ethnographic research methods, I worked with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) to conduct an exploratory study about developer perspectives on video game preservation. I conducted in-depth interviews with independent developers in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, a hub for Texas game development. These interviews explored developers' knowledge and awareness of game preservation as a topic of concern, archival culture and practices in the industry, and the IGDA's potential role in addressing issues related to preservation work. This research contributes to a growing body of literature on game preservation, urgently needed as many gaming technologies face obsolescence in the near future. I use Ellen Cushman's concept of "perseverance" to examine the difference between simply preserving video games for the future, and the perseverance of game development as a professional trade and artistic craft.

Many clients with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities (ID/DD) do not tolerate routine medical or dental procedures and may require intrusive interventions, including restraint of various types (i.e. chemical, mechanical, physical, etc.) during appointments. Graduated exposure, or stimulus fading, along with reinforcement for compliance, have been shown to increase cooperation and tolerance in some clients; however, many do not respond to these types of interventions. Nine participants diagnosed with ID/DD recieved compliance/tolerance training for routine medical or dental procedures. Results of these interventions were evaluated in the context of several potential indices of readiness, such as medical diagnoses, level of disability, and presence of challenging behavior, among others. Several of the variables appeared to be correlated with program responsiveness; however, a larger sample will be necessary to draw definitive conclusions. Client characteristics and past assessments (anecdotals, preference assessments, terminal probes, and survey data) were evaluated. The analytical framework developed for this analysis may be useful to future researchers and clinicians as a model for assessing readiness for tolerance training programs.

The rationale of color-blind ideology in the socializing space of the early childhood classroom encourages that racial, cultural, and ethnic differences remain unrecognized. Demographic shifts of diverse marginalized populations within majority, White suburban schools require the analysis of dominant ideologies that potentially leave biases unchallenged. This photovoice project centered the voice of three Black, early childhood educators working within majority White suburban schools in the South to explore how they rationalized the discourse of color-blind ideology in their professional and personal lives. Findings showed that Black women's critical social location within a racialized society and their historical engagement with Black oppositional knowledge structured oppositional knowledges and embodied critiques of suburban spaces. They crafted wisdoms for engaging and navigating tensions with colleagues, parents, and administrators and nurtured embodied perspectives, resisting stereotypical images of Black women and girls. Deconstructed dominant ideologies in the socializing space of the early childhood classroom extend and modify our understanding of racialized knowledge in our educational spaces and offer transformative readings of color-blind ideology.

This project seeks to clarify the historical significance of women in the American West between 1870 and 1930 through the education, careers, and personal lives of western women physicians. The narratives presented in the work provide alternative roles for western women aside from the stereotypical images found in popular culture and history, such as the "Bad Woman," the prostitute, and the obedient homesteading wife. This collective biography additionally demonstrates how women participated in American medical culture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, emphasizing their agency as historical actors, and countering the common misconception that Victorian women were merely passive subjects of their time and place. The lives of four physicians named Ellis Reynolds Shipp, Mary Babcock Atwater, Mary Bennett Ritter, and Mary Canaga Rowland are available through memoirs, biographies, scholarly articles, newspapers, and other sources that contextualize their careers into the broader context of Western, medical, and nineteenth-century history. Through their personal and professional experiences, a greater story of female autonomy emerges in a period understood to be inherently oppressive to and unnavigable for women.

Bacteriophages are viruses that specifically infect bacteria. When a phage infects a bacterium, it attaches itself to the surface of the bacteria and injects its DNA into the intracellular space. The phage DNA hijacks the cellular machinery of the bacteria and forces it to produce phage proteins. Eventually, the bacteria cell bursts or lyses, releasing new phage. The bacteria act as a host for phage reproduction. The ability for a phage to infect multiple bacterial species is known as host range. In siphoviridae bacteriophages, host range is thought to primarily be determined by proteins at the tip of their tail fibers. These proteins act as anti-receptors to specific receptors on the surface of bacteria. In siphoviridae Gram-positive infecting phages, the genes that code these proteins are typically located between the tape measure protein gene and the endolysin gene. It is hypothesized that phages that have similar anti-receptor proteins will have similar host range. In this study, the host ranges of 12 BD1 bacteriophages were tested on 9 different Streptomyces species. In these 12 phages, the genes between the tape measure protein gene and endolysin gene were compared. The 12 phages had high levels of variability in these genes. Five genes …

This thesis describes the fabrication and characterization of two-dimensional transition dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) nanolayers for various applications in electronic and opto-electronic devices applications. In Chapter 1, crystal and optical structure of TMDs materials are introduced. Many TMDs materials reveal three structure polytypes (1T, 2H, and 3R). The important electronic properties are determined by the crystal structure of TMDs; thus, the information of crystal structure is explained. In addition, the detailed information of photon vibration and optical band gap structure from single-layer to bulk TMDs materials are introduced in this chapter. In Chapter 2, detailed information of physical properties and synthesis techniques for molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), tungsten disulfide (WS2), and molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) nanolayers are explained. The three representative crystal structures are trigonal prismatic (hexagonal, H), octahedral (tetragonal, T), and distorted structure (Tʹ). At room temperature, the stable structure of MoS2 and WS2 is semiconducting 2H phase, and MoTe2 can reveal both 2H (semiconducting phase) and 1Tʹ (semi-metallic phase) phases determined by the existence of strains. In addition, the pros and cons of the synthesis techniques for nanolayers are discussed. In Chapter 3, the topic of synthesized large-scale MoS2, WS2, and MoTe2 films is considered. For MoS2 and WS2 films, the …

With the advent of information explosion age, larger capacity disk drives are used to store data and powerful devices are used to process big data. As the scale and complexity of computer systems increase, we expect these systems to provide dependable and energy-efficient services and computation. Although hard drives are reliable in general, they are the most commonly replaced hardware components. Disk failures cause data corruption and even data loss, which can significantly affect system performance and financial losses. In this dissertation research, I analyze different manifestations of disk failures in production data centers and explore data mining techniques combined with statistical analysis methods to discover categories of disk failures and their distinctive properties. I use similarity measures to quantify the degradation process of each failure type and derive the degradation signature. The derived degradation signatures are further leveraged to forecast when future disk failures may happen. Meanwhile, this dissertation also studies energy efficiency of high performance computers. Specifically, I characterize the power and energy consumption of Haswell processors which are used in multiple supercomputers, and analyze the power and energy consumption of Legion, a data-centric programming model and runtime system, and Legion applications. We find that power and energy …

Undergraduate nursing students face tremendous stress in regards to academic and clinical demands while emotional intelligence (EI) is a topic of interest in the nursing field. This study examined whether problem-focused coping methods for stress are related to ability and personality. In this study, EI represented ability and locus of control (LOC) represented personality. Confrontive coping, seeking social support, and planful problem-solving represented the problem-focused coping variables. A survey instrument which represented a combination of the Assessing Emotions Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Ways of Coping Scale (Revised), and the Rotter Locus of Control Scale was administered to 11 undergraduate nursing schools during the spring semester of 2019. The results indicated that EI had strong and statistically significant correlations with each of the other variables in the study which were LOC, stress, confrontive coping, seeking social support, and planful problem-solving. The results further supported that EI was a statistically significant predictor for each of the three problem-focused coping variables. It was concluded that level of stress did not mediate the relationship between EI and any of the three problem-focused coping methods. In addition, LOC moderated the relationship between EI and stress. The limitations and possibilities for future research are addressed in …

Negation is a complex phenomenon present in all human languages, allowing for the uniquely human capacities of denial, contradiction, misrepresentation, lying, and irony. It is in the first place a phenomenon of semantical opposition. Sentences containing negation are generally (a) less informative than affirmative ones, (b) morphosyntactically more marked—all languages have negative markers while only a few have affirmative markers, and (c) psychologically more complex and harder to process. Negation often conveys positive meaning. This meaning ranges from implicatures to entailments. In this dissertation, I develop a system to reveal the underlying positive interpretation of negation. I first identify which words are intended to be negated (i.e, the focus of negation) and second, I rewrite those tokens to generate an actual positive interpretation. I identify the focus of negation by scoring probable foci along a continuous scale. One of the obstacles to exploring foci scoring is that no public datasets exist for this task. Thus, to study this problem I create new corpora. The corpora contain verbal, nominal and adjectival negations and their potential positive interpretations along with their scores ranging from 1 to 5. Then, I use supervised learning models for scoring the focus of negation. In order to …

The thesis simulates the problem of network connectivity that occurs due to the dynamic nature of a network during flight. Nine nodes are provided with initial positions and are flown based on the path provided by leader-follower control algorithm using the server-client model. The application layer provides a point to point connection between the server and client and by using socket programming in the transport layer, a server and clients are established. Each node performs a neighbor discovery to discover its neighbors in the data link layer and physical layer performs the CSMA/CA using RTS/CTS. Finally, multi hop routing is achieved in network layer. Each client connects with server at dedicated interval to share each other location and then moves to next location. This process is continued over a period of several iterations until the relative distance is achieved. The constraints and limitations of the technology are network connectivity is lack of flexibility for random location of nodes, links established with a distant node having single neighbor is unstable. Performance of a system decreases with increase in number of nodes.

Emma Diruf Seiler (1821-1886) was a Bavarian-American voice teacher and scientist who wrote and published Altes und Neues über die Ausbildung des Gesangorganes mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die Frauenstimme (Old and New in the Art of Singing, with Special Attention to the Female Voice) in 1861 while working in Leipzig. It was translated by William Henry Furness and published in Philadelphia as The Voice in Singing in 1868. This pedagogue and her writings are largely unknown to those who study historic bel canto pedagogy. In the opening of Seiler's pamphlet, she explained her purpose for writing was "to bring into harmony things which have always been treated separately, the Science and the Art of Singing..." Aside from brief comments in a few books on vocal pedagogy, Emma Seiler is largely unknown. Neither her contribution to voice science and pedagogy, nor the impact of her integrated philosophy on teaching have been subjected to scholarly scrutiny. The purpose of this document is to explore her philosophy on teaching, her method of female vocal instruction, and her impact on voice instruction. This dissertation historicizes evidence-based pedagogy through Seiler's example.